Biography
Born on 21 May 1901 in Alemeda, California, USA, and passing away on 1 December 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA, Horace Heidt took up piano study during childhood yet found himself drawn more strongly toward American football. A severe back injury sustained while playing for the University of California in the early 1920s ended any prospect of a professional athletic career. Turning to music, he began performing on piano in 1923 and soon formed his own ensemble, Horace Heidt And His Californians. Early in his career he introduced memorable novelties, among them a trained dog named Lobo. The band appeared at New York’s Palace Theatre in 1930, where reviewers hailed the engagement as sensational. After sixteen weeks the group traveled to Monte Carlo for a three-month residency, returned to the Palace, and then headed back to California for theatre dates and radio broadcasts. By 1936, now presented as Horace Heidt And His Musical Knights (or Brigadiers), he secured his initial sponsored radio program for the Alemite company, which popularized the slogan “Horace Heidt for Alemite.” At that point the ensemble delivered its customary polished, middle-of-the-road commercial repertoire with fourteen musicians, a glee club, Frankie Carle at the piano, and Alvino Rey on electric guitar, still a novelty at the time. Additional members from the late 1930s and early 1940s included arranger Frank De Vol on lead alto saxophone and vocals, the King Sisters vocal quartet, blind whistler Fred Lowery, cornetist Bobby Hackett, and vocalists Larry Cotton and Gordon MacRae. The orchestra reached its height in 1938 with Heidt’s second major radio venture, Pot O’Gold, among the earliest programs to award cash prizes to listeners by consulting a telephone directory, spinning a dial, and placing a call to the chosen number, with the recipient receiving $1,000. A 1941 comedy film sharing the show’s title featured Heidt alongside James Stewart and Paulette Goddard. The following year he launched Treasure Chest, which continued for several seasons. During part of the 1940s Heidt withdrew from bandleading after a dispute with the Music Corporation of America. Upon resuming activity he scored another success with the Youth Opportunity Programme, a weekly radio talent contest originating from a fresh location each time. Accordionist Dick Cortino emerged as an early discovery, later becoming a featured attraction and achieving prominence independently. After five years on radio, Heidt moved the program to television in the mid-1950s. Several years afterward he stepped away to concentrate on his real-estate interests in the San Fernado Valley. Although his ensembles were showbands rather than dance orchestras, they employed skilled musicians and earned considerable respect, particularly those active in the mid-1940s. Between 1937 and 1945 he placed numerous recordings in the US Top 10, among them “Gone With The Wind” (a number 1), “Hot Lips,” “It’s The Natural Thing To Do,” “Little Heaven Of The Seven Seas,” “Once In A While,” “There’s A Gold Mine In The Sky,” “Sweet Someone,” “Rosalie,” “Sweet As A Song,” “Ti-Pi-Tin” (number 1), “Lovelight In The Starlight,” “This Time It’s Real,” “My Margarita,” “Tu-Li Tulip Time,” “This Can’t Be Love,” “Little Sir Echo,” “Penny Serenade,” “Shabby Old Cabby,” “The Man With The Mandolin,” “Friendly Tavern Polka,” “G’bye Now,” “The Hut-Hut Song,” “Goodbye Dear, I’ll Be Back In A Year,” “I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire,” “Shepherd Serenade,” “Bi-i-Bi,” and “Don’t Fence Me In.” His theme, which he co-wrote, was “I’ll Love You In My Dreams,” while his biggest seller, said to have moved a million copies, was the novelty “Deep In The Heart Of Texas,” complete with its signature hand-claps. Horace Heidt succumbed to pneumonia in December 1986. His son, Horace Jnr., pursued a career as a bandleader, and his drumming skills anchored a 1990 US tour package that also showcased John Gary, Fran Warren, Arthur Duncan, and Henry Cuesta.