Roy Fox
b. 25 October 1901, Denver, Colorado, USA, d. 20 March 1982. Raised in Hollywood, Fox played the cornet in local bands at the age of 16, and was later with Abe Lyman before joining Art Hickman with whom he made his first records. Fronting his own band at Hollywood's Cafe Montmartre led to a job as musical director with Fox Films, and an offer to form a seven-piece American band to play at the Café de Paris in London for eight weeks, where he was billed as the Whispering Cornetist. After that engagement Fox formed an all-British band to record for Decca Records, and in May 1931 it opened at the new Monseigneur Restaurant in Piccadilly. The impressive personnel included Lew Stone as pianist/arranger, Nat Gonella, Joe Ferrie, Billy Amstell, Sid Buckman and vocalist Al Bowlly. The band became extremely popular mostly through their regular Wednesday night BBC broadcasts. Late in 1931 Stone took over as leader when Fox went to Switzerland to recuperate from illness. When Fox returned in 1932 he formed a new band to play at the Café Anglais, the Kit Kat Club, the Café de Paris and on extensive theatre tours. In 1934 he filled the gap left by Al Bowlly by engaging the ‘British Bing Crosby’, Denny Dennis, and later sponsored a national contest to find a girl singer for the band. The winner was 13-year-old Mary McDevitt, who sang under the name Little Mary Lee. In 1938, beset by ill health, Fox disbanded and moved to Australia, and at the outset of World War II was not allowed back into Britain. He spent the war years mostly playing New York clubs, before returning to Britain in 1946 and a vastly different entertainment scene. His 1947 theatre tour was a financial disaster. In the '50s he went bankrupt, and gave up band leading to run a small entertainment agency. At his peak he was one of the most popular bandleaders of the '30s, remembered particularly for his theme, Whispering, the recording complete with his own spoken introduction. Credit should also be given to the work of his star vocalists, Al Bowlly on Thank Your Father and You Forgot Your Gloves, and Denny Dennis with June In January, Everything I Have Is Yours and Roses In December. Roy Fox died in the Brinsworth Home for Retired Variety Artists in Twickenham where he had been a resident for some time.