Sammy Kaye

Orchestra leader Sammy Kaye, whose "swing and sway" music appealed to millions of ballroom dancers during the Big Band days of the late 1930s and '40s, has died of cancer in Ridgewood, N.J., it was reported Wednesday. He was 77. A Valley Hospital spokesman said Kaye was admitted several days ago for the second time in recent weeks. He died Tuesday night.

"It's Never Too Late" is not only the title of Hal Linden's first CD of songs, it's also his mantra. A robust 80, the Tony Award winner for the musical "The Rothschilds" and star of the classic 1974-82 television series "Barney Miller" is "still kicking," as he describes it. And still singing, having just returned from doing 28 concerts in Florida — "generally for older people" — "with gigs for next year already. We got about eight or nine gigs starting in December. " Keeping busy, he adds quietly, is also helping him cope with the death of his wife, Frances, last year after 52 years of marriage.

"It's Never Too Late" is not only the title of Hal Linden's first CD of songs, it's also his mantra. A robust 80, the Tony Award winner for the musical "The Rothschilds" and star of the classic 1974-82 television series "Barney Miller" is "still kicking," as he describes it. And still singing, having just returned from doing 28 concerts in Florida — "generally for older people" — "with gigs for next year already. We got about eight or nine gigs starting in December. " Keeping busy, he adds quietly, is also helping him cope with the death of his wife, Frances, last year after 52 years of marriage.

Orchestra leader Sammy Kaye, whose "swing and sway" music appealed to millions of ballroom dancers during the Big Band days of the late 1930s and '40s, has died of cancer in Ridgewood, N.J., it was reported Wednesday. He was 77. A Valley Hospital spokesman said Kaye was admitted several days ago for the second time in recent weeks. He died Tuesday night.

Don Anthony, 85, who wrote the song "Breaking My Heart," popularized by Perry Como. Anthony formed his own big band, the Don Anthony Orchestra, in 1933. When he wrote "Breaking My Heart," it was played widely by the more famous Sammy Kaye Orchestra and performed by Como. After his musical career waned, Anthony operated a bar and worked for 25 years in a manufacturing plant. On Thursday in Cleveland.

Frank Strasek, 81, a musician and host of a World War II radio program credited with selling millions of dollars in war bonds. Strasek was a trumpet player in several well-known big bands, including the California Collegians band, which included saxophonist Fred MacMurray before MacMurray became a prominent actor. Later, Strasek played with Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights for five years in New York City, where actor-comedian Art Carney was a band member.

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?

A number of readers have written to suggest additions to "Final Bow , " the Dec. 24 list of celebrities who died during the 1980s. Here are those names, plus the many that had been deleted from the list because of space limitation: Alvin Ailey, Fran Allison, Adele Astaire, Chet Baker, Brook Benton, Amanda Blake, John Bonham, Adolph Caesar, Graham Chapman, James Coco, Jackie Coogan, Dennis Day, Bob Eberly, Bill Evans, Marty Feldman,...

Al Berkman, 82, producer, author, musician, arranger and vocal coach for such singers as Eddie Fisher, Vic Damone and Linda Ronstadt. During the 1930s, Berkman played clarinet and saxophone with big bands and then became an arranger for Sammy Kaye, Cab Calloway and others. During World War II, he produced variety shows for military personnel, earning public praise from Eleanor Roosevelt.

"It's a Wonderful Life" will be on TV several times this week: today at noon, the USA channel; 3 p.m. today and 1 a.m. Monday, the Disney Channel; 4 p.m. today, Cinemax; 9:30 p.m. today, WGN; 7 a.m. Monday, 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and 4:30 a.m. Thursday on Z Channel. What would the world be like if you'd never been born? That's the question posed in the beloved perennial, "It's a Wonderful Life."

Larry Fotine, who wrote more than 300 songs and arranged music for several big bands, has died at a Carson City, Nev., hospital. He was 79. A former San Fernando Valley resident, Fotine died Nov. 25 of an aortic aneurysm, according to mortuary records. Born Lawrence C. Fotinakis on April 27, 1911, in Camden County, N. J., he was leader of Larry Fotine and His Orchestra, which played nationwide from 1929 until 1955.

Don Cornell, a big band singer who scored a string of hits during the 1950s and early '60s, including "It Isn't Fair," died Monday at a hospital in Aventura, Fla. He was 84. Cornell died of advanced emphysema and diabetes, said Zora Pergl-Cary, his personal assistant. He got his start with trumpeter Red Nichols and big band leader Sammy Kaye before launching a successful solo career.