H. L. 'Snooks' Friedman of Memphis, retired band leader and former manager of the old Silver Slipper nightclub in Memphis, died Wednesday at his home. He was 87. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Temple Israel Cemetery. Canale Funeral Directors has charge. During his music career, Mr. Friedman worked with many famous entertainers, including Milton Berle. He worked in vaudeville with Jimmy Durante, J. C. Flippen and the Walker Brothers. He once headed a band that played the music for the sound tracks on the first talking cartoons produced by Max Fleischer, who created the original Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons. Mr. Friedman began his musical career as a drummer with the Ole Miss Jesters in 1923 and later that year began playing dinner music at the old Hotel Gayoso with other local groups. In 1926, he organized his Dixieland Band that became known at the Memphis Stompers. A year later he began his recording career with RCA Victor. Mr. Friedman moved to New York City in the late 1920s and played at some of the nation's well-known ballrooms and theaters. He was a World War II Navy veteran. After his Navy discharge, Mr. Friedman played numerous engagements in Memphis and the Mid-South with his own band and with other bands. Until 1972, he worked with and provided music for Cotton Carnival, now the Carnival Memphis. Mr. Friedman was a former superintendent of the heavy equipment maintenance division for Evans Enterprises. He was a member of Temple Israel Congregation and a member of Memphis Musicians Union. Mr. Friedman leaves a sister, Gertrude F. Nelson of Vicksburg, Miss., and a brother, E. W. 'Duke' Friedman of Memphis. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, any memorials be sent to the Temple Israel Congregation Music Fund. (Published in The Commercial Appeal 3/25/1993)

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