DESCRIPTION:
Cab Calloway

Born: 25-Dec-1907
Birthplace: Rochester, NY
Died: 18-Nov-1994
Location of death: Hockessin, DE
Cause of death: Stroke
Remains: Cremated
Gender: Male
Religion: Anglican/Episcopalian
Race or Ethnicity: Black
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Jazz Musician, Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: King of Hi-De-Ho

Cab Callway (born Cabell Calloway III) is one of the greatest Jazz performers. In the 1920's, Cab worked with a band called The Alabamians while studying law at Chicago's Crane College. Cab was the Master of Ceremonies and a singer. He later joined The Missourians which changed its name to Cab Calloway and His Orchestra. His band set trends and introduced a whole new vocabulary as they toured.

In 1930, he was hired to replace Duke Ellington at the exclusive Cotton Club in Harlem. His most famous song, Minnie the Moocher, was written in 1931 and sold over 1,000,000 copies. He was also known for the tunes Are You Hip To That Jive and Hi-De-Ho Man. His career including singing, songwriting, band leader and actor.

The band broke up in the 1940's when bad financial decisions (gambling problems) caught up with Cab. He would go on to appear on Broadway including an all-black Hello Dolly. In 1980, a new generation was introduced to 73-year-old Cab by way of the film The Blues Brothers.

Father: Cabell Calloway II (lawyer)
Mother: Martha Eulalia Reed (teacher)
Sister: Blanche Calloway (bandleader)
Wife: Betty (div.)
Wife: Nuffie (m. 1945, until his death)
Girlfriend: Zelma Proctor (high school)
Daughter: Camay Murphy (by Zelma)
Daughter: Chris Calloway
Daughter: Eulalia Tyson
Daughter: Cabella Langsam

High School: Frederick Douglass High School, Baltimore, MD (1927)
Law School: Crane College, Chicago, IL
University: Lincoln University Pennsylvania (dropped out)