Jack McVea; Big Song Hit Was ‘Open the Door, Richard’

Jack McVea, 86, a tenor saxophonist whose song “Open the Door, Richard” was a big hit in 1947. Born in Los Angeles, McVea learned the banjo from his father before picking up the saxophone in high school. After graduating from Jefferson High, McVea worked in the house band at the legendary Club Alabam on Central Avenue. He joined the original Lionel Hampton band on baritone saxophone in 1940. In 1944, he led a band that played at the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert at the old philharmonic hall in downtown Los Angeles. McVea also liked popular music, and his “Open the Door, Richard” brought him international attention. From the 1960s to the early 1990s he worked regularly at Disneyland, playing clarinet in a Dixieland band. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Angelus Funeral Home, 3875 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles. On Dec. 27 in Los Angeles of cancer.