There’s Laughter in the Air: Radio’s Top Comedians and their Best Shows
by Jack Gaver and Dave Stanley, 1945 | illustrations by Xavier Cugat
Book scans from the family library.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Born in Catalonia, Spain, Xavier Cugat (1900-1990) moved with his family to Havana, Cuba, when he was three. A trained violinist and arranger, he packed up and moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times newspaper during the day and labored to put together a band at night. After a few years of playing smaller clubs in the L.A. area, Cugat finally got his break when he and his band secured a job at the prestigious Coconut Grove nightclub in 1928. His style of music caught on, and Cugat was instrumental in bringing Latin music to the attention of the US public. In the ’30s and ’40s he was nicknamed “The Rumba King” because of his popularization of that Latin dance. In New York, his was the resident orchestra at the Waldorf-Astoria before and after World War II. One of his trademarks was to hold a Chihuahua while he waved his baton with the other arm. Cugat also enjoyed a film career.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
