- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMatthew Napoli
- Marty Napoleon was born on June 2, 1921 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Glenn Miller Story (1954), Follow That Music (1947) and BBC Show of the Week (1965). He was married to Marie (Bebe) Giordano. He died on April 27, 2015 in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA.
- SpouseMarie (Bebe) Giordano(1942 - February 4, 2008) (her death, 2 children)
- His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were guitarists. His uncle Phil was a band-leader and played trumpet.
- His first instrument was the trumpet, which he began playing at age 8. A doctor was concerned that it would exacerbate his heart murmur. His family had three pianos, so he switched to piano.
- He played piano with his uncle's band, in addition to groups led by Chico Marx, Joe Venuti, Charlie Barnet, and Gene Krupa. He was often featured with band-leader and trumpeter Louis Armstrong's All Stars.
- [in a 1984 interview with the Washington Post] When [Chico Marx] did "Beer Barrel Polka" he would roll an orange on the keyboard. One time he threw the orange at me, and I threw it to the drummer, George Wettling. The next day everybody in the band had an orange and oranges were flying all over the stage. Chico loved it. "Leave it in," he said. "It's great."
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