Kay Kyser
Frank Wynne’s touching eulogy of Kay Kyser (Letters, Aug. 2) brought a nostalgic tear to the myopic eyes of this unreconstructed big-band lover.
It was fascinating to watch the gradual metamorphosis of the Kyser “ork” from a bland Sammy Kaye-Blue Barron type aggregation, replete with singing song titles, saccharine saxes and wa-wa trumpets--so syrupy-sweet that diabetics listened at their own risk--into a fine respectable swing band.
And what illustrious Angeleno occupied a chair in Kay’s reed section in the early 1940s? None other than that doughty veteran L.A. city councilman, Ernani (Noni) Bernardi!
MARVIN H. LEAF
Malibu
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