Is Tommy Dorsey Dead or Still Alive? Tommy Dorsey Birthday and Date of Death

Tommy Dorsey Death

Tommy passed away on November 26, 1956 at the age of 51 in Greenwich, Connecticut. Tommy's cause of death was dying from choking.

Tommy Dorsey Birthday and Date of Death

Tommy Dorsey was born on November 19, 1905 and died on November 26, 1956. Tommy was 51 years old at the time of death.

Birthday: November 19, 1905
Date of Death: November 26, 1956
Age at Death: 51

Tommy Dorsey - Biography

Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", because of his smooth-toned trombone playing. Although he was not known for being a notable soloist, his technical skill on the trombone gave him renown amongst other musicians. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. After Dorsey broke with his brother in the mid-1930s, he led an extremely popular and highly successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s. He is best remembered for standards such as "Opus One", "Song of India", "Marie", "On Treasure Island", and his biggest hit single "I'll Never Smile Again".
Born in Mahanoy Plane, Pennsylvania, Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. was the second of four children born to Thomas Francis Dorsey Sr., a bandleader, and Theresa (née Langton) Dorsey. He and Jimmy, his older brother by slightly less than two years, would become famous as the Dorsey Brothers. The two younger siblings were Mary and Edward, who died young. Tommy Dorsey studied the trumpet with his father but later switched to trombone.

Dorsey's married life was varied and, at times, lurid. His first wife was 16-year-old Mildred "Toots" Kraft, with whom he eloped in 1922, when he was 17. They had two children, Patricia and Thomas F. Dorsey III (nicknamed "Skipper"). In 1935, they moved to "Tall Oaks," a 21-acre (8.5 ha) estate in Bernardsville, New Jersey. They divorced in 1943 after Dorsey's affair with his former singer Edythe Wright.
He then wed movie actress Patricia Dane in 1943, and they were divorced in 1947, but not before he gained headlines for striking actor Jon Hall when Hall embraced her. Finally, Dorsey married Jane Carl New on March 27, 1948, in Atlanta, Georgia. She had been a dancer at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City. Tommy and Jane Dorsey had two children, Catherine Susan and Steve.
On November 26, 1956, Dorsey died a week after his 51st birthday in his Greenwich, Connecticut home. He had begun taking sleeping pills regularly at this time, from which he was so sedated that he died in his sleep from choking after eating a heavy meal. Jimmy Dorsey led his brother's band until his own death from lung cancer the following year. At that point, trombonist Warren Covington became leader of the band with Jane Dorsey's blessing as she owned the rights to her late husband's band and name. Billed as the "Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Starring Warren Covington", they topped the charts in 1958 with "Tea for Two Cha-Cha".