Lee, Canada (03 May 1907–09 May 1952), actor, theater producer, bandleader, and boxer, was born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata in New York City, the son of James Cornelius Canegata, a clerk, and Lydia Whaley. Lee’s father came from a wealthy and politically prominent family in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, whose ancestors had adopted a Danish surname. Lee’s grandfather owned a fleet of merchant ships; the family also raced horses. James Canegata shipped out as a cabin boy at eighteen, settled in Manhattan, married, and worked for National Fuel and Gas for thirty-one years. Lee grew up in the San Juan Hill section of Manhattan’s West Sixties and attended P.S. 5 in Harlem. An indifferent student, he devoted more energy to fisticuffs than to schoolwork. Lee studied violin from age seven with composer J. Rosamund Johnson, and at age eleven he was favorably reviewed at a student concert in Aeolian Hall; his parents hoped he would become a concert violinist....
Article
Lee, Canada (1907-1952), actor, theater producer, bandleader, and boxer
Christopher Caines
Image
Lee, Canada (1907-1952)
Maker: Carl Van Vechten
In
Article
Lombardo, Guy (1902-1977), danceband leader and producer of musical extravaganzas
Elaine Keillor
Lombardo, Guy (19 June 1902–05 November 1977), danceband leader and producer of musical extravaganzas, was born Gaetano Alberto Lombardo in London, Ontario, Canada, the son of Gaetano Lombardo, a tailor, and Angelina Paladino, a secretary. All of the Lombardo children were required to study a musical instrument and singing. At the age of nine Guy, the eldest, began violin lessons. Around 1915 the musical family appeared as the Lombardo Brothers Concert Company with Guy as the violinist; Carmen as the flutist, saxophonist, and singer; Lebert as the trumpeter and drummer; and Freddie Kreitzer as the pianist. This group played for church socials and other occasions in London, Ontario, and surrounding areas. Because the local communities had many Scottish descendents their repertoire included, among other songs, ...
