Art Graham, 78; Versatile Pianist Played Southland Clubs

Art Graham, a veteran pianist who was a fixture at Sneaky Pete’s in West Hollywood in the 1960s and at many other Southland nightspots and venues over the last four decades, has died. He was 78.

Graham, who fronted the Art Graham Trio when he wasn’t working solo, died of a heart attack Oct. 24 at his home in Hollywood.

His wide repertoire at the piano--from Argentine tangos and Brazilian sambas to Duke Ellington’s “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me” and pop tunes such as “Through the Eyes of Love”--kept him playing to the end.

“He worked continuously,” said Shelly Birnbaum, Graham’s agent and publicist. “I had to give away jobs. He was booked solid November and December and probably would have gone on ad infinitum. Nobody knew how old he was. I hate to put his age down now.”

Born in New Jersey, Graham grew up in Bridgeport, Conn., and was classically trained on the piano. After serving in the Army during World War II, he began working in Manhattan with Lester Lanin, one of the city’s top society bandleaders.

Graham, who moved to Los Angeles in 1959, played at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas for a time in the mid-’60s, recorded a couple of albums and appeared twice on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.”

But mostly he played at local clubs.

Beginning in the ‘60s, he spent 10 years at Sneaky Pete’s--next to the Whisky A Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard--where celebrities such as Carson, Ed McMahon and John Wayne were known to drop in. He also played at P.J.’s at Crescent Heights and Santa Monica boulevards and at Sonny’s on La Cienega Boulevard.

Later, he had steady engagements at the now-defunct Manhattan Beach nightspots Sausalito South and Annabelle’s. Most recently, he had regular gigs at the Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, the Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge and the Center Club in Costa Mesa.

Graham is survived by a daughter, Andrea Sneider of Salisbury, Mass.; two grandsons; and a granddaughter.