Band Leader Howard Lanin, 93, Dies
By Daniel Rubin, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: April 28, 1991
There was a joy, an elegance when Howard Lanin fronted his orchestra.
"It took people above the mundane," recalled his son, Mike Lanin. ''Everyone became Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for a moment . . . nomatter how your head felt the next day."
Howard Lanin, the Philadelphia society band leader, died Friday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after a bout with pneumonia. He was 93.
His cornet, his charm and gifts of timing and taste carried him on a 74- year career that began with the South Philadelphia High School band and led to the great ballrooms of the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan, the Bellevue Stratford in Center City and the Breakers in Palm Beach.
For high society, the Howard Lanin Orchestra provided the soundtrack for a gilded age.
At the debut of Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth's five-and-dime heiress, Mr. Lanin's band played until 11:30 the next morning. His orchestra was engaged for the entire summer of 1929 at the vacation home of John Dorrance Sr., the Campbell Soup patriarch, in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Norman Shermer, 79, who played first piano in the band for nearly a half century, recalled yesterday: "He was a master at playing the right tunes at the right tempo with the right men."
Mr. Lanin grew up in houses on Dickinson and Federal Streets in South Philadelphia, the fifth of nine children born to Benjamin and Mary Lanin. A younger brother, Lester Lanin, went on to become a famous New York City band leader. Their father, a Russian Jewish emigre, was a musician and entrepreneur who rented out halls in South Philadelphia for functions. One of them, the Society Hill Playhouse, still stands.
At 15, Howard Lanin dropped out of Southern High, where he had played cornet in the band.
Encouraging him to pursue his obvious talents, his mother told him, ''Howard, you've got something that people want."
At 17, he got his first job with a trio at the Stone Harbor Yacht Club in New Jersey during the summer of 1914. That year, the teenager snuck into a New York City nightclub to hear the orchestra of Reese Europe. These black musicians accompanied the dancers Irene and Vernon Castle.
"When he heard that band, to use today's term, it really blew his mind," Mike Lanin said. "This was the inspiration for what became the Howard Lanin Orchestra and what was called the Society Beat."
In 1921 he began playing at the Arcadia Cafe, a restaurant at Chestnut and 13th Streets, where one night he was joined by Rudolph Valentino, then performing in town.
It was at the Arcadia that he and Main Line society formally met. Elizabeth Dobson Altemus stopped by one night with some friends and liked his sound. She asked if he would play her debut at the Radnor Hunt Club.
"That was the beginning of his career as a society dance leader," his son recalled. "He caught on very fast. He left the Arcadia and from that point on he was moving up and playing society balls."
The most spectacular night of all was Dec. 31, 1927, at the Bellevue Stratford. John Dorrance threw a $100,000 coming-out party for his daughter Fifi. Mr. Lanin was summoned to Campbell's headquarters in Camden. He met with Dorrance - who told him he should hire an additional band for the occasion.
Paul Whiteman arrived at the hotel with two white baby-grand pianos and three singers. One of them was Bing Crosby.
The Dorrance family hired Lanin's band for the whole summer of 1929 at its vacation home on the Maine coast.
"Dr. Dorrance told me that when he was in Germany taking his degree, there was a Hungarian prince who had an orchestra that followed him around and played whenever he felt like listening to music," Mr. Lanin said in an 87th- birthday interview. "He said he always wanted to have an orchestra do that for him, too.
"We really cleaned up that summer," said Mr. Lanin, who arrived in Maine with a chauffeur and two maids and charged Dorrance $36,000 for his services.
In the Roaring Twenties, Mr. Lanin switched from cornet to drums before finally stepping out to lead the band. The orchestra relied on Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and the Gershwins for its music. One of Mr. Lanin's favorite numbers, his son recalled, was Porter's "Just One of Those Things."
Pianist Shermer recalled his boss fondly as a stern taskmaster. "He was never one to shower praise. His idea was, 'If you weren't good, you wouldn't be doing the job for me.' "
Before World War II ended, Mr. Lanin realized that businesses would become major customers of entertainment. As society's demand for orchestras died, he founded a corporate entertainment company.
In 1969 he turned the company, Howard Lanin Productions, over to his son Mike, who still runs it from offices in New York City and Paris.
That same year, Mr. Lanin and his wife, the former Clayre Feinstein, sold their house in Merion and moved into the Philadelphian Apartments, opposite the Art Museum.
A magistrate married them in 1929 - in the Arcadia restaurant, at 1 a.m., after Mr. Lanin had finished a gig. They stayed together for 54 years.
Mrs. Lanin died in 1983.
Until five years ago, Mr. Lanin still went to his office at Suburban Station. He was 89 when he last fronted a band.
A service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oliver H. Bair Funeral Home at 1920 Sansom St. Interment is private.
Besides his brother Lester and son Mike, Mr. Lanin is survived by a son Jay, two daughters, Betty Beckman and Suzanne Lande; another brother, William; nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
By Daniel Rubin, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: April 28, 1991
There was a joy, an elegance when Howard Lanin fronted his orchestra.
"It took people above the mundane," recalled his son, Mike Lanin. ''Everyone became Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for a moment . . . nomatter how your head felt the next day."
Howard Lanin, the Philadelphia society band leader, died Friday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after a bout with pneumonia. He was 93.
His cornet, his charm and gifts of timing and taste carried him on a 74- year career that began with the South Philadelphia High School band and led to the great ballrooms of the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan, the Bellevue Stratford in Center City and the Breakers in Palm Beach.
For high society, the Howard Lanin Orchestra provided the soundtrack for a gilded age.
At the debut of Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth's five-and-dime heiress, Mr. Lanin's band played until 11:30 the next morning. His orchestra was engaged for the entire summer of 1929 at the vacation home of John Dorrance Sr., the Campbell Soup patriarch, in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Norman Shermer, 79, who played first piano in the band for nearly a half century, recalled yesterday: "He was a master at playing the right tunes at the right tempo with the right men."
Mr. Lanin grew up in houses on Dickinson and Federal Streets in South Philadelphia, the fifth of nine children born to Benjamin and Mary Lanin. A younger brother, Lester Lanin, went on to become a famous New York City band leader. Their father, a Russian Jewish emigre, was a musician and entrepreneur who rented out halls in South Philadelphia for functions. One of them, the Society Hill Playhouse, still stands.
At 15, Howard Lanin dropped out of Southern High, where he had played cornet in the band.
Encouraging him to pursue his obvious talents, his mother told him, ''Howard, you've got something that people want."
At 17, he got his first job with a trio at the Stone Harbor Yacht Club in New Jersey during the summer of 1914. That year, the teenager snuck into a New York City nightclub to hear the orchestra of Reese Europe. These black musicians accompanied the dancers Irene and Vernon Castle.
"When he heard that band, to use today's term, it really blew his mind," Mike Lanin said. "This was the inspiration for what became the Howard Lanin Orchestra and what was called the Society Beat."
In 1921 he began playing at the Arcadia Cafe, a restaurant at Chestnut and 13th Streets, where one night he was joined by Rudolph Valentino, then performing in town.
It was at the Arcadia that he and Main Line society formally met. Elizabeth Dobson Altemus stopped by one night with some friends and liked his sound. She asked if he would play her debut at the Radnor Hunt Club.
"That was the beginning of his career as a society dance leader," his son recalled. "He caught on very fast. He left the Arcadia and from that point on he was moving up and playing society balls."
The most spectacular night of all was Dec. 31, 1927, at the Bellevue Stratford. John Dorrance threw a $100,000 coming-out party for his daughter Fifi. Mr. Lanin was summoned to Campbell's headquarters in Camden. He met with Dorrance - who told him he should hire an additional band for the occasion.
Paul Whiteman arrived at the hotel with two white baby-grand pianos and three singers. One of them was Bing Crosby.
The Dorrance family hired Lanin's band for the whole summer of 1929 at its vacation home on the Maine coast.
"Dr. Dorrance told me that when he was in Germany taking his degree, there was a Hungarian prince who had an orchestra that followed him around and played whenever he felt like listening to music," Mr. Lanin said in an 87th- birthday interview. "He said he always wanted to have an orchestra do that for him, too.
"We really cleaned up that summer," said Mr. Lanin, who arrived in Maine with a chauffeur and two maids and charged Dorrance $36,000 for his services.
In the Roaring Twenties, Mr. Lanin switched from cornet to drums before finally stepping out to lead the band. The orchestra relied on Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and the Gershwins for its music. One of Mr. Lanin's favorite numbers, his son recalled, was Porter's "Just One of Those Things."
Pianist Shermer recalled his boss fondly as a stern taskmaster. "He was never one to shower praise. His idea was, 'If you weren't good, you wouldn't be doing the job for me.' "
Before World War II ended, Mr. Lanin realized that businesses would become major customers of entertainment. As society's demand for orchestras died, he founded a corporate entertainment company.
In 1969 he turned the company, Howard Lanin Productions, over to his son Mike, who still runs it from offices in New York City and Paris.
That same year, Mr. Lanin and his wife, the former Clayre Feinstein, sold their house in Merion and moved into the Philadelphian Apartments, opposite the Art Museum.
A magistrate married them in 1929 - in the Arcadia restaurant, at 1 a.m., after Mr. Lanin had finished a gig. They stayed together for 54 years.
Mrs. Lanin died in 1983.
Until five years ago, Mr. Lanin still went to his office at Suburban Station. He was 89 when he last fronted a band.
A service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oliver H. Bair Funeral Home at 1920 Sansom St. Interment is private.
Besides his brother Lester and son Mike, Mr. Lanin is survived by a son Jay, two daughters, Betty Beckman and Suzanne Lande; another brother, William; nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
Band Leader Howard Lanin, 93, Dies
By Daniel Rubin, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: April 28, 1991
There was a joy, an elegance when Howard Lanin fronted his orchestra.
"It took people above the mundane," recalled his son, Mike Lanin. ''Everyone became Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for a moment . . . nomatter how your head felt the next day."
Howard Lanin, the Philadelphia society band leader, died Friday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after a bout with pneumonia. He was 93.
His cornet, his charm and gifts of timing and taste carried him on a 74- year career that began with the South Philadelphia High School band and led to the great ballrooms of the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan, the Bellevue Stratford in Center City and the Breakers in Palm Beach.
For high society, the Howard Lanin Orchestra provided the soundtrack for a gilded age.
At the debut of Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth's five-and-dime heiress, Mr. Lanin's band played until 11:30 the next morning. His orchestra was engaged for the entire summer of 1929 at the vacation home of John Dorrance Sr., the Campbell Soup patriarch, in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Norman Shermer, 79, who played first piano in the band for nearly a half century, recalled yesterday: "He was a master at playing the right tunes at the right tempo with the right men."
Mr. Lanin grew up in houses on Dickinson and Federal Streets in South Philadelphia, the fifth of nine children born to Benjamin and Mary Lanin. A younger brother, Lester Lanin, went on to become a famous New York City band leader. Their father, a Russian Jewish emigre, was a musician and entrepreneur who rented out halls in South Philadelphia for functions. One of them, the Society Hill Playhouse, still stands.
At 15, Howard Lanin dropped out of Southern High, where he had played cornet in the band.
Encouraging him to pursue his obvious talents, his mother told him, ''Howard, you've got something that people want."
At 17, he got his first job with a trio at the Stone Harbor Yacht Club in New Jersey during the summer of 1914. That year, the teenager snuck into a New York City nightclub to hear the orchestra of Reese Europe. These black musicians accompanied the dancers Irene and Vernon Castle.
"When he heard that band, to use today's term, it really blew his mind," Mike Lanin said. "This was the inspiration for what became the Howard Lanin Orchestra and what was called the Society Beat."
In 1921 he began playing at the Arcadia Cafe, a restaurant at Chestnut and 13th Streets, where one night he was joined by Rudolph Valentino, then performing in town.
It was at the Arcadia that he and Main Line society formally met. Elizabeth Dobson Altemus stopped by one night with some friends and liked his sound. She asked if he would play her debut at the Radnor Hunt Club.
"That was the beginning of his career as a society dance leader," his son recalled. "He caught on very fast. He left the Arcadia and from that point on he was moving up and playing society balls."
The most spectacular night of all was Dec. 31, 1927, at the Bellevue Stratford. John Dorrance threw a $100,000 coming-out party for his daughter Fifi. Mr. Lanin was summoned to Campbell's headquarters in Camden. He met with Dorrance - who told him he should hire an additional band for the occasion.
Paul Whiteman arrived at the hotel with two white baby-grand pianos and three singers. One of them was Bing Crosby.
The Dorrance family hired Lanin's band for the whole summer of 1929 at its vacation home on the Maine coast.
"Dr. Dorrance told me that when he was in Germany taking his degree, there was a Hungarian prince who had an orchestra that followed him around and played whenever he felt like listening to music," Mr. Lanin said in an 87th- birthday interview. "He said he always wanted to have an orchestra do that for him, too.
"We really cleaned up that summer," said Mr. Lanin, who arrived in Maine with a chauffeur and two maids and charged Dorrance $36,000 for his services.
In the Roaring Twenties, Mr. Lanin switched from cornet to drums before finally stepping out to lead the band. The orchestra relied on Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and the Gershwins for its music. One of Mr. Lanin's favorite numbers, his son recalled, was Porter's "Just One of Those Things."
Pianist Shermer recalled his boss fondly as a stern taskmaster. "He was never one to shower praise. His idea was, 'If you weren't good, you wouldn't be doing the job for me.' "
Before World War II ended, Mr. Lanin realized that businesses would become major customers of entertainment. As society's demand for orchestras died, he founded a corporate entertainment company.
In 1969 he turned the company, Howard Lanin Productions, over to his son Mike, who still runs it from offices in New York City and Paris.
That same year, Mr. Lanin and his wife, the former Clayre Feinstein, sold their house in Merion and moved into the Philadelphian Apartments, opposite the Art Museum.
A magistrate married them in 1929 - in the Arcadia restaurant, at 1 a.m., after Mr. Lanin had finished a gig. They stayed together for 54 years.
Mrs. Lanin died in 1983.
Until five years ago, Mr. Lanin still went to his office at Suburban Station. He was 89 when he last fronted a band.
A service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oliver H. Bair Funeral Home at 1920 Sansom St. Interment is private.
Besides his brother Lester and son Mike, Mr. Lanin is survived by a son Jay, two daughters, Betty Beckman and Suzanne Lande; another brother, William; nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
By Daniel Rubin, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: April 28, 1991
There was a joy, an elegance when Howard Lanin fronted his orchestra.
"It took people above the mundane," recalled his son, Mike Lanin. ''Everyone became Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for a moment . . . nomatter how your head felt the next day."
Howard Lanin, the Philadelphia society band leader, died Friday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after a bout with pneumonia. He was 93.
His cornet, his charm and gifts of timing and taste carried him on a 74- year career that began with the South Philadelphia High School band and led to the great ballrooms of the Ritz-Carlton in Manhattan, the Bellevue Stratford in Center City and the Breakers in Palm Beach.
For high society, the Howard Lanin Orchestra provided the soundtrack for a gilded age.
At the debut of Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth's five-and-dime heiress, Mr. Lanin's band played until 11:30 the next morning. His orchestra was engaged for the entire summer of 1929 at the vacation home of John Dorrance Sr., the Campbell Soup patriarch, in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Norman Shermer, 79, who played first piano in the band for nearly a half century, recalled yesterday: "He was a master at playing the right tunes at the right tempo with the right men."
Mr. Lanin grew up in houses on Dickinson and Federal Streets in South Philadelphia, the fifth of nine children born to Benjamin and Mary Lanin. A younger brother, Lester Lanin, went on to become a famous New York City band leader. Their father, a Russian Jewish emigre, was a musician and entrepreneur who rented out halls in South Philadelphia for functions. One of them, the Society Hill Playhouse, still stands.
At 15, Howard Lanin dropped out of Southern High, where he had played cornet in the band.
Encouraging him to pursue his obvious talents, his mother told him, ''Howard, you've got something that people want."
At 17, he got his first job with a trio at the Stone Harbor Yacht Club in New Jersey during the summer of 1914. That year, the teenager snuck into a New York City nightclub to hear the orchestra of Reese Europe. These black musicians accompanied the dancers Irene and Vernon Castle.
"When he heard that band, to use today's term, it really blew his mind," Mike Lanin said. "This was the inspiration for what became the Howard Lanin Orchestra and what was called the Society Beat."
In 1921 he began playing at the Arcadia Cafe, a restaurant at Chestnut and 13th Streets, where one night he was joined by Rudolph Valentino, then performing in town.
It was at the Arcadia that he and Main Line society formally met. Elizabeth Dobson Altemus stopped by one night with some friends and liked his sound. She asked if he would play her debut at the Radnor Hunt Club.
"That was the beginning of his career as a society dance leader," his son recalled. "He caught on very fast. He left the Arcadia and from that point on he was moving up and playing society balls."
The most spectacular night of all was Dec. 31, 1927, at the Bellevue Stratford. John Dorrance threw a $100,000 coming-out party for his daughter Fifi. Mr. Lanin was summoned to Campbell's headquarters in Camden. He met with Dorrance - who told him he should hire an additional band for the occasion.
Paul Whiteman arrived at the hotel with two white baby-grand pianos and three singers. One of them was Bing Crosby.
The Dorrance family hired Lanin's band for the whole summer of 1929 at its vacation home on the Maine coast.
"Dr. Dorrance told me that when he was in Germany taking his degree, there was a Hungarian prince who had an orchestra that followed him around and played whenever he felt like listening to music," Mr. Lanin said in an 87th- birthday interview. "He said he always wanted to have an orchestra do that for him, too.
"We really cleaned up that summer," said Mr. Lanin, who arrived in Maine with a chauffeur and two maids and charged Dorrance $36,000 for his services.
In the Roaring Twenties, Mr. Lanin switched from cornet to drums before finally stepping out to lead the band. The orchestra relied on Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and the Gershwins for its music. One of Mr. Lanin's favorite numbers, his son recalled, was Porter's "Just One of Those Things."
Pianist Shermer recalled his boss fondly as a stern taskmaster. "He was never one to shower praise. His idea was, 'If you weren't good, you wouldn't be doing the job for me.' "
Before World War II ended, Mr. Lanin realized that businesses would become major customers of entertainment. As society's demand for orchestras died, he founded a corporate entertainment company.
In 1969 he turned the company, Howard Lanin Productions, over to his son Mike, who still runs it from offices in New York City and Paris.
That same year, Mr. Lanin and his wife, the former Clayre Feinstein, sold their house in Merion and moved into the Philadelphian Apartments, opposite the Art Museum.
A magistrate married them in 1929 - in the Arcadia restaurant, at 1 a.m., after Mr. Lanin had finished a gig. They stayed together for 54 years.
Mrs. Lanin died in 1983.
Until five years ago, Mr. Lanin still went to his office at Suburban Station. He was 89 when he last fronted a band.
A service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oliver H. Bair Funeral Home at 1920 Sansom St. Interment is private.
Besides his brother Lester and son Mike, Mr. Lanin is survived by a son Jay, two daughters, Betty Beckman and Suzanne Lande; another brother, William; nine grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
