[78-L] Lee Wiley jilts one guy to marry Jess Stacy

[Jeff Sultanof]

I know the Bellson situation well. Pat Willard worked with Louis for years
on this book. Unfortunately, the widow (who married Louis some six months
after Pearl Bailey died) took over his life, decided that none of his
friends who didn't like her were ever going to have any contact with him,
and basically helped that man age almost overnight. I saw him about five
years before he died and he looked like an invalid. She was right next to
him and made sure that she heard everything said to him. I'd done a drum
book with him when I was at WB, and made it my business to try to talk to
him without her being around. At some point it happened. I asked him how he
was. He made a face indicating he was not happy, and whispered in my ear,
"G-d bless you." This haunts me still.

Pat told me that she was trying to stay on her good side, but it was quite
difficult. This woman was convinced that Louis and Pat had had an affair
years before, and nothing would convince her otherwise.

I'll tell you about the class of this man, one of the sweetest, gentlest men
I've ever known. Louis was a regular at the International Association of
Jazz Educators convention, held each year. One year it was in Washington,
D.C. I saw him and we hugged each other (Pearl was still alive then) and
made plans to meet up later. Some time when I was at my booth (I was manning
the booth by myself on behalf of WB), a young girl who was about 12 saw the
Bellson book and asked if he was there. I told her yes. She said she very
much wanted to meet him, and did I think that she could ask him some
technical questions; she didn't want to impose. I told her that if anyone
would be more than happy to help her, it would be Louis. I insisted that she
should go see him (he was working one of the drum booths) and ask him for
some help. The next day she stopped by my booth and told me that not only
did he say he would give her a lesson, but he asked her to invite her other
drummer classmates to his room if they wanted to come. He wound up giving an
impromptu drum clinic to ten students for over an hour. Talk about something
they'll never forget. That was a very special man.

Jeff Sultanof

On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 5:57 PM, Geoffrey Wheeler <dialjazz at verizon.net>wrote:

> Jeff Sultanoff asks: “That's a book I will be very interested in
> buying. No one knew more about
> Berigan than Bozy White.”
>
> I don’t know the name of the publisher or even if a name has been
> decided on yet, My understanding is this is a private job, not through
> an established book publisher. Although IAJRC members have been
> involvled, this does not bear the IAJRC imprematur. I forgot to mention
> the book will be in two volumes. The book has been delayed for about
> three years because a relative of Bozy’s only recently agreed to
> finally sign off on permitting the text to be printed. Prior to this
> she had not responded to phone calls, mail, or attempts to contact her
> in person. This is yet another example of estate problems that can crop
> up to complicate or nullify the release of a work that would benefit
> interested parties and the author or artist. A biography of drummer
> Louis Bellson has ground to a halt for these very reasons. Sometimes
> misguided widows think they’re protecting the interests of their
> deceased spouses when, in fact, they are denying additions to their
> legacies.
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