[Dixielandjazz] Mr. New Year's Eve: Guy Lombardo's Stuff Still in Limbo

[Robert Ringwald]

Mr. New Year's Eve: Guy Lombardo's Stuff Still in Limbo
by Mary Wozniak
Fort Myers (Florida) News-Press, December 31, 2013
Guy Lombardo's legacy still hasn't found a home.
It's been nearly a year since The News-Press wrote about a treasure trove of items
belonging to the late big band leader, languishing for about 40 years in two South
Fort Myers storage units.
The story sparked nostalgia and renewed interest among baby boomers and others in
the orchestra that brought the new year in nationally and internationally for nearly
50 years. But no takers.
The descendants of Lombardo family, who live in Fort Myers and on Sanibel Island,
wanted to see the items on loan to a place that would care for them as archives and
display them to the public.
But the road has been bumpy. Initial contact between some interested groups and the
Lombardos sputtered out; family members can't pursue the search full time because
of work and other obligations. Other obstacles include lack of a focused plan on
what to do with the items, how they should be archived, what legal arrangements need
to be made and where the money will come from.
"It's very difficult," said Gina Lombardo, of Fort Myers, Guy Lombardo's niece. People
or entities she's talked with don't have enough space for the items, and the family
doesn't know whether they should be separated, she said. Should they go to a university,
and if so, should it be a university in the U.S. or Canada, where he is from?
"There is this conundrum of all this memorabilia of a time gone by and it has nowhere
to live," said John Crampton, creative director of BlueMoon Productions/Moon Fuel
Inc. in Toronto. Crampton often spends time on Sanibel and contacted Gina about the
Lombardo legacy. "My interest was leaning toward a documentary about the dilemma
of what to do with the assets of someone's astonishing life," he said. "A remains
of the day kind of thing. We had a pleasant chat over coffee."
Nothing came of the conversation.
The band was a partnership between four brothers, Guy, Carmen, Victor and Lebert
Lombardo. Carmen was the songwriter, penning many of their hits. He also created
the orchestra arrangements and sang. Lebert played trumpet.
Baby boomers will have memories of the band, whether their first encounter was dancing
to their music or hearing it in their parents' or grandparents' homes.
They became an institution, first on radio and then TV, synonymous with the midnight
ball drop in Times Square. Lombardo earned the nickname "Mr. New Year's Eve." The
band brought in the New Year from 1929 to 1977 with the signature song, "Auld Lang
Syne."
After Guy's death in 1977, the legacy and rights to the orchestra passed from brother
to brother. Lebert, the last remaining brother, died on Sanibel in 1993. All music,
memorabilia and rights to the orchestra passed to Lebert's children, Gina; Elizabeth
Lombardo of Fort Myers; and Carmen Lombardo of Sanibel.
None of the siblings are in the music business. Gina has spearheaded the move to
find a home for the items.
They include at least 100 manila envelopes stuffed with original band orchestrations
handwritten by Carmen; at least 40 boxes of reels of 35 millimeter films, plus many
loose, large reels of 16mm films of episodes of the band's 1950s TV show.
But most people who contact her about the items are looking for memorabilia such
as objects and awards, Gina said.
-30


-Bob Ringwald K6YBV
www.ringwald.com
916/ 806-9551

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The dogs can’t read and their owners are blind.