Jazz Bandleader. Born in Ogden, Utah in 1905, at the age of four he was playing cornet, but was also thoroughly schooled in violin and piano. By age 6 he was appearing at socials and in street parades. At age 12 he played dance music in his father's dance band. In spite of his strict musical upbringing, he loved jazz, and left home at 17 for New York City. There a young Red Nichols was in demand for his keen ability to sight-read. He recorded for Thomas Alva Edison, and formed a jazz band and signed with Brunswick as "Red Nichols and the Five Pennies." In addition, he also recorded as "The Red Heads," "The Charlston Chasers," "The Louisiana Rhythm Kings," and "The Arkansas Travelers" for other labels. In 1924 he played in the pit of a Broadway show, and 1925 saw him in one or more recording sessions daily. He was unquestionably the most-recorded musician of his time. In 1927 he recorded "Ida," which became Brunswick's first million-seller. In the late 1920's, his ensembles included musicians Joe Venuti, Adrian Rollini, Pee Wee Russell, Miff Mole, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, and Artie Shaw. During 1928-1929, Red Nichols toured the West Coast, and in the early 1930's he led big bands, including the orchestra for Bob Hope's radio shows. Returning to small group jazz in the late 1930's, he traveled between the East and West coasts, but when his daughter became gravely-ill in the early forties, he and his wife Willa moved to San Leandro, California, where she lived with relatives while his band toured (his daughter eventually made a full recovery). He quit the music business and went to work in the shipyards during the war. Eventually he put the "Five Pennies" back together, regaining his popularity playing clubs. A short story, "Intermission," in Reader's Digest, documented Red Nichols' remarkable life, and in 1959 Paramount released a biopic 'The Five Pennies" with Danny Kaye as Red, and Barbara Bel Geddes as Willa. He played all his own trumpet parts for the film, but did not appear. The film brought him new fame, and he toured Europe as an Ambassador of Goodwill for the United States State Department. The band recorded albums for Capitol Records, and played lucrative engagements until his death of a heart attack in Las Vegas in 1965, where he and the Five Pennies were playing. The University of Oregon (Eugene), houses his personal papers; his private collection is in the Archives of Recorded Sound, University of Kansas, (Lawrence).