violins, since many of his former band members have said that he had been known to crack these over the heads of other musicians on occasion. There are many anecdotes of his pranks told by his associates. In one account, he filled a tuba player's horn with flour during a break in a rehearsal. Another involved sending the one-armed trumpeter Wingy Manone a single cufflink for Christmas. He was also well known for having called every bass player in the New York phonebook and asking them to meet with him on a street corner. When over 50 bass players arrived with their instruments it created a minor roadblock. He then subsequently had to pay the players for their time as mandated by the AFM. Venuti once tipped the inebriated and unconscious Bix Beiderbecke into a bath filled with purple jello. Personal life Little is known about Venuti's personal life aside from his extensive jazz career. Some of his many biographers claim that he was married three times. In a 1934 passenger list he is stated traveling with his wife Sarah Venuti (née Israel). They got married in August 1934. Wingy Manone reported that Venuti was married to a woman named "Sally", and in 1950, the Los Angeles Times reported on his divorce from a woman named "Dorothy". Venuti suffered from alcoholism in his middle age, throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. He was able to recover, and to regain his former acclaim for his playing. In 1970, Venuti was diagnosed with cancer. He died on August 14, 1978 in Seattle, Washington, of either cancer or a heart attack. Discography References Sources Sudhalter, Richard M. Lost Chords: White Musicians and their Contribution to Jazz, 1915–1945. Oxford, 1999. Baxter, James. The Blue Violin – privately published 1953 biography of Joe Venuti (acquired by AB Fable Archive in March 2001). "Violin Rhythm, a School of Modern Rhythmic Violin Playing" by Joe Venuti, edited by the Dutch composer Eddy Noordijk, published by Robbins Music Corp, 1937. "The Violin in Jazz". The Cambridge Companion to the Violin. Ed. Stowell, Robin. Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge:New York, NY. 1992. Dexter, D. "Venuti Stops Clowning, September 15, 1940". Downbeat Magazine, Vol. 66 Iss 7 p 87. July 1, 1999 Mcdonough, John. "Joe Venuti/Zoot Sims: Joe Zoot and more". Downbeat Magazine, Vol. 70 Iss 1 p 64. January 1, 2003 External links Joe Venuti recordings at