Lorraine & John Birks Gillespie Estate Auction 9/14, 10:00 am

Preview September 11-14. Special Event Schedule

Lot Number 6:

A well-worn Naval Officer.s cap and several pictures of Dizzy and Castro.

Dizzy loved hats -- rarely was he seen without one. Over the years he wore many different styles. His appreciation for Afro-Cuban music resulted in many close connections with Cuban musicians and two trips to Cuba. The second trip, in 1985, was the result of an invitation to headline the Fifth International Jazz Festival in Havana (Lot number 407). He performed with Arturo Sandoval (Lot number 549) and was the subject of the documentary film A Night in Havana (Lot number 117). For his meeting with Fidel Castro he wore a French Sailor.s style striped sweater, a navy blazer and this cap. Dizzy being Dizzy, he couldn.t leave it at that. This series of pictures shows Dizzy and Castro together but in some of the pictures they have switched hats!

Lot Number 24:

A collection of Muppets memorabilia including a script from Muppet Show # 85 featuring Dizzy.

It's not surprising that Dizzy was a Muppet fan but did you know he was on the Muppet Show? Dizzy made a number of performances over the years, some that had nothing to do with the trumpet. His voice was the star in several animated films made by the Hubley Studios (Lot #246) including the Academy Award winning The Hole. He was the voice of the Easter Bunny (Lot #240) in A Family Circus Easter. Dizzy was the subject of Jean Bach's film The Spitball Story and he is featured in her film A Great Day in Harlem (Lot #547). Of course, Dizzy performances were recorded many times over the course of his career as a trumpeter and band leader. This great collection of pictures, dolls and memorabilia would be a great addition to a Dizzy - or a Muppets - collection.

Quick Bio:

The famous trumpeter was born in Cheraw, South Carolina on October 21, 1917 and died in Englewood, New Jersey in January 6, 1993. He married Lorraine Willis on May 9, 1940. They lived in their Englewood, NJ home from 1965 until their deaths. Lorraine died in June, 2004.

Other Links:
Press Release  (PDF - Requires Adobe Reader)

Gillespie grace note: A Dizzying auction - Appearing in NJ Newspaper The Star Ledger on 8/3/05

View Catalogue

A sneak preview of the sale appeared on New Jersey News 12 on Thursday August 11