- Born
- Died
- Paul Ash was born on February 11, 1891 in Saxony, Germany. He is known for Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), Knee Deep in Daisies (1926) and This Is Your Life (1950). He died on July 13, 1958 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Composer and orchestra leader, who started in vaudeville bands prior to military service in World War I. During the mid-1920's, he put together a dance band in Chicago. By the end of the decade, he began to concentrate on fronting a semi-symphonic orchestra which played the major theatres, including the Paramount in New York. Ash was instrumental in giving a start to the 'Betty Boop Girl', Helen Kane, and he also employed future swing greats such as Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. From 1936 to 1945, the Paul Ash Orchestra enjoyed a long spell at New York's Roxy Theatre.
- In an interview, Ash said that Helen Kane's famous 'Betty Boop' character was actually created by 17 year old Ginger Rogers, who was well known throughout her career for occasionally using 'baby talk'. Kane saw Ash's act and picked up Ginger's persona, which Helen then parlayed into several years of great success.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
