[Dixielandjazz] Peanuts Hucko's Death

[Norman Vickers]

Responding to G. Wm. Oakley's post of Denver Rocky Mountain News obituary
notice about Peanuts Hucko, there was no date of death.  I'm forwarding the
New York Times obit. In the NYT story is says "died last Thursday in Ft.
Worth." That date would have been 6-19.FYI.
Norman Vickers
JazzDoc
Penscola, FL

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June 24, 2003-- From New York Times
Peanuts Hucko, Clarinetist and Saxophonist, Dies at 85
By PETER KEEPNEWS


Peanuts Hucko, a jazz clarinetist who worked with Glenn Miller and Louis
Armstrong but was probably best known for his association with Lawrence
Welk, died on Thursday in Fort Worth. He was 85 and lived in Denton, Tex.

Jazz aficionados admired Mr. Hucko, whose style was modeled closely on that
of Benny Goodman, another one of the well-known bandleaders with whom he
worked in the course of a career that began in the 1930's and ended when he
retired in 1999. (Mr. Hucko, who started out as a saxophonist, played tenor
saxophone rather than clarinet in Goodman's band, which never had room for
more than one clarinetist.)

He also reached millions of non-aficionados as a regular on Lawrence Welk's
popular television show from 1970 to 1972. Welk made his name as a purveyor
of wholesome, bouncy, middle-of-the-road music, but traditional jazz was
always part of his show's mix, and he gave Mr. Hucko a weekly opportunity to
blow some uninhibited Dixieland.

Michael Andrew Hucko was born on April 7, 1918, in Syracuse, and worked
locally as a saxophonist while in his teens before moving to New York. His
first high-profile job was with Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces band. He was
originally in the infantry, but Miller was so eager to have him in his band
that he arranged to have him transferred.

Mr. Hucko continued to perform with the band after Miller's plane was lost
over the English Channel in 1944. The Glenn Miller ensemble outlived its
namesake, and Mr. Hucko returned briefly in the 70's to lead it.

After the war, Mr. Hucko was active on the New York jazz scene for three
decades. He worked occasionally as a leader but was primarily a sideman,
most notably with Louis Armstrong's sextet from 1958 to 1960. He also worked
as a studio musician for both ABC and CBS.

In the 70's Mr. Hucko and his wife, Louise Tobin, a singer who frequently
performed with him, moved to Denver. He owned and operated a nightclub there
and became a fixture at the annual invitation-only Colorado Jazz Party.

The couple later moved to Texas, where in 1998 Gov. George W. Bush dedicated
the first annual Texas Big Band Jazz Festival to Mr. Hucko in honor of his
80th birthday.

In addition to Ms. Tobin, Mr. Hucko is survived by two stepsons, Harry James
of Dallas and Tim James of Nacogdoches, Tex.; a sister, Irene Martin of
Syracuse; eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

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