* Nuncio F. (Toots) Mondello; Sax Player With Benny Goodman Band
Nuncio F. (Toots) Mondello, 81, a saxophonist with many of the Big Bands during their glory years. Mondello was the principal alto sax soloist for Benny Goodman when Goodman’s “Let’s Dance” series was broadcast on national radio in the 1930s. His other band affiliations were with Buddy Rogers and Joy Haymes, among others. He also played in the house bands for the Ed Sullivan, Kate Smith and Milton Berle TV shows of the 1950s and 1960s. Mondello developed an interest in classical music and wrote vocal, chamber and orchestral works. In New York City on Sunday of cancer.
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