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Richard La Salle continued from page 1 Rex movie theatre on Main Street). By the time La Salle was 13, he was playing in an orchestra, and amazingly, at age 15 he was playing lead on the accordion with his own nine piece orchestra. His father was the Louisville dealer for May- tag, the sponsor of his first orchestra. La Salle kept busy performing music while attending Louisville High School, and he even was put on the staff of the NBC radio station in Denver. At age 16, in an empty radio studio, he used his knowledge from playing an accor- dion keyboard to teach himself to play the piano. At school, he was a member of the boys' chorus, mixed chorus, boys' quartet, and orchestra. He graduated in 1935 with his class of 26 students and began attending the University of Colorado. In late 1935, Louisville High School's student newspaper, 7he Look Out, reported that La Salle had been chosen as a member of the Glee Club at C.U. It was not long before La Salle was receiving offers to join orchestras and go on the road. This he did, and the experience led to his taking over of Neil Bondshu's orchestra upon Bondshu's unexpected death in the 1940s. Under the name "Dick LaSalle, His Piano and His Orchestra," La Salle began a nearly Advertising for Toney W. LaSalle's store appears on a large sign from a Main Street business. The sign now hangs on the wall of the Louisville Historical Museum. twenty year career in the 1940s and 1950s playing at clubs and hotels all over the United States. The musical climate at the time was perfect for La Salle's talents. A big source of entertainment for people was dancing to Big Band music and, later, "Society music." La Salle's orchestra catered to this market. With his wife Patricia as manager, he and his orchestra performed at such well-known venues as the Coconut Grove, the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, the Palmer House in Chicago, and the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. According to liner notes from a 1952 album he made Dick La Salle is seen on the right with his Maytag Orchestra in this photo. Vincent Damiana is shown third from the left playing the alto sax. 2 with his orchestra, A Night at the Persian Room, his orchestra had "almost become a fixture of the combination restaurant, dance floor, and show -place which is the Persian Room." The notes go on: One of the best bands in the society field, Dick La Salle does everything with charm and eclat. He does not have any one "specialty"— his specialty is his range. ... [Slays Dick, `when you go out for an evening of dancing, that's exactly what you want... Therefore, we play tunes designed for the feet and not for vocal cords." A Hollywood producer familiar with La Salle's work introduced him to the motion picture business. As a result, throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he was writing scores for movies and televi- sion. One year, he even composed the scores for twelve movies. Movies for which he composed the scores ranged from crime dramas and action movies to Westerns starring Audie Murphy and horror movies starring Vincent Price. The television scores to which he con- tributed likely still play in the nighttime dreams of baby boomers who grew up on a steady diet of such popular shows as Lost in Space, F T-oop, The Fugitive, Land of the Giants, 7he F.B.I., and Won- der Woman. Richard W. La Salle is a prolific mu- sician who did what he loved and has left his mark on American popular cul- ture. When you think about it, it's not surprising that it all started in Louisville.