[Dixielandjazz] Bob Zurke

[fred spencer]

Dear Rob,
"Joe Sullivan's chair in Bob Crosby's band was taken by Bob Zurke
(1912-1944), the unkempt  "Polish Pounder". His piano style differed
from Sullivan's, but he matched him drink for drink. Zurke broke his leg
in 1937 on an Akron, Ohio, sidewalk while drunkenly performing an ethnic
dance. His death certificate, written on February 16, 1944 reads,
"Immediate Cause of Death - Acute Hepatic Failure - Duration 1 wk. due
to Chronic Alcoholism [underlined] - Duration years", with "Other
conditions - Prob. Alcoholic Encephalopathy & Poss. Early Lobar
Pneumonia". Alcoholic Encephalopathy means brain degeneration caused by
chronic alcoholism". A copy of Zurke's death certificate is reproduced
on the page opposite to this quote from my book, "Jazz and Death.
Medical Profiles of Jazz Greets". No autopsy was performed.
Zurke did not die in a jazz club of heart failure, but from liver
failure in Los Angeles County General Hospital, where he had been for 2
days.
If your friend would like a copy of Zurke's death certificate I will be
happy to mail this to her. It has other information (place and date
ofbirth, etc.) There is a lot more about Zurke in John Chilton's book,
"Stomp Off, Let's Go. The Story of Bob Crosby's Bob Cats & Big Band".
London, Jazz Book Service, 1983.
Regards.
Fred