"It takes a real man to admit this, but my wife thinks I look better in your dad’s caricature of me than I do in person." Dick Cavett Nov. 27, 2024

With Count Basie

on the Dick Cavett Show stage. Arnold Fishkin is on electric bass.

Art Carney

Photo taken of Art Carney at the rehearsal for the 1969 Tony Awards. James Earl Jones can be seen in the back. I particularly love the intense, focused look on Art's face. Wish I knew what he was watching.

Leonard Bernstein

Photo of Leonard Bernstein taken from the pit of the Mark Hellinger Theater, April 20, 1969. He had just received a Special Tony Award.

For my eleventh birthday my father took me to my first concert. The date was November 26, 1959. The place, Carnegie Hall. The program : Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. The music : J S Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Beethoven Violin Concerto with Zino Francescatti, and the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. I would go on to see Lenny conduct many times, including going to his Young People's Concerts over four seasons. In the summer of 1971, when I was a student at the Berkshire Music Festival, I was asked to audition for Lenny as he was looking for young players to play his "Mass' for the opening of The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Got the gig. To say the least it was a great experience in that I was working with one of the 20th century's greatest creative and recreative musicians. My father took this photo for me and, after all these years, it brings back so many great memories.

The Bartok Concerto was one of the few "classical" records my father owned. Jazz players love this piece. Looking back I now realize that as I was turning 11 the Bartok would celebrate its 15th birthday (premiered on December 1, 1944 with Serge Kossevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony) the following week. It is now considered one of the great masterpieces of the last century. Four days later Lenny and the Phil. would take this performance into the recording studio.

Lawrence Olivier

Photo of Lawrence Olivier taken from the pit of the Mark Hellinger Theater, April 20, 1969. He had just received an honorary Tony.

James Earl Jones

Photo of James Earl Jones taken from the pit of the Mark Hellinger Theater, April 20, 1969. He had just received the Tony for Best Actor in a Play for "The Great White Hope."

Judy Garland & Sammy Davis Jr.

Back stage on the Sammy Davis Jr Show in 1966. Photo taken right before the taping of the "Be a Clown" number. My father first met Judy when the Jimmy Dorsey band played the Hollywood Paladium in 1942. (See below)

"Whistler's Father"

The original multi-tasker.

Wish I could remember this gentleman's name but here is a picture my father took of him with the tools of his trade. From left to right: clarinet, English Horn, flute, oboe, piccolo and alto flute. and for good measure, warming up his recorder. Taken at a recording session in 1967.

Tommy Kay with Ernie Kovacs

This was taken when dad was working, as a member of the Buddy Weed Trio, for Ernie's 1955 early morning radio show on ABC. The show ran from 6am to 9am Monday to Saturday. Dad was a great admirer of Ernie, not only as an innovative comic genius and great lover of music and musicians, but for how well he treated his staff and the Trio. Dad thought he was one of the nicest guys in the business.

Paul Whiteman

Paul Whiteman led one of the most popular dance bands in the 1920's and 1930's. Paul Whiteman commissioned George Gershwin to write Rhapsody in Blue and premiered the work. Tommy can be seen the the lower right. In Mr. Whitman's right hand is his baton. A very large baton.

Jimmy Dorsey Band

Opening night at the Hollywood Palladium, September 29, 1942, with Milton Berle (center) walking in with Jimmy Dorsey, and, for some reason, Micky Rooney sitting in the trombone section. Tommy is playing guitar beside the legendary drummer, Gene Krupa. In the lower left are the band singers, Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly. They can be seen in the Video section singing "Star Eyes" from "I Dood It." My father liked Bob and Helen and Jimmy Dorsey, who was the nice one of the two brothers.

Helen O'Connell

Bob Eberly

Dizzy Gillespie (with Tommy at piano) "Dick Cavett Show" rehearsal. 1970

Sammy Davis Jr

Photo taken during a rehearsal of "The Sammy Davis Jr. Show." 1966

w/ Phil Silvers

Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Kay, Phil Silvers. Publicity photo taken at the time for the filming of "Four Jills and a Jeep." Buddy Schutz is the drummer and was best man at my parents wedding.1944

Eugene McCarthy With Dick Cavett

This photo was taken in 1968 or '69. Cavett never ran away from serious political discussion on his show and here he can be seen with Eugene McCarthy who was then running for President. This was the era of the Civil Rights movement and the war in Vietnam.

Photo by Tommy Kay.

Tommy in Studio

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse