Marion "Buddy" Childers, 1926 - 2007

Marion "Buddy" Childers, a St. Louis native who first gained fame as a 16-year-old lead trumpeter for the Stan Kenton Orchestra, died last Thursday, May 24 in Los Angeles. He was 81 years old and, according to this obituary from the UK newspaper The Independent, had been battling cancer for nearly a decade but continued to play music almost up until his death.

In addition to working with Kenton, Childers also performed with the bands of Benny Carter, André Previn, Les Brown, Vido Musso, Tommy Dorsey, Georgie Auld and Charlie Barnet. He lived and worked in Las Vegas from 1959 to 1965, then became a studio musician and freelancer in Los Angeles, also performing with the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin big band, serving as musical director for Frank Sinatra Jr., and leading his own groups. For more about Childers, see this All About Jazz.com profile, his Wikipedia entry, and these message board threads.

UPDATE - 1:10 a.m., 5/31/07: The LA Times obituary for Childers can be found here. (Note: The link may require registration, or use bugmenot.com.)