Obituaries : Walter Popp; Pianist, Musical Coordinator

Walter Popp, whose 50-year music career took him from his uncle’s saloon in Chicago to the nightclubs and television studios of Hollywood, died in Ventura on Thursday. He was 87.

Popp moved to Ventura County 17 years ago with his wife, Jacqueline.

A lyrical pianist, Popp met Danny Thomas at the 5100 Club in Chicago more than 50 years ago and the two joined forces as a musical act.

“They hit it off immediately,” Jacqueline Popp recalled. “Danny would sing something and my husband would ad-lib on the piano.”

For 35 years, Popp worked alongside Thomas, first in Hollywood clubs and later as musical coordinator for “The Danny Thomas Show.”

Popp chiseled out a niche for himself in show business, working as music coordinator for numerous television shows, including “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Andy Griffith,” “I Spy,” “That Girl” and “Gomer Pyle.”

In 1961, Popp bought a cottage on Oxnard beach to escape the demands of the television business.

“He didn’t have a phone or anything,” his wife said. “One time when Danny Thomas needed Wally, he called the Oxnard police and had them drive out to our cottage.”

Still, Popp was never bothered by the demands of his career.

“He had a wonderful experience in Hollywood, working with all the big stars,” his wife recalled. He was known both in Hollywood and Ventura as a true gentleman, she said.

“He always wore a cap and if he saw a woman he would reach to tip it,” she said. “He always tipped his cap.”

In addition to his wife, Popp is survived by his son, John Popp of New Mexico; daughter, Lorraine Woodman of Santa Barbara, and three grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held in Illinois.