Edgar Clyde "Skinnay" Ennis Jr. (August 13, 1907 – June 3, 1963)[1] was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and singer.
Early years
The son of Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Ennis, he was born Edgar Clyde Ennis Jr.[2] in Salisbury, North Carolina, United States,[3] and had a brother, James W. Ennis.[4] He met Hal Kemp while attending the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. The two were members of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity there.[5]
Orchestras
An obituary reported about Ennis and his orchestra, "His band had performed in every major dance palace in the nation."[6]
Ennis joined Kemp's orchestra as a drummer and vocalist in the late 1920s, playing with him through 1938,[3] including one tour of Europe in 1930.
In 1938, Ennis put together his own band,[7] which became a popular ensemble in Hollywood films. "Got a Date With an Angel" was his theme song.[3] During this time Gil Evans was one of his arrangers.[3]
Toward the end of the 1950s Ennis's career had faded, and he worked mostly in hotels in the Los Angeles area.[3]
Film
Ennis and his orchestra starred in the short 1941 film Once Upon a Summertime and the film College Swing.[8] as well as in Blondie Meets The Boss in 1939.[9] His first film appearance was in the short film, Eddie Peabody and his College Chums (1929).
Radio
Ennis began performing comedy routines, and in 1938 he landed a job as bandleader on Bob Hope's radio program, appearing as a regular until he entered the Army.[3]
He returned to Hollywood bandleading at the war's end and joined the Abbott and Costello radio program during the 1946–47 season.[3]
Military service
Ennis joined the Army in 1943, serving as a "warrant officer in charge of a 28-piece band" during World War II.[10]
Personal life
Ennis was married to the former singer Carmene Calhoun for 20 years, and they had one son. The couple divorced in 1959.[11]
Ennis, whose nickname originally was "Skinny," changed it to "Skinnay", after it was misspelled that way on the label of a record early in his career.[6]
Death
Ennis choked to death on a bone while eating dinner at a restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1963.[12]
References
- ^ "Skinnay Ennis". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
- ^ Sullivan, Ed (January 20, 1939). "Looking at Hollywood". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. p. 19. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 795. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ "Skinnay Ennis' Brother Killed in Plane Crash". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. September 24, 1944. p. Part 1-Page 23. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
- ^ "Skinnay Ennis Slated at Theater Opening". Texas, Odessa. The Odessa American. January 27, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved January 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Attack Fatal for Band Leader Skinnay Ennis". The Times. Indiana, Hammond. June 3, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved January 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Skinnay Ennis Dies". The Decatur Daily Review. Illinois, Decatur. The Decatur Daily Review. June 3, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved January 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 90.
- ^ "Blondie Meets the Boss (1939)". IMDb.com. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
- ^ "Skinnay Ennis to Join Army Tuesday". The Times. California, San Mateo. May 19, 1943. p. 1. Retrieved January 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Skinnay Ennis Dies, Autopsy Scheduled". The Bristol Daily Courier. Pennsylvania, Bristol. The Bristol Daily Courier. June 3, 1963. p. 24. Retrieved January 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bandleader Ennis Dies". The Times. California, San Mateo. June 3, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved January 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
Other sources
- Bob Conrad, Hal Kemp historian
- Certificate of Birth, from the "Office of Register of Deeds", Salisbury, N.C.
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