Teddy Brown

Teddy Brown (born Abraham Ted Himmelbrand, New York, May 25, 1900 – Birmingham, England, April 30, 1946) was an American entertainer and musician who spent the latter part of his life performing in Britain. His main musical instrument was the xylophone.

Life and career Brown was the son of David and Anne Weisberg, brother of Jacob (b. 1895) and Herman (b. 1898).

He first played in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, but he moved to the field of popular music in the late 1910s. Between 1917 and 1919, Brown played xylophone and marimba with Earl Fuller's Rector Novelty Orchestra, whose recordings prominently feature his playing. At a performance with Fuller's orchestra at the Brunswick Hotel in Lancaster, New York, Brown was introduced as the leading marimba soloist of the world; he played four-mallet arrangements on a Deagan Marimba-Xylophone No. 4726 accompanied by the 18-piece band. This performance inspired xylophonist Clair Omar Musser (1901-1998) to study with Brown's former teacher and became a marimba virtuoso. Brown was a percussionist for a time with Julius Lenzberg's Riverside Theatre Orchestra, and his later recordings were xylophone solos with Lenzberg's band on Edison Records in 1919 and 1920.

In 1924 and 1925, Brown played drums with Johnny Basilone and his Harlem Tea Garden Orchestra, which broadcast from New York's WEBJ station.

On July 16, 1918, he married Sophie Inselberg in New York. The couple had three children: Joseph (1921-1921), Blossom (1925-1996) and Stewart (b. 1929 - deceased).

Brown 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. Brown often performed as a solo act but also played xylophone with piano accompaniment.

Selected filmography Elstree Calling (1930) The Indiscretions of Eve (1932) On the Air (1934) København, Kalundborg og - ? (1934) Variety Parade (1936) Convict 99 (1938) as Slim Charlie