Spoiler : Rich, Buddy (birth name was Bernard Rich) Born in Brooklyn, New York 9/20/1917; died 4/2/1987 of a heart attack during brain tumor surgery in Los Angeles, California. Rich made his professional debut at eighteen months old, then became a child prodigy known in vaudeville as "Baby Traps, the Wonder Drummer." By age fifteen was making $1,000 a week. Drummer for bands of Joe Marsala, Benny Carter, Bunny Berigan, Tommy Dorsey and Harry James during the middle 1940's. Rich is regarded as one of the best drummers in the world.

Spoiler : Rich was a member of Artie Shaw's band during the late 1930's, appearing on radio programs including Melody Puzzles (1938-1939). Drummer Cozy on The Marge and Gower Champion Show for CBS-TV (1957). Buddy Rich and His Orchestra provided music for Away We Go on CBS-TV (1967).

Spoiler : A trivia note for me (GL MERCER). Rich and my father (George Louis Mercer) became friends while the two were in California waiting to be mustered out of the Marine Corp. Because of my father's interest in jazz, and drumming, Rich gave him lessons. One of the things I remember about Rich, is sometime during the middle 1950s, while he was visiting my dad, Rich brought him a new 18" ride cymbal for his drum set. My father kept that cymbal for years until he gave it to me in the middle 1970s. At the time, the cymball was on a portable wash board setup that my dad carried all over the world.