Teddy Brown was a famous American entertainer and musician who spent the latter part of his life performing in Britain. His main musical instrument was the xylophone, which he played with amazing speed and skill. He was also known for his rotund appearance, weighing nearly 400 pounds. He died of a heart attack in 1946 at the age of 45, but the exact cause of his death remains a mystery to this day.
Early Life and Career
Teddy Brown was born as Abraham Himmelbrand on May 25, 1900, in New York City. He first played in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, but moved to the field of popular music in the late 1910s. He was a percussionist for a time with Julius Lenzberg’s Riverside Theatre Orchestra, and his earliest recordings were xylophone solos with Lenzberg’s band on Edison Records in 1919 and 1920. He arrived in London in 1925, with Joseph C. Smith and his Orchestra.
The next year he formed his own orchestra, playing at the Café de Paris. He went on to play in other nightclubs both in London and Paris, including the Kit Kat Club, often performing as a solo act, or playing xylophone with a piano accompaniment. The custom-made Besson xylophone he played had a five-octave range, one more than the normal. In 1927, the UK division of Lee de Forest’s Phonofilm made a short film of Brown playing this instrument. He also played a six-octave instrument.
He was noted for his rotund appearance, approaching 400 pounds in weight, and was often compared to (or considered the British answer to) another rotund band leader of the same era, Paul Whiteman. He was sometimes billed as “The Great Xylophonist”, emphasising his physical size. Besides the xylophone, Brown played the other percussion instruments very well, in addition to the tenor saxophone. He also whistled melodies while playing percussion, and his act included comic patter.
Film Appearance and Fame
Brown’s rapid-fire style, performing on fast-paced tunes, was an early influence on percussionist and bandleader Spike Jones, who would launch his own career a decade later. As Brown’s considerable percussive skills and fame in the UK spread, he appeared in an early sound feature-length movie in 1930, co-directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock, titled Elstree Calling, a musical variety review that answered Paul Whiteman’s music review feature film of the same year, King of Jazz, with both films featuring early colour sequences. Elstree was the movie and radio studio complex where many famous films and radio shows were produced in the early days of British media entertainment. A variety of impressive older musical and comedic vaudeville acts and new talent were featured in each of the two films.
His third appearance in the film was the most impressive, as he plays the xylophone with amazingly fast precision, using only one hand at a time, and sometimes behind his back. He also appeared in other films such as The Big Noise (1936), Variety Parade (1936), Calling All Stars (1937), Variety Jubilee (1943), and I’ll Be Your Sweetheart (1945). He also performed on radio shows such as Henry Hall’s Guest Night and Workers’ Playtime.
He was a member of the British Grand Order of Water Rats. He was King Rat in 1946, although his term was cut short as he died of a heart attack in his hotel room in Birmingham in 1946.
The Mystery Behind His Death
According to Wikipedia, Teddy Brown died of a heart attack on April 29, 1946, at age 45, after appearing in a concert at the Wolverhampton Hippodrome. However, according to Celebsgraphy, there are a lot of controversies and rumors surrounding his death. While some sources claim that his son passed away in a fatal car accident on June 14, 1973 at 19, others believe that he was murdered by gunshot before meeting with an accident.
Daryl Brown, Teddy’s half-brother, suspects that his brother’s death was not an accident but murder instead. His suspicion began developing when he lost his father James Brown , who was also a famous American musician and singer. While the reports claim that his father passed away due to congestive heart failure, many investigations by big news companies such as CNN claim that he too was a victim of murder.
Daryl connects his father’s demise with his brother’s demise and thinks that it is somehow connected. He believes that his brother took a gunshot before meeting with an accident. Unfortunately, there has been no substantial evidence regarding the murder of his family. Only God knows what happened to his half-brother, his brother-in-law, and his father.
Teddy Brown is currently resting in peace at the Toccoa Cemetery in Toccoa, Stephens County, Georgia.
Conclusion
Teddy Brown was a legendary xylophone player who entertained millions of people with his music and humor. He was a pioneer of the musical variety genre and influenced many other artists. He died at a young age, leaving behind a legacy of his talent and charisma. However, his death also remains a mystery, as there are conflicting reports and theories about how he died. Whether it was an accident or a murder, Teddy Brown’s cause of death is still unknown to this day.
