Portrait of George William Weidler, 1947 or 1948 (LOC) (5476590594) (cropped)

George William Weidler (January 11, 1926,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

– December 27, 1989, Los Angeles) was an American saxophonist and songwriter. He was the second husband of singer-actress Doris Day (married 1946–1949) and older brother of former child actress

Virginia Weidler Virginia Anna Adeleid Weidler (March 21, 1927 – July 1, 1968) was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life and career Weidler was born on March 21, 1927, in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles County, C ...

Career

As sideman, Weidler recorded with

Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...

, Les Brown,

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

, Ike Carpenter, The

Delta Rhythm Boys The Delta Rhythm Boys was an American vocal group active from 1934 to 1987. The group was formed at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, in 1934 by Carl Jones, Traverse Crawford, Otha Lee Gaines, and Kelsey Pharr. They moved to Dillard U ...

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

, and the

Metronome All-Stars The Metronome All-Stars were a collection of jazz musicians assembled for studio recordings by ''Metronome Magazine'', based on its readers' polls. The studio sessions were held in the years 1939-42, 1946–53, and 1956, and typically consisted of ...

. He is credited as having performed on over 57 jazz recordings between 1943 and 1948. While with

, his two brothers, Warner (born Werther; 1922–2010) and Walter (born Wolfgang; 1923–2002), both saxophonists, were with the band. From the early 1940s, the three also performed as the Weidler Brothers Orchestra until 1952, when they signed with Capitol Records as "The Wilder Brothers."
Wilder Brothers Inked by Capitol
'' '' Billboard,'' April 26, 1952, pg. 20 Around 1950, the Weidler Brothers switched from jazz to pop.

Selected discography

* The Weidler Brothers,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

78–108 : Side A: "The Jolka Polka" : Side B: "The Schnitzelbank Polka" With

*''

Stan Kenton's Milestones ''Stan Kenton's Milestones'' is an album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton compiling performances recorded between 1943 and 1947 and originally collected on the Capitol label as a 10-inch LP in 1950 then reissued as a 12-inch LP with additiona ...

'' (Capitol, 1943-47

950 Year 950 ( CML) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: A Hamdanid army (30,000 men) led by Sayf al-Dawla raids int ...

*''

Stan Kenton Classics ''Stan Kenton Classics'' is an album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton compiling performances recorded between 1945 and 1947 and originally collected on the Capitol label as a 10-inch LP in 1950 then reissued as a 12-inch LP with additional t ...

'' (Capitol, 1944-47

952 Year 952 ( CMLII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – At the Reichstag in Augsburg (assembled by King Otto I), joined by German nob ...

*'' Encores'' (Capitol, 1947) *''

A Presentation of Progressive Jazz ''A Presentation of Progressive Jazz'' is a 1948 jazz album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton. Background The album features performances recorded in 1947 and originally released on the Capitol label as four 78rpm discs, reissued as a 10-inc ...

'' (Capitol, 1947) *''

The Kenton Era ''The Kenton Era'' is a compilation album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton featuring recordings from 1940 to 1954 which was originally released in two limited edition box sets, as fifteen 7 inch 45 rpm discs and four 12 inch LPs, on Capitol i ...

'' (Capitol, 1940–54,

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...

Family

George William Weidler was one of six children born to the architect Alfred Weidler (1886–1966) and opera singer Margarete Therese Louisa (née Radon). The first four siblings (Waldtraud, Verena, Werther, and Wolfgang) were born in Germany. The eldest sibling, Waldtraud (later known as Sylvia) and the youngest sibling,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, were both child film actresses. And one of his three brothers, Warner (born Werner Alfred Weidler), was a composer.''ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, Fourth edition,'' compiled for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, by

Jaques Cattell Press Jaques (Jack) Cattell (2 June 1904 in Garrison, New York – 19 December 1961) was an American publisher and founder of a company bearing his name, "Jaques Cattell Press, Inc.," based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Jaques Cattell Press, Inc. The Sci ...

, New York:

R.R. Bowker R. R. Bowker LLC (trading as Bowker) is an American limited liability company domiciled under Delaware Limited Liability Company Law and based in Chatham, New Jersey. Among other things, Bowker provides bibliographic information on publishe ...

, 1980

Marriages

# Weidler married Doris Day in 1946, becoming her second of four husbands; the marriage ended in divorce in 1949. # Weidler then married Donna Mae Boniface in Clark County, Washington, on November 16, 1950; the marriage ended in either annulment or divorce in Los Angeles in July 1951. # Weidler then married singer and actress

Maureen Arthur Maureen Louise Arthur (April 15, 1934 – June 15, 2022) was an American film, television, and stage actress. Life and career Arthur appeared in numerous movies and television programs from the late 1950s through the early 1990s as well as on Br ...

(born 1934) on December 5, 1957 in Las Vegas; the marriage ended in divorce in 1970. # Weidler then married Barbara C. Heussenstam (born 1923) on June 21, 1971, in Los Angeles; they remained married until his death in 1989 at age 63.

References

1926 births 1989 deaths American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Swing saxophonists Musicians from Los Angeles American people of German descent 20th-century American saxophonists Songwriters from California 20th-century American composers Jazz musicians from California 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American male songwriters {{US-songwriter-stub