Eddie Brandt
Eddie August Brandt (August 5, 1920 – February 20, 2011[1]) was an American composer and songwriter and television writer and animator, but is best remembered for his North Los Angeles store, Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee,[2][3] which rents and sells videos and memorabilia.
Early life
Born in Chicago, the "teenage movie-theater usher" was able to collect film memorabilia.[1] One day, a man bought movie posters from him to decorate his bar, and Brandt realized there was a market for memorabilia.[1]
Music
While serving in the United States Navy during World War II as a "radar specialist" stationed in San Francisco,[1] the self-taught piano player formed a band, Eddie Brandt and the Hollywood Hicks.[2] "He composed music with Spike Jones, Spade Cooley, Eddie Cantor and George Motola in the 1940s, producing hit songs including "Heaven Knows," "None but the Lonely Heart," "There's No Place Like Hawaii," "I'm Drowning My Sorrows," "The Tears in Your Eyes," "High School Romance," "Shortnin' Bread Rock" and "Rock and Roll Wedding.""[2] After the war, he moved to Hollywood. In the early 1950s, he toured with trios and married a member of one of them, singer Ruthie James.[1] His first marriage ended in 1956.[1] He was also a bandleader for KLAC-TV Channel 13.[1]
Television
In the 1950s, he wrote for the television shows
Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee
In 1967, the couple opened a memorabilia and
Brandt suffered the first of a series of strokes and had to retire from the store. His wife Claire and their son Donovan now manage the business.
He died at the age of 90 of
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Valerie J. Nelson (March 10, 2011). "Eddie Brandt dies at 90; Hollywood's go-to guy for film history, memorabilia". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c d e "Composer-songwriter Eddie Brandt dies at 88". Variety. March 1, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ a b "Eddie Brandt, Composer, Songwriter and Movie & TV Memorabilia King, Dies". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2012.