Biography

John Bunch was born on December 1, 1921 in Tipton, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Two Family House (2000), Tony Bennett at the Talk of the Town (1972) and BBC Show of the Week (1965). He was married to Cecily Gemmell. He died on March 30, 2010 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

He grew up idolizing Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson. As a teenager, he was hitching rides to sit in with the musicians at the Black Elks lodge.

During WWII, he joined the Army Air Corps, and became a bombardier. In 1944, his B-17 was shot down over Germany, and he was a POW until the camp was liberated in April 1945.

After the war, he wanted to attend music school, but did not have the basic classical training required. Instead, he attend Indiana University and majored in speech. While in college, he learned to play bebop.

In the 1950s, he played with the orchestras of Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, and Gene Krupa. He was the pianist and musical director for Tony Bennett for six years.

He played his last gig just three weeks before his death at age 88.