Tony Romano (September 26, 1915 – March 4, 2005) was an American

jazz guitarist Jazz guitarists are guitarists who play jazz using an approach to chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist ( rhythm guitar) and soloist in small and large ...

and singer. He performed on radio programs and in Hollywood musicals in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He became most noted as the sideman and musical accompanist to

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

, Patty Thomas and

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightinga ...

during their USO tours in World War II, Korean, and Vietnam wars.

Early life

Romano was born in Madera, California, one of nine children of an Italian immigrant shoemaker. According to Romano, his father played violin and guitar, and the entire family was musical. He said, "In our family, if you didn't sing, you didn't eat." In his youth, he played violin but took up the guitar after being inspired by Eddie Lang. At 17, Romano moved to Hollywood where he studied guitar with Paramount Studio's guitarist George Smith.

Career

Romano built his career as a guitarist and singer for radio programs and Hollywood movie productions in the 1930s. He first worked on the

Al Pearce Albert Pearce (July 25, 1898 – June 2, 1961) was an American comedian, singer and banjo player who was a popular personality on several radio networks from 1928 to 1947. Biography After selling insurance door-to-door during the 1920s, Pear ...

radio program, then at

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, where he composed arrangements for Dick Powell. Romano's 16-piece orchestra was the feature band for

Morey Amsterdam Moritz "Morey" Amsterdam (December 14, 1908 – October 28, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' from 1961 to 1966. Early life Amsterdam was born in Chicago ...

and Mabel Todd's radio show. He also worked on the Lucky Strike Hit Parade, at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and later on the Pepsodent radio show for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. In September 1942,

asked Romano to accompany him on his initial USO tour to entertain troops at bases in Alaska and the Aleutians. Hope had already enlisted singer

and comedian Jerry Colonna but needed a musician and asked Colonna for a recommendation. Colonna said, "Get Tony Romano. Best guitar in the business." The foursome of Hope, Langford, comedian Jack Pepper and Romano performed in England, Sicily, North Africa and the South Pacific during World War II. They also toured in 1948 during the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

and in Korea in the 1950s. During the Vietnam War, Romano accompanied Langford without Hope on USO circuit tours in Southeast Asia. In between USO tours, Romano performed on several programs, including the

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...

radio show and recorded his own music (his recording ''Stars Fell on Alabama'' was a hit in 1956) as well as arranged songs for Johnny Mercer, Bing Crosby and others.

Personal life

Romano was married to singer/actress Barbara Hayden. They had two children,

Richard Niles Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, record producer, guitarist, broadcaster, and journalist. Biography Early years Niles was born May 28, 1951, in Hollywood. He is the son of Tony Romano, a composer, singer, and guitarist who writ ...

and Lisa Hayden-Miller. Romano was married to Evelyn Collette from 1964 until his death in 2005. They had one child Regina Marie Romano Deese.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romano, Tony 1915 births 2005 deaths American jazz guitarists American male composers Musicians from Fresno, California American people of Italian descent Singers from California 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from California 20th-century American composers Jazz musicians from California American male guitarists 20th-century American male singers American male jazz musicians United Service Organizations entertainers