[Dixielandjazz] Tommy Newsom obit

[Steve Barbone]

Here is one of Tommy Newsom's obits.

Steve Barbone


May 1, 2007
Tommy Newsom: 1929-2007
'Tonight Show's' 'Mr. Excitement' dies at 78

Adam Bernstein / Washington Post

Tommy Newsom, a jazz saxophonist and arranger who gained national visibility
as a key member of Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" band for three decades,
and whom Carson drolly nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" for his stone-faced looks
and somber outfits, died Saturday at his home in Portsmouth, Va. He had
bladder and liver cancer and was 78.

As a personality, Newsom pretended to have none. Carson gently taunted him
for his deadpan expression and bland tastes, with suits ranging from brown
to blue.

"As a child, one time Tommy got lost and his parents couldn't describe him
to the police," Carson once said.

Thomas Penn Newsom was born Feb. 25, 1929, in Portsmouth. He was a graceful
musician and veteran of bands led by guitarist Charlie Byrd, clarinetist
Benny Goodman and society bandleader Vincent Lopez.

Newsom became an NBC studio musician, worked for Merv Griffin and soon after
was assigned to the "Tonight" program in 1962, where he spent the next 30
years.

Over his long career, Newsom arranged for musicians, including Byrd, opera
singer Beverly Sills, country singer Kenny Rogers and the Cincinnati Pops
orchestra.

Newsom won Emmy Awards for musical arranging for TV broadcasts such as
"Night of 100 Stars II" (1985) and the "40th Annual Tony Awards" (1986).
Long settled in Los Angeles, Newsom was persuaded to relocate to Portsmouth
following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. In later years, Newsom recorded
several CDs, including three for the Arbors label, and played at music
festivals nationwide.

With the self-deprecation that made him a household name, he once told a
festival audience, "And now we're going to render George Gershwin for a
while. Probably into a bar of soap."

Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Pat Hernansky Newsom of Portsmouth,
and a daughter, Candace Liebmann of Teaneck, N.J. A son, Mark Newsom, died
in 2003.