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Rex Features Ltd. is a British photographic press agency and photo library, based in London, UK. It supplies a daily service of news, celebrity, features, and stock photos to newspapers, magazines, TV, book publishing, web and all other media in the UK and in more than 35 countries worldwide.

Rex Features Ltd -- Company profile[link]

Rex was founded in 1954 by husband-and-wife team Frank Selby (b. Salusinszky Ferenc, Budapest, Jan 12, 1918) and Elizabeth Selby (b. Elisabeth Guttmann, Berlin, Apr 1, 1925). The couple retired as joint Managing Directors in 2008, but continue to take an interest in the firm.

In addition to a daily news and entertainment feed, relied upon by newspapers and magazines worldwide, the Press Agency produces a constant stream of new features, comprising ready-made packages of pictures and words, on an extremely wide range of topics, as well as lifestyle, travel, wildlife and other creative and stock imagery.

REX represents many major picture sources including the leading UK celeb-society photographers Richard Young and Dave Fisher, the French agency Sipa Press, top US celebrity agency Startraks and Berliner, film stills archives The Everett Collection and Snap Photo Library, The Associated Newspapers archive (Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard), television stills libraries including the ITV Archive and the Fremantle Media TV archive, many ITV “reality” and talent shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, Dancing On Ice, The X Factor, I’m A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here, plus hundreds of freelance photographers and agencies around the world. Rex’s website allows professional users access to more than 5,000,000 images, with more than 3000 new images added every day. While its daily production is fully digital, Rex’s service is backed by a physical archive stretching back to the early days of photography and containing about 15 million images encompassing a vast range of subjects.

Origins and early years[link]

Both Frank and Elizabeth are from Hungarian roots, and journalism ran in both families—Frank's father Imre Salusinszky was editor-in-chief of Az Est, Hungary's leading newspaper group based in Budapest, while Elizabeth's father, Heinrich (Henry) Guttmann, was a prominent journalist and book author^[1] writing on industry and other topics for German newspapers and magazines. His particular personal interest was in the history of photography. To illustrate his articles, Guttmann amassed a large collection of photographs, illustrations and engravings which was later acquired by the groundbreaking Picture Post magazine to form the nucleus of its own picture library; some of a subsequent collection is now contained in the Rex Features picture library. Guttmann, a Jew and a communist sympathiser, realising the threat posed by the rise of the Nazis, left Germany in 1925 with his baby daughter, for Paris where he continued working until 1931. After a brief return to Germany to tidy up his affairs, he settled in London.

Frank travelled to Britain in 1938 to study at Cambridge, but WWII interrupted his plans and he served in the British Army for the duration of the war. After demobilization he went into the import-export business. The teenage Elizabeth had meanwhile been working for the Free French resistance organization at its HQ in London. After the war she began helping her father to "package" his feature articles, trading as Rex Features, and after she and Frank married in 1948 they merged their respective skills to establish Rex as a full-fledged photo agency.

In early 1954 the couple were asked by a small Paris news agency to sell its pictures in the UK, and so Rex Features as an international agency was born. Elizabeth ran the business in the front room of the family house in northwest London, while Frank went out to sell to the newspapers and magazines whose offices were then still concentrated in and around Fleet Street in central London. Word of Rex’s efficient and reliable service quickly spread; by the 1960s, Rex represented a growing roster of photographers including the renowned showbiz photographer Dezo Hoffmann, and was providing a regular supply of features, news and celebrity pictures to the press in Britain and overseas.

Middle period – near disaster and a growth spurt[link]

In 1963 the firm opened its first modest rented offices in a garret overlooking London’s central fruit and vegetable market in Covent Garden. Later there was a move to Gough Square, just off Fleet Street, and again to nearby East Harding Street where in February 1979 a small fire started by an electrical fault caused extensive smoke damage to the company’s stock and equipment. Despite rumours in the press industry that Rex was “finished”, the company continued doing business as usual during the nine months it took to hand-clean or replace many thousands of filing envelopes, millions of B/W prints and colour slides, and other equipment and documents. In November 1979 the company moved into offices in Vine Hill.

In 1981 Rex raised its profile dramatically with its coverage of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Its fast and comprehensive service beat many more widely known agencies into the pages of newspapers and magazines around the world. Picture editors came to rely on Rex for deadline material of all types, particularly of Royalty and celebrities, as well as for its multi-faceted photo library.

Later success and present-day prominence[link]

Rex has notched up many celebrity and news exclusives over the years, including such high-profile hits as: Liz Taylor and Richard Burton smooching at his 50th birthday party; the first picture of Prince Charles holding hands with Camilla Parker Bowles; the first pictures of Mick Jagger together with Luciana Morad and their son Lucas; world exclusive pictures of Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess in his coffin; coverage of the world’s first arm transplant operation; pictures transmitted back from Mt. Everest of the discovery of the mummified remains of mountaineer George Mallory; photos of a baby’s corpse dumped in a street gutter in a Chinese city, which caused an international outcry.

In 2008 Rex Features acquired the prestigious Los Angeles-based Berliner Group of photographic companies, with the aim of strengthening Rex’s presence in the USA and guaranteeing a reliable supply of high-quality celebrity portraiture and coverage of “red carpet” events from the US.

Over the past 57 years Rex Features has established itself as one of the leading sources of editorial photography, with contributors and sales agents throughout the world. Its website is frequently cited^{[citation needed]} by leading newspaper and magazine editors as “the best in the business” for clarity and ease of use. The company now owns a substantial building in London's historic Clerkenwell district, where it employs around 80 staff looking after the interests of its hundreds of photographers and many thousands of clients.^{[citation needed]} Rex also has offices in New York and Los Angeles.

On Monday 26 April 2010, Mike Selby of Rex Features announced Getty Images' intention to acquire the Rex group of companies.^{[citation needed]} Following a decision by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) on Thursday 8 July 2010, to refer the proposed merger to the Competition Commission (formerly Monopolies Commission) for further scrutiny, after some UK media companies expressed fears that since Rex is the market leader in the UK the merged entity could be unfairly influential in the market, the deal was called off, and Rex Features continues as an independent company.

Collections[link]

(Owned)

Dezo Hoffmann Archive

Pic Photos (Harry Myers) library

(Represented)

Richard Young archive

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of Rex Features Ltd
• Official website of Rex USA

Les Paul
Les Paul playing a Gibson Les Paul in a live show at Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Lester William Polsfuss[1]
Born	(1915-06-09)June 9, 1915 Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States
Died	August 13, 2009(2009-08-13) (aged 94) White Plains, New York, United States[2]
Genres	Jazz, country, blues, rock and roll
Occupations	Innovator, Inventor, Musician, Songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, Banjo, Harmonica
Years active	1928–2009
Website	lespaulfoundation.org
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 13, 2009)^[3][4][5]—known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible.^[6] He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound),^[7] delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.^[8]

His innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day.^{[9][10][11][12]} He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and they sold millions of records.

Among his many honors, Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[13] He is prominently named by the music museum on its website as an "architect" and a "key inductee" along with Sam Phillips and Alan Freed.^[14]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Les Paul was born Lester William Polsfuss outside Milwaukee, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to George and Evelyn (1888–1989) (née Stutz) Polsfus. His family was of German ancestry.^[15] Paul's mother was related to the founders of Milwaukee's Valentin Blatz Brewing Company and the makers of the Stutz automobile.^[16] His parents divorced when he was a child.^[17] The Prussian family name was first simplified by his mother to Polfuss before he took his stage name of Les Paul. He also used the nicknames Red Hot Red^[18] and Rhubarb Red.^[19]

While living in Wisconsin, he first became interested in music at age eight when he began playing the harmonica. After an attempt at learning the banjo, he began to play the guitar. It was during this time that he invented a neck-worn harmonica holder, which allowed him to play the harmonica hands-free while accompanying himself on the guitar. Paul's device is still manufactured using his basic design.^[20] By age thirteen, Paul was performing semi-professionally as a country-music singer, guitarist and harmonica player. While playing at the Waukesha area drive-ins and roadhouses, Paul began his first experiment with sound. Wanting to make himself heard by more people at the local venues, he wired a phonograph needle to a radio speaker, using that to amplify his acoustic guitar.^[21] At age seventeen, Paul played with Rube Tronson's Texas Cowboys, and soon after he dropped out of high school to join Wolverton's Radio Band in St. Louis, Missouri, on KMOX.

Early career[link]

Paul migrated to Chicago in 1934, where he continued to perform on radio, and met pianist Art Tatum, whose playing influenced him to a career devoted to guitar rather than original plans of taking on the piano. ^[22] His first two records were released in 1936. One was credited to "Rhubarb Red", Paul's hillbilly alter ego, and the other was as an accompanist for blues-artist Georgia White. It was during this time that he began playing jazz and adopted his stage name.^[23]

Paul's jazz-guitar style was strongly influenced by the music of Django Reinhardt, whom he greatly admired. Following World War II, Paul sought out and befriended Reinhardt. After Reinhardt's death in 1953, Paul furnished his headstone.^{[citation needed]} One of Paul's prize possessions was a Selmer Maccaferri acoustic guitar given to him by Reinhardt's widow.^[18]

Paul formed a trio in 1937 with singer/rhythm guitarist Jim Atkins^[24] (older half-brother of guitarist Chet Atkins) and bassist/percussionist Ernie "Darius" Newton. They left Chicago for New York in 1939, landing a featured spot with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians radio show. Chet Atkins later wrote that his brother, home on a family visit, presented the younger Atkins with an expensive Gibson archtop guitar that had been given to Jim Atkins by Les Paul. Chet recalled that it was the first professional-quality instrument he ever owned.^[25]

Paul was dissatisfied with acoustic-electric guitars and began experimenting at his apartment in Queens, NY with a few designs of his own. Famously, he created several versions of "The Log", which was nothing more than a length of common 4x4 lumber with a bridge, guitar neck and pickup attached. For the sake of appearance, he attached the body of an Epiphone hollow-body guitar, sawn lengthwise with The Log in the middle. This solved his two main problems: feedback, as the acoustic body no longer resonated with the amplified sound, and sustain, as the energy of the strings was not dissipated in generating sound through the guitar body. These instruments were constantly being improved and modified over the years, and Paul continued to use them in his recordings long after the development of his eponymous Gibson model. In 1945, Richard D. Bourgerie made an electric guitar pickup and amplifier for professional guitar player George Barnes. Bourgerie worked through World War II at Howard Radio Company making electronic equipment for the American military. Barnes showed the result to Les Paul, who then arranged for Bourgerie to have one made for him.

While experimenting in his apartment in 1940, Paul nearly succumbed to electrocution. During two years of recuperation, he relocated to Hollywood, supporting himself by producing radio music and forming a new trio. He was drafted into the US Army shortly after the beginning of World War II, where he served in the Armed Forces Network, backing such artists as Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, and performing in his own right.^[26]

Les Paul, ca. January 1947 (Photograph by William P. Gottlieb)

As a last-minute replacement for Oscar Moore, Paul played with Nat King Cole and other artists in the inaugural Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in Los Angeles, California, on July 2, 1944. The recording, still available as Jazz at the Philharmonic- the first concert- shows Paul at the top of his game, both in his solid four to the bar comping in the style of Freddie Green and for the originality of his solo lines. Paul's solo on 'Blues' is an astonishing tour de force and represents a memorable contest between himself and Nat 'King' Cole. Much later in his career, Paul declared that he had been the victor and that this had been conceded by Cole.^{[citation needed]} His solo on Body and Soul is a fine demonstration both of his admiration for and emulation of the playing of Django Reinhardt, as well as his development of some very original lines.

Also that year, Paul's trio appeared on Bing Crosby's radio show. Crosby went on to sponsor Paul's recording experiments. The two also recorded together several times, including a 1945 number-one hit, "It's Been a Long, Long Time." In addition to backing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters and other artists, Paul's trio also recorded a few albums of their own on the Decca label in the late 1940s. Paul was particularly enamored by the famous Andrews Sisters, who hired The Les Paul Trio as their opening act while they toured in 1946. Lou Levy, the sisters' manager and a music publishing giant of the big band era and beyond, once said, "Watching his fingers work was like watching a locomotive go."^[27] The trio's longtime conductor, Vic Schoen, said of Les, "You could always count on him to come up with something no one else had thought of,"^[28] while Maxene Andrews once remembered, "It was wonderful having him perform with us. He'd tune into the passages we were singing and lightly play the melody, sometimes in harmony. We'd sing these fancy licks and he'd keep up with us note for note in exactly the same rhythm...almost contributing a fourth voice. But he never once took the attention away from what we were doing. He did everything he could to make us sound better."^[29] Two Decca recordings from 1946 pairing Paul with The Andrews Sisters ("Rumors Are Flying" and "It's a Pity to Say Goodnight") exist today to well affirm such comments. Paul's many hits with wife Mary Ford recording her vocals in triplicate in the 1950s produced a sound eerily similar to the harmonious blend of The Andrews Sisters.^[30] As Les Paul biographer Mary Alice Shaughnessy noted of Paul's association with The Andrews Sisters, "Les welcomed the opportunity to study them in full flight."^[31]

In January 1948, Paul shattered his right arm and elbow in a near-fatal automobile accident on an icy Route 66 just west of Davenport, Oklahoma. Mary Ford was driving the Buick convertible, which rolled several times down a creekbed; they were on their way back from Wisconsin to Los Angeles after performing at the opening of a restaurant owned by Paul's father. Doctors at Oklahoma City's Wesley Presbyterian Hospital told him that they could not rebuild his elbow so that he would regain movement; his arm would remain permanently in whatever position they placed it in. Their other option was amputation. Paul instructed surgeons, brought in from Los Angeles, to set his arm at an angle—just under 90 degrees—that would allow him to cradle and pick the guitar. It took him nearly a year and a half to recover.^[32]

Guitar builder[link]

The Gibson Les Paul, one of the world's most popular electric guitars, was named after the man who invented it.

Paul's innovative guitar, "The Log", built after-hours in the Epiphone guitar factory in 1940, a 4" × 4" chunk of pine with strings and a pickup, was one of the first solid-body electric guitars.^[33][34] Paul Tutmarc of Audiovox Manufacturing Co. built a solid body electric bass in 1935 and Adolph Rickenbacker had marketed a solid-body guitar in the 1930s and Paul A. Bigsby had built one for Merle Travis in 1948 and Leo Fender also independently created his own (the Fender "Broadcaster" later changed to "Esquire" for copyright reasons, a single pickup model) in 1948. Although Paul approached the Gibson Guitar Corporation with his idea of a solid body electric guitar, they showed no interest until Fender began marketing its Esquire which later had a second pick-up added and became known as the Telecaster.

The arrangement persisted until 1961, when declining sales prompted Gibson to change the design without Paul's knowledge, creating a much thinner, lighter and more aggressive-looking instrument with two cutaway "horns" instead of one. Paul said he first saw the "new" Gibson Les Paul in a music-store window, and disliked it. Although his contract required him to pose with the guitar, he said it was not "his" instrument and asked Gibson to remove his name from the headstock. Others claimed that Paul ended his endorsement contract with Gibson during his divorce to avoid having his wife get his endorsement money.^[35] Gibson renamed the guitar "Gibson SG", which stands for "Solid Guitar", and it also became one of the company's best sellers.

The original Gibson Les Paul-guitar design regained popularity when Eric Clapton began playing the instrument a few years later, although he also played an SG and an ES-335. Paul resumed his relationship with Gibson and endorsed the original Gibson Les Paul guitar from that point onwards^{[citation needed]}. His personal Gibson Les Pauls were much modified by him—Paul always used his own self-wound pickups and customized methods of switching between pickups on his guitars^{[citation needed]}. To this day, various models of Gibson Les Paul guitars are used all over the world by both novice and professional guitarists. A less-expensive version of the Gibson Les Paul guitar is also manufactured for Gibson's lower-priced Epiphone brand.^[36]

On January 30, 1962, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued Paul a patent, Patent No. 3,018,680, for an "Electrical Music Instrument."^[37]

Multitrack-recording innovations[link]

Paul had never been happy with the way his records sounded. During a post-recording session talk with Bing Crosby, the crooner suggested Paul try building his own recording studio so he might be able to get the sound he wanted. At first Paul discounted the idea only to give it a few more minutes thought before deciding Crosby was right. Paul started his own studio in the garage of his home on Hollywood's North Curson Street. The studio drew many other famous vocalists and musicians who wanted the benefit of Paul's expertise. The home and studio are still standing, but both had been moved to Pasadena at some point after Paul no longer owned the home.^[38]

In 1948, Les Paul was given one of the first Ampex Model 200A reel-to-reel audio tape recording decks by Crosby and went on to use Ampex's eight track "Sel-Sync" machines for Multitrack recording. Capitol Records released a recording that had begun as an experiment in Paul's garage, entitled "Lover (When You're Near Me)", which featured Paul playing eight different parts on electric guitar, some of them recorded at half-speed, hence "double-fast" when played back at normal speed for the master. ("Brazil", similarly recorded, was the B-side.) This was the first time that Les Paul used multitracking in a recording (Paul had been shopping his multitracking technique, unsuccessfully, since the '30s. Much to his dismay, Sidney Bechet used it in 1941 to play half a dozen instruments on "Sheik of Araby"). These recordings were made not with magnetic tape, but with acetate discs. Paul would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part with the first. He built the multitrack recording with overlaid tracks, rather than parallel ones as he did later. By the time he had a result he was satisfied with, he had discarded some five hundred recording disks.

Paul even built his own disc-cutter assembly, based on automobile parts. He favored the flywheel from a Cadillac for its weight and flatness. Even in these early days, he used the acetate-disk setup to record parts at different speeds and with delay, resulting in his signature sound with echoes and birdsong-like guitar riffs. When he later began using magnetic tape, the major change was that he could take his recording rig on tour with him, even making episodes for his fifteen-minute radio show in his hotel room. He later worked with Ross Snyder in the design of the first eight-track recording deck (built for him by Ampex for his home studio.)^[38][39]

Electronics engineer Jack Mullin had been assigned to a U.S. Army Signal Corps unit stationed in France during World War II. On a mission in Germany near the end of the war, he acquired and later shipped home a German Magnetophon (tape recorder) and fifty reels of I.G. Farben plastic recording tape. Back in the U.S., Mullin rebuilt and developed the machine with the intention of selling it to the film industry, and held a series of demonstrations which quickly became the talk of the American audio industry.

Within a short time, Crosby had hired Mullin to record and produce his radio shows and master his studio recordings on tape, and he invested US$50,000 in a Northern California electronics firm, Ampex. With Crosby's backing, Mullin and Ampex created the Ampex Model 200, the world's first commercially produced reel-to-reel audio tape recorder. Crosby gave Les Paul the second Model 200 to be produced. Using this machine, Paul placed an additional playback head, located before the conventional erase/record/playback heads. This allowed Paul to play along with a previously recorded track, both of which were mixed together on to a new track. This was a mono tape recorder with just one track across the entire width of quarter-inch tape; thus, the recording was "destructive" in the sense that the original recording was permanently replaced with the new, mixed recording.

Paul's re-invention of the Ampex 200 inspired Ampex to develop two-track and three-track recorders, which allowed him to record multiple tracks on one tape without erasing previous takes. These machines were the backbone of professional recording, radio and television studios in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1954, Paul continued to develop this technology by commissioning Ampex to build the first 8-track (multitrack) tape recorder, at his own expense. His design became known as "Sel-Sync" (Selective Synchronization), in which specially modified electronics could either record or play back from the record head, which was not optimized for playback but which had acceptable sound quality for musicians to listen to for the purposes of recording an "overdub" (OD) in sync with the original recording. This is the core technology behind multitrack recording.^[40]

Les Paul & Mary Ford[link]

Paul met country-western singer Colleen Summers in 1945. They began working together in 1948, at which time she adopted the stage name Mary Ford. They were married in 1949. The couple's hits included "How High the Moon", "Bye Bye Blues", "Song in Blue", "Don'cha Hear Them Bells", "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise", and "Vaya con Dios". These songs featured Ford harmonizing with herself.

Like Crosby, Paul and Ford used the now-ubiquitous recording technique known as close miking,^[38] where the microphone is less than 6 inches (15 cm) from the singer's mouth. This produces a more-intimate, less-reverberant sound than is heard when a singer is 1 foot (30 cm) or more from the microphone. When implemented using a cardioid-patterned microphone, it emphasizes low-frequency sounds in the voice due to a cardioid microphone's proximity effect and can give a more relaxed feel because the performer isn't working so hard. The result is a singing style which diverged strongly from unamplified theater-style singing, as might be heard in musical comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.

Radio and television programs[link]

Paul had hosted a fifteen-minute radio program, The Les Paul Show, on NBC radio in 1950, featuring his trio (himself, Ford and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics, recorded from their home and with gentle humor between Paul and Ford bridging musical selections, some of which had already been successful on records, some of which anticipated the couple's recordings, and many of which presented re-interpretations of such jazz and pop selections as "In the Mood", "Little Rock Getaway", "Brazil" and "Tiger Rag". Over ten of these shows survive among old-time radio collectors today.^[41]

The show also appeared on television a few years later with the same format, but excluding the trio and retitled The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show (also known as Les Paul & Mary Ford at Home) with "Vaya Con Dios" as a theme song. Sponsored by Warner Lambert's Listerine mouthwash, it was widely syndicated during 1954–1955, and was only five minutes (one or two songs) long on film, therefore used as a brief interlude or fill-in in programming schedules. Since Paul created the entire show himself, including audio and video, he maintained the original recordings and was in the process of restoring them to current quality standards until his death.^[42]

During his radio shows, Paul introduced the fictional "Les Paulverizer" device, which multiplies anything fed into it, like a guitar sound or a voice. Paul has stated that the idea was to explain to the audience how his single guitar could be multiplied to become a group of guitars. The device even became the subject of comedy, with Ford multiplying herself and her vacuum cleaner with it so she could finish the housework faster.

Later career[link]

Les Paul, May 2004

In 1965, Paul went into semi-retirement, although he did return to the studio occasionally. He and Ford had divorced in December 1962, as she could no longer cope with the traveling lifestyle their act required of them.^{[citation needed]} Paul's most-recognizable recordings from then through the mid-1970s were an album for London Records/Phase 4 Stereo, Les Paul Now (1968), on which he updated some of his earlier hits; and, backed by some of Nashville's celebrated studio musicians, a meld of jazz and country improvisation with fellow guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins, Chester and Lester (1976), for RCA Victor.

In 1987, Paul underwent heart surgery. He then returned to active live performance, continuing into his 80s even though he often found it painful to play the guitar because of arthritis in his hands. In 2006, at age 90, he won two Grammys at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for his album Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played. He also performed every Monday night, accompanied by a trio which included guitarist Lou Pallo, bassist Paul Nowinksi (and later, Nicki Parrott) and pianist John Colaianni, originally at Fat Tuesdays, and later at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in the Times Square area of New York City.^[43][44][45]

Composer Richard Stein (1909–1992) sued Paul for plagiarism, charging that Paul's "Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)" was taken from Stein's 1937 song "Sanie cu zurgălăi" (Romanian for "Sleigh with Bells"). A 2000 cover version of "Johnny" by Belgian musical group Vaya Con Dios that credited Paul prompted another action by the Romanian Musical Performing and Mechanical Rights Society.^[46]

For many years Les Paul would sometimes surprise radio hosts Steve King and Johnnie Putman with a call to the "Life After Dark Show" on WGN (AM) in Chicago. These calls would take place in the wee hours of Tuesday Morning following his show at the Iridium Jazz Club. Until they ended their show on WGN, Steve and Johnnie continued to honor Les on Tuesday Mornings at 2:35 AM with their segment "A Little More Les" drawing from around 30 hours of recorded conversations with Les.

Death[link]

On August 13, 2009,^[4][5] Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York.^[47] His family and friends were by his side.^[48] Paul is survived by his four children and his companion Arlene Palmer.^[49] His attorney told the media that he had made several hospital stays over the previous few months.^[50] His last concert took place a few weeks before his death.

Upon learning of his death many artists and popular musicians paid tribute by publicly expressing their sorrow. After learning of Paul's death, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash called him "vibrant and full of positive energy.", while Richie Sambora, lead guitarist of Bon Jovi, referred to him as "revolutionary in the music business". U2 guitarist The Edge said, "His legacy as a musician and inventor will live on and his influence on rock and roll will never be forgotten." ^[51][52][53]

On August 21, 2009, he was buried near Milwaukee in Waukesha, Wisconsin at Prairie Home Cemetery which indicated that his plot would be in an area where visitors can easily view it.^[54][55] Like his funeral in New York on August 19, the burial was private, but earlier in the day a public memorial viewing of the closed casket was held in Milwaukee at Discovery World with 1,500 attendees who were offered free admission to the Les Paul House of Sound exhibit for the day.^[56]

Awards and honors[link]

Paul was initiated into the Gamma Delta chapter of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Miami in 1952.^[57] He has earned the Presidential award from the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.^{[58][dead link]}

In 1979, Paul and Ford's 1951 recording of "How High the Moon" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[59] Paul received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1983, and in 2001 the Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award.^[60]

In 1988, Paul was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Jeff Beck, who said, "I've copied more licks from Les Paul than I'd like to admit." In 1991, the Mix Foundation established an annual award in his name; the Les Paul Award which honors "individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio technology".^[61] In 2005, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his development of the solid-body electric guitar.^[62] In 2006, Paul was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He was named an honorary member of the Audio Engineering Society.^[63] In 2007, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.^[64]

A one-hour biographical documentary film The Wizard of Waukesha was shown at the Los Angeles International Film Exposition (FILMEX) March 4–21, 1980, and later on PBS television. A biographical, feature-length documentary titled Chasing Sound: Les Paul at 90 made its world première on May 9, 2007, at the Downer Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Paul appeared at the event and spoke briefly to the enthusiastic crowd. The film is distributed by Koch Entertainment and was broadcast on PBS on July 11, 2007, as part of its American Masters series^[65][66] and was broadcast on October 17, 2008, on BBC Four as part of its Guitar Night. The première coincided with the final part of a three-part documentary by the BBC broadcast on BBC ONE The Story of the Guitar.

In June 2008, an exhibit showcasing his legacy and featuring items from his personal collection opened at Discovery World in Milwaukee.^[67] The exhibit was facilitated by a group of local musicians under the name Partnership for the Arts and Creative Excellence (PACE).^[68] Paul played a concert in Milwaukee to coincide with the opening of the exhibit.^[69]

Paul's hometown of Waukesha is planning a permanent exhibit to be called "The Les Paul experience."^[70]

In July 2005, a 90th-birthday tribute concert was held at Carnegie Hall in New York City. After performances by Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, Jose Feliciano and a number of other contemporary guitarists and vocalists, Paul was presented with a commemorative guitar from the Gibson Guitar Corporation.^[71]

On November 15, 2008, he received the American Music Masters award through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a tribute concert at the State Theater in Cleveland, Ohio. Among the many guest performers were Duane Eddy, Eric Carmen, Lonnie Mack, Jennifer Batten, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Dennis Coffey, James Burton, Billy Gibbons, Lenny Kaye, Steve Lukather, Barbara Lynn, Katy Moffatt, Alannah Myles, Richie Sambora, The Ventures and Slash.

In February 2009, only months prior to his death, Les Paul sat down with Scott Vollweiler of Broken Records Magazine, in which would be one of Les Paul's final interviews. His candid answers were direct and emotional. Broken Records Magazine had planned to run that cover feature the following month but due to delays was held until the summer. 3 days before the release, Les Paul died. The issue would be his final cover feature of his storied career.^[72]

In August, 2009, Paul was named one of the ten best electric guitar players of all-time by Time magazine.^[73]

On June 9, 2010, which would have been Les Paul's 95th birthday, a tribute concert featuring Jeff Beck, Imelda May, Gary U.S. Bonds and Brian Setzer among others, was held at the Iridium Jazz Club where Les Paul played nearly every week almost to the end of his life. The concert was released on the live album Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) in 2011.

On June 9–10, 2011 Google celebrated what would have been Paul's 96th birthday with a Google doodle of an interactive guitar.^[74]

On November 23, 2011, Paul was ranked at #18 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".^[75]

In 2010, Paul was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.^[76]

Personal life[link]

Les Paul with pianist John Colianni.

Paul married Virginia Webb in 1938. They had two children, Gene (Lester Jr.), born in 1941 and named after actor-songwriter Gene Lockhart, and Russell (Rusty), born 1944, before divorcing in 1949. Later that year, Paul and Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers) were married. They adopted a girl, Colleen, in 1958 and their son Robert (Bobby) was born the following year. They had also lost a child, who was born prematurely and died only four days old. Les Paul and Mary Ford divorced in 1963.^[77]

Paul was the instructor of rock guitarist Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band, to whom Paul gave his first guitar lesson.^[78] Miller's father was best man at Paul's 1949 wedding to Mary Ford.

Paul resided for many years in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Discography[link]

Hit singles[link]

Albums[link]

Feedback (1944)—compilation Les Paul Trio (1946)—compilation Hawaiian Paradise (1949) The New Sound (1950) Les Paul's New Sound, Volume 2 (1951) Bye Bye Blues! (1952) Gallopin' Guitars (1952)—compilation The Hit Makers! (1953) Les and Mary (1955) Time to Dream (1957) Lover's Luau (1959) The Hits of Les and Mary (1960)—compilation Bouquet of Roses (1962) Warm and Wonderful (1962) Swingin' South (1963) Fabulous Les Paul and Mary Ford (1965) Les Paul Now! (1968) Guitar Tapestry Lover The Guitar Artistry of Les Paul (1971) The World is Still Waiting for the Sunrise (1974)—compilation

The Best of Les Paul with Mary Ford (1974)—compilation Chester and Lester (1976)—with Chet Atkins Guitar Monsters (1977)—with Chet Atkins Les Paul and Mary Ford (1978)—compilation Multi Trackin' (1979) All-Time Greatest Hits (1983)—compilation The Very Best of Les Paul with Mary Ford' Famille Nombreuse (1992)—compilation The World Is Waiting (1992)—compilation The Best of the Capitol Masters: Selections From "The Legend and the Legacy" Box Set (1992)—compilation All-Time Greatest Hits (1992)—compilation Their All-Time Greatest Hits (1995)—compilation Les Paul: The Legend and the Legacy (1996; a four-CD box set chronicling his years with Capitol Records) 16 Most Requested Songs (1996)—compilation The Complete Decca Trios—Plus (1936–1947) (1997)—compilation California Melodies (2003) Les Paul – The Legendary Fred Waring Broadcasts (2004) Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played (2005) Les Paul And Friends: A Tribute To A Legend (2008)

Singles[link]

"It's Been a Long, Long Time"—Bing Crosby & The Les Paul Trio (1945), #1 on Billboard Pop singles chart, 1 week, December 8 "Rumors Are Flying"—Andrews Sisters & Les Paul (1946) "Guitar Boogie" (1947) "Lover (When You're Near Me)" (1948) "Brazil" (1948) "What Is This Thing Called Love?" (1948) "Nola" (1950) "Goofus" (1950) "Little Rock 69 Getaway" (1950/1951) "Tennessee Waltz"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1950/1951), #1, Cashbox "Mockingbird Hill"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951), #1, Cashbox "How High The Moon"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951), #1, Billboard Pop singles chart, 9 weeks, April 21 – June 16; #1, Cashbox, 2 weeks; #2, R&B chart "I Wish I Had Never Seen Sunshine"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951) "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951), #2, Billboard; #3, Cashbox "Just One More Chance"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951) "Jazz Me Blues" (1951) "Josephine" (1951) "Whispering" (1951) "Jingle Bells" (1951) "Tiger Rag"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952), #2, Billboard; #8, Cashbox "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952) "Carioca" (1952) "In the Good Old Summertime"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952) "Smoke Rings"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952) "Meet Mister Callaghan" (1952), #5, Billboard

"Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952) "Lady of Spain" (1952) "My Baby's Coming Home"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952) "Bye Bye Blues"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953) "I'm Sitting On Top Of The World"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953) "Sleep" (Fred Waring's theme song) (1953) "Vaya Con Dios"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953), #1, Billboard Pop singles chart, 11 weeks, August 8 – October 3, November 7–14; #1, Cashbox, 5 weeks "Johnny (Is The Boy For Me)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953), #15, Billboard; #25, Cashbox "Don'cha Hear Them Bells"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953), #13, Billboard; #32, Cashbox "The Kangaroo" (1953), #25, Billboard; #23, Cashbox "I Really Don't Want To Know"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954) "I'm A Fool To Care"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954) "Whither Thou Goest"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954) "Mandolino"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954), #19, Billboard "Song in Blue"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954), #17, Cashbox "Hummingbird"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955) "Amukiriki (The Lord Willing)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955) "Magic Melody"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955) "Texas Lady"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1956) "Moritat" (Theme from "Three Penny Opera") (1956) "Nuevo Laredo"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1956) "Cinco Robles (Five Oaks)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1957) "Put A Ring On My Finger"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1958) "Jura (I Swear I Love You)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1961) "Love Sneakin' Up On You"-Les Paul, Joss Stone & Sting (2005)

Compositions[link]

Paul was also a prolific composer. Some of the songs he wrote were "Song in Blue", "Cryin'", "Hip-billy Boogie", "Suspicion", "Mandolino", "Magic Melody", "Don'cha Hear Them Bells", "The Kangaroo", "Big-Eyed Gal", "All I Need is You", "Mammy's Boogie", “Pacific Breeze”, “Mountain Railroad”, “Move Along, Baby (Don’t Waste My Time)”, "Five Alarm Fire", and "Walkin' and Whistlin' Blues".

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Ampex
• Discovery World
• Gibson Les Paul
• Gibson SG
• List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
• Mary Ford

References[link]

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3. ^ "Guitar legend Les Paul dies at 94 - Entertainment - Music - TODAY.com". Today.msnbc.msn.com. 2009-08-13. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32403755/ns/today-entertainment/t/guitar-legend-les-paul-dies/#.Tx9MCG_OXQg. Retrieved 2012-03-26. 
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34. ^ "Epiphone: A History". Epiphone.com. http://www.epiphone.com/History.aspx. Retrieved 23 February 2012. 
35. ^ "Interview | July 19, 1999, at the Iridium jazz club, New York City". Jinx Magazine. July 19, 1999. http://www.jinxmagazine.com/les_paul.html. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
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37. ^ "Patents". Google. http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=Ce9TAAAAEBAJ&dq=3,018,680. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
38. ^ ^{a b c} Lawrence, Robb, ed. (2008). The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy: 1915–1963. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-634-04861-6. http://books.google.com/?id=NqIgLrXaA6QC&pg=PA19&lpg=PA19&dq=les+paul+recorded+andrews+sisters#v=onepage&q=les%20paul%20recorded%20andrews%20sisters&f=false. Retrieved 10 May 2011. 
39. ^ "Sel-sync and the "Ocotpus": How Came to be the First Recorder to Minimize Successive Copying in Overdubs" (PDF). ARSC Journal. http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/sel-sync/snyder_sel-sync.pdf. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
40. ^ "Sel-sync and the "Octopus": How Came to be the First Recorder to Minimize Successive Copying in Overdubs" (PDF). ARSC Journal. http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/sel-sync/snyder_sel-sync.pdf. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
41. ^ "The Les Paul Show". Archive.org. http://www.archive.org/details/TheLesPaulShow. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
42. ^ Cellini, Joe (undated). "Les Paul: Invented Here". Apple Inc.. http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/lespaul/index.html. Retrieved August 24, 2009. 
43. ^ "Iridium Jazz Club". Iridium Jazz Club. http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
44. ^ Milicia, Joe, "Guitar hero Les Paul ready for Rock Hall tribute," The Associated Press via Times Union, p. C8, November 10, 2008, see^{[dead link]}AP Google website^{[dead link]}. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
45. ^ Foster, D.R. (June 1, 2009). "Les is more: 93 years old and cooler than you—A Night with the Longstanding Guitar Great"^{[dead link]}. The A.V. Club. Accessed August 15, 2009
46. ^ Nicoleanu, Anca (February 2, 2007). "Zici că n-ai plagiat şi, gata, ai scăpat". http://www.cotidianul.ro/zici_ca_n_ai_plagiat_si_gata_ai_scapat-22511.html. Retrieved June 19, 2009.  (non-English language)
47. ^ Newels, Eric (August 17, 2009). "Music Great Les Paul Dies at 94". idiomag. http://www.idiomag.com/peek/97288/les_paul. Retrieved August 21, 2009. 
48. ^ Caine, Paul (August 13, 2009). "R.I.P. Les Paul: pioneering guitarist, inventor, New York character". The A.V. Club. http://newyork.decider.com/articles/rip-les-paul-pioneering-guitarist-inventor-new-yor,31640/. Retrieved August 14, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
49. ^ Russell, Tony (August 13, 2009). "Les Paul Guitarist and inventor with huge influence on pop and jazz". The Guardian. Accessed August 24, 2009.
50. ^ Tourtellotte, Bob (August 13, 2009). "Legendary guitarist, inventor Les Paul dies, age 94". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE57C3TI20090813. Retrieved August 13, 2009. 
51. ^ Staff writer (August 13, 2009). "Les Paul Remembered: Guitar Greats on Their True Hero". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/08/13/les-paul-remembered-guitar-greats-on-their-true-hero/. Retrieved August 13, 2009. 
52. ^ Jack Malvern (August 13, 2009). "Musicians pay tribute to the 'original guitar hero' Les Paul". London: The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6795384.ece. Retrieved August 13, 2009. 
53. ^ Sheridan, Luke (August 14, 2009). "Les Paul, 94: Guitar legend". The Associated Press via Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/news/obituary/article/681159. Retrieved August 15, 2009. 
54. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (August 18, 2009). "Funeral Plans Announced for Les Paul". The New York Times. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/funeral-plans-announced-for-les-paul/. Retrieved May 7, 2010. 
55. ^ "Les Paul comes home to his mother". JSOnline. http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/54027427.html. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
56. ^ "Saying goodbye to Les Paul". JSOnline. August 21, 2009. http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/53940442.html. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
57. ^ "University of Miami TKE". Tke-miami.com. http://www.tke-miami.com/lespaul.php. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
58. ^ "TKE News 105". Tke.org. http://www.tke.org/news/105. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
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63. ^ List of Awardees of the AES.
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65. ^ Les Paul: Chasing Sound.
66. ^ American Masters—Les Paul.
67. ^ Williams, Scott (April 30, 2008). "Discovery World Lands Les Paul Exhibit—Guitar Wiz Sees No Effect on Waukesha Museum" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Accessed August 24, 2009.
68. ^ Williams, Scott (May 5, 2008). "Their Role is Instrumental—Musicians' Connections Help bring Les Paul Exhibit to Milwaukee". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/29512884.html. Retrieved August 24, 2009. 
69. ^ Tianen, Dave (June 23, 2008). "Paul Brings Bit of Manhattan to the Pabst". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Accessed August 24, 2009.
70. ^ Farabaugh, Kane (December 27, 2007). "At 92, Music Pioneer Les Paul Still Performing". Voice of America. http://voanews.com/english/archive/2007-12/2007-12-26-voa47.cfm. Retrieved August 24, 2009. 
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73. ^ by Dave on August 24, 2009 (August 24, 2009). "Fretbase, Time Magazine Picks the 10 Best Electric Guitar Players". Fretbase.com. http://www.fretbase.com/blog/2009/08/time-magazine-picks-the-10-best-electric-guitar-players-including-yngwie/. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
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75. ^ "100 Greatest Guitarists: Les Paul". Rolling Stone. November 23, 2011. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-20111123/les-paul-19691231. 
76. ^ The Newark Star Ledger. 
77. ^ "Les Paul and Mary Ford Marriage Profile". Marriage.about.com. http://marriage.about.com/od/entertainmen1/p/lespaulmaryford.htm. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
78. ^ Steve Miller at Allmusic
79. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 420. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lester William Polfuss

• Official website
• History of Les Paul
• Les Paul at the Internet Movie Database
• Les Paul: Chasing Sound (may require subscription) PBS Documentary on the life of Les Paul, including extended interviews with Paul.
• Remembering Les Paul Photos and extended interviews with Les on WGN Chicago's Steve & Johnnie early morning show
• Staff writer (August 13, 2009). "Les Paul", obituary at The Daily Telegraph (Accessed August 24, 2009)
• "Les Paul, 'The Wizard of Waukesha'", a biography (undated) at the Wisconsin Historical Society's official website
• Les Paul – Discovery World 2005 video (requires Adobe Flash) at Discovery World's (museum) official website
• The Les Paul Show, archive of Paul's NBC radio show at the Internet Archive's official website (includes MP3 files (free) of eleven of their radio shows including their audition show)
• "Les Paul: Legacy of a Guitar Hero" at LIFE
• The Wizard of Waukesha (1980) at Allmovie's official website
• Les Paul – 'Miles of Music', two video interviews of and performances by Paul (5–6 minutes each; requires Adobe Flash) with Bob Miles on Miles of Music (milesofmusic.tv), a Public-access television cable TV program
• CLASSIC TRACKS: Les Paul & Mary Ford 'How High The Moon'
• Photo Library from performances at Iridium
• Les Paul's final interview
• Les Paul at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Polfuss, Lester William
Alternative names	Paul, Les
Short description	American jazz guitarist, country guitarist, songwriter and inventor
Date of birth	June 9, 1915
Place of birth	Waukesha, Wisconsin
Date of death	August 12, 2009
Place of death	White Plains, New York

Rex Trailer (born September 16, 1928) is a Boston, Massachusetts based television personality, broadcast pioneer, and Country and Western recording artist. He is best known as the host of the long-running children's television show Boomtown.

Early life[link]

Rex Trailer grew up just outside of Fort Worth, Texas. He spent his summers on his grandfather’s fifty-acre quarter horse ranch in nearby Thurber, Texas. There, at age four or five, Trailer rode his first horse, a carefully selected mount named Bamboo.

The hired hands on the ranch were real rodeo cowboys. One of these men taught him trick roping, one taught him how to handle a bull whip, and another taught him how to play the guitar. Trailer recalls, "All those cowboys were good at what they taught me, but after I learned each (skill), I was the only one of the bunch who could do all three!"^[1]

By age 11, he was performing with his mentors in rodeos. Trailer's grandfather only warned the cowboys that they shouldn't let him ride "rough stock," meaning the broncos and bulls. Several years later, while employing his well-honed skills as a young man in a traveling rodeo, Trailer met Western movie star Gabby Hayes. Hayes hired him to work at his Catskills summer ranch for kids. The meeting proved to be life-changing: recognizing Trailer's natural talent, Hayes encouraged him to break into children's television as an on-air personality.^[2][3]

Television pioneer[link]

In 1947, Trailer went to work for the DuMont Television Network in New York City as a production coordinator. He later became the host of the network's Oky Doky Ranch. The show featured Rex Trailer as a cowboy and Oky Doky was a cowboy puppet. This format has some obvious similarity to the Howdy Doody show. Oky Doky had already been established in local television before being moved to the network, so there is some debate as to who came first.

After the Oky Doky series ended, Trailer heard that the Westinghouse TV station in Philadelphia (WPTZ) needed a host for a Western-style children's show. Rex Trailer and his horse "Gold Rush" moved to Philadelphia and hosted television shows from 1950 until 1956. "Ridin’ the Trail with Rex Trailer" featured him as the host for movie westerns. He also had a daily 15-minute program featuring songs, games and dances with Trailer and his guitar. This show went by various names, including "Hi-Noon with Rex Trailer", "Saddlebag O' Songs" and "Rex Trailer's Ranch House".^[3]

Recording artist[link]

Trailer recorded Country and Western Music for ABC-Paramount Records, among other labels. At one time, c. 1950, Trailer recorded with Bill Haley and his Saddlemates, who gained fame later as Bill Haley and His Comets. In 1955, Cowboys Don't Cry and a song later used regularly on the Boomtown show, Hoofbeats, were released together in the 78 rpm and 45 rpm vinyl record formats. Trailer released at least two 33¹⁄₃ rpm 12" vinyl albums, as "Rex Trailer and the Playboys", one titled Country and Western in 1960 and one titled Good Old Country Music, released by Crown records (CLP 5484 monaural), date unknown. Another album with some overlap in playlists also exists, by "Rex Trailer and his Cow Hands", titled Western Favorites, which was released in 1961 on Spin-O-Rama records.

A CD was offered on Trailer's website, called "All the Best." Boomtown, Hoofbeats, Cowboy's Don't Cry, Pow Wow the Pony and other songs from the 1950s and 1960s were included, along with some more recently recorded songs. Trailer also recorded introductions for each track.

The Boomtown/Boston years[link]

In 1956, Rex Trailer moved to Boston and hosted a weekend-morning children's show Boomtown on WBZ-TV. This series proved to be his greatest success, airing through 1974 and establishing Trailer as a major local celebrity within the signal of Boston's TV Channel 4. Rex performed songs while playing guitar, and showed off his authentic cowboy skills with horse-riding tricks, rope tricks, skilled use of the bull-whip, and shooting (though he banished weapons from the show after JFK’s assassination in 1963). He led the studio audience of children in sing-alongs and simple contests of skill, and introduced cartoons and other children's programming segments. The young viewers "adored him for his consistent kindness and competence."^[4] Trailer was aided by many guests, and by his various sidekicks over the years, including "Pablo" from 1956 to 1967 (played by actor Richard Kilbride), then "Cactus Pete" from 1967 to 1969 (played by Terrance Currier), and finally "Sgt. Billy" (played by actor Bill O'Brien).

Rex Trailer's fame, good name, and crowd-pleasing talents made him a popular draw at many personal appearances in the area. He was also able to successfully team with a local travel agency in chaperoning children on an annual series of large-scale school-vacation trips to California tourist attractions.

Trailer is recognized as a strong advocate for children with disabilities.^[5] In 1961, Trailer (and Gold Rush) led an actual wagon train across the state of Massachusetts ending at the State House in Boston, to call public attention to the needs of the mentally retarded, and the organization The Arc (then called the Association for Retarded Citizens). Trailer insisted on including children with disabilities in his show, and is said to have been one of the first to do so.^[6] In addition, Trailer also encouraged his young fans to hold neighborhood charity fund-raisers called "Backyard Carnivals Against Dystrophy", offering how-to kits on air. As a result of such efforts, Trailer came to be perceived as the "cowboy with a conscience" on and off the air.^[7]

When Boomtown ended, Trailer briefly put his Western costume aside and hosted Earth Lab, a syndicated science series that aired across the country until 1979. He was part of the successful "I Love New York" tourism campaign, playing a New Hampshire fisherman in a 1982 TV commercial.^[8] Trailer had a minor role as a doctor in the 1990 Cher/Winona Ryder movie Mermaids.^[9] Later, he co-hosted Boomtown Revisited on Continental Cablevision in the early 1990s.^[10]

Besides his well-documented cowboy, musical and broadcasting skills, Trailer has other talents. He was a licensed pilot, having flown fixed wing craft including the Boeing 747 as well as helicopters. He would often arrive at personal appearances at the controls of a helicopter, sometimes seasonally accompanied by Santa Claus. Once, Trailer was flying with Bozo the Clown in his helicopter; engine trouble forced them down in a Western Massachusetts field, where they were greeted by incredulous children who had followed their descent.^[11] Trailer owned a helicopter shuttle company in the 1960s and 1970s that at its peak transported 500-600 passengers a day. He was an accomplished sky diver, scuba diver and water skier. Trailer has also worked as a travel agent and is a certified hypnotherapist.^[12]

Later career[link]

Trailer meets the artist for The Phantom comic strip, Paul Ryan, at That's Entertainment in Fitchburg MA on 9/11/2011

Rex Trailer continues to work in the television industry, owns a video production company in Waltham MA, and teaches on-air performance at Emerson College in Boston. Among his past students are WHDH-TV Channel 7 news anchor Jonathan Hall, Fox 25 morning news host Gene Lavanchy, and "Entertainment Tonight" correspondent Maria Menounos.^[13] He still makes regular personal appearances, and performs on occasion, including sets at Boston rock clubs in the last few years as a special guest. Rex Trailer is also a perennial participant in Natick Massachusetts' annual July 4 parade, in which he rides Goldrush.^[14]

On December 10, 2006, Rex performed several songs (including the Boomtown theme and some of his own Christmas songs) and signed free autographs for hundreds of fans at That's Entertainment in Worcester, Massachusetts. The event was part of Trailer's official "50th Anniversary of Boomtown" celebration tour. Then Worcester Mayor Tim Murray officially proclaimed it "Rex Trailer's Boomtown Day" throughout the city to mark the occasion.^[15]

In 2011, Trailer donated his three .45-caliber revolvers with staghorn handles to the Massachusetts State Police Museum in Grafton, Massachusetts. The gun shop where they had been stored went out of business, and the guns very nearly went on the auction block before Trailer and Michael Bavaro learned of the situation and retook possession. ^[16]

On September 11, 2011, Trailer appeared at That's Entertainment in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to meet fans, sing songs and sign free autographs as he marked the 55th Anniversary of Boomtown. Trailer sang a song he wrote to honor the victims of 9/11, I Appreciate You.^[17] He had first performed the song on 2002/09/10 at the Comedy Connection in Faneuil Hall. He explained prior to that event, "Ever since 9-11, the world has changed for all of us. We have to stick together, protect each other, and let those you love, respect, and admire know how much you appreciate them."^[18]

On Dec. 18, 2011, Rex Trailer wrapped up his 55th Anniversary Tour in Waltham, Massachusetts at Café on the Common. Trailer debuted a long-lost Boomtown segment called “Pablo’s Used Cars,” which featured the physical comedy of Trailer’s beloved sidekick, Pablo (actor Richard Kilbride).^[19]

Recognition[link]

The retrospective book Rex Trailer: The Boomtown Years by Shirley Kawa-Jump was published in 1997.

Trailer was inducted into the Massachusetts Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000, and he received the 2005 Governor's Award from the National Television Academy's Boston/New England chapter. He was included in the first group of honorees inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in Brockton MA on May 5, 2007.

A documentary film titled, Rex Trailer's Boomtown was produced by Milford, Massachusetts native Michael Bavaro. The film was broadcast on WBZ-TV on June 18, 2005 as a special and was nominated for a New England Emmy award for best historical documentary. Jay Leno, Jimmy Tingle, Mayor Tom Menino, Steven Wright and more than 100 grown-up kids share their Boomtown memories, and attest to the enduring stature of its host. The broadcast version of the film and archive material were presented to and are now part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Television & Radio in New York City. The film enjoyed an encore presentation on WGBH Boston on August 26, 2010.

Trailer was honored for his lifetime of contributions to people with mental and intellectual disabilities at the 50th anniversary Gala for The Arc of Massachusetts on September 10, 2005. In 2011, The Arc chapters in Massachusetts launched a state wide event called "All Aboard the Arc!" This bus caravan event was modeled after the wagon train led 50 years before by Rex Trailer. Trailer was honored at the 2011 event. The organizers note, "Sadly, his horse was not invited."^[20]

In March of 2012, the Massachusetts tourism and cultural development committee endorsed Trailer's proposed designation as the state’s "official cowboy."^[21] The bill, officially called S 1704,^[22] is sponsored by Senator Susan Fargo (D-Lexington).^[23] Sen. Eileen Donoghue (D-Lowell), co-chair of the committee, said during the executive session, “His history and connection to Massachusetts is very strong. Not only is he a cowboy from Massachusetts, but he is a wonderful role model who gave a lot back.”^[24]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rex Trailer - Official Site
• [1] - Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame
• [2] Boomtown Video Clip from Digital Freeway
• Wagon Train Rex Trailer footage of 1959 Wagon ride for The Arc.
• [3] - "I Appreciate You" by Rex Trailer. A video of Rex singing with Dave Shaheen at Rex's studio in Waltham, MA.

For the Knife song, see Marble House (song). For other uses see Marble House (disambiguation)

Marble House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Marble House's entrance ramp allows vehicles to drive in from Bellevue Avenue on one side and exit on the other
Location:	Newport, RI
Coordinates:	41°27′43.04″N 71°18′20.22″W / 41.4619556°N 71.3056167°W / 41.4619556; -71.3056167Coordinates: 41°27′43.04″N 71°18′20.22″W / 41.4619556°N 71.3056167°W / 41.4619556; -71.3056167
Built:	1892
Architect:	Richard Morris Hunt
Architectural style:	Beaux Arts
Governing body:	Newport Historical Society
NRHP Reference#:	71000025
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	September 10, 1971[1]
Designated NHL:	February 17, 1976[2]

Marble House is one of the Gilded Age mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, now open to the public as a museum run by the Newport Preservation Society. It was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, and said to be inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles (which it resembles in little more than pilasters and balustrades). Grounds were designed by noted landscape architect Ernest W. Bowditch. Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for William Kissam Vanderbilt, grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. The house was a social landmark that helped spark the transformation of Newport from a relatively relaxed summer colony of wooden houses to the now legendary resort of opulent stone palaces. It was reported to cost $11 million ($260,000,000 in 2009 dollars) of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet (14,000 m³) of marble. Upon its completion, Mr. Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife Alva Erskine Smith as her 39th birthday present. William Vanderbilt's older brother Cornelius Vanderbilt II subsequently built the grandest of Newport cottages, The Breakers, between 1893 and 1895.

After the Vanderbilts divorced in 1895, Alva married Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, moving down the street to Belcourt. After his death, she reopened Marble House and added a Chinese Tea House on its seaside cliffs, where she hosted rallies for women's suffrage. She sold the house to Frederick H. Prince in 1932. Prince's estate gave the house and its furnishings to the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1963.

In 1971 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Five years later the Department of the Interior designated it, and the Bellevue Avenue Historic District in which it is located, as National Historic Landmarks.

Additionally, The Great Gatsby was partially (some interiors) filmed here.

Gallery[link]

• 

  The Chinese Tea House at the Sea

• 

  Rear view of mansion facing sea, 1968

See also[link]

Rhode Island portal

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Hopf, John T. (1976). The Complete Book of Newport Mansions.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marble House

• Marble House

v t e Mansions of Newport, Rhode Island Preservation Society mansions The Breakers · Chateau-sur-Mer · Chepstow · The Elms · Isaac Bell House · Kingscote · Marble House · Rosecliff Not owned by the Preservation Society Beechwood · Belcourt Castle · The Carey Mansion · Hammersmith Farm · Miramar  · Ochre Court · Rough Point · Vernon Court