Died On This Date (November 17, 2008) Charles Ottaviano / L.A. Jazz Club Owner
themusicsover Charles Ottaviano
January 3, 1942 – November 17, 2008
Charles Ottaviano was a the owner of Charlie O’s, a popular yet intimate jazz club located in the Van Nuys section of the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los Angeles. A musician himself, Ottaviano moved to Los Angeles from Buffalo in 1960. He opened the Van Nuys location as a restaurant in 1987, and then converted it to a jazz club in 2000. Charlie O’s became a favorite hangout for local jazz enthusiasts thanks in part, to early regular performers, Earl Palmer and John Heard. Charles Ottaviano was 66 when he died of a heart attack on November 17, 2008.
Jerome Kern was a prolific American composer who has some 700 songs to his credit. Throughout his career he wrote such future standards as “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “Ol’ Man River,” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” Kern’s long career found him mostly writing for the theater, penning songs for such classic shows as Roberta, Show Boat and Zigfield Follies. In many cases, he also scored the films that were based on his Broadway musicals. He won two Academy Awards for songs that appeared in films. On November 5, 1945, Kern, 60, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while walking to a drugstore in New York City. He died as a result six days later.
