Legendary trumpet player Uan Rasey, whose brassy tones could be heard during solos on soundtracks for films like Chinatown, and West Side Story, has died in Woodland Hills, California. He was 90.
Rasey's trumpet could also be heard in movies like An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain, Spartacus and Ben-Hur.
He died of complications from a heart condition last Monday (26Sep11).
A childhood polio sufferer, Rasey began his career with bandleaders like Sonny Dunham and Alvino Rey and he became a regular on U.S. radio shows throughout the 1940s, during which he featured on programmes hosted by Jack Benny and Bing Crosby.
He joined the Mgm studio orchestra in 1949 and made his mark as a TV show musician behind the scenes of hits like Bonanza and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Trade magazine Variety reports he played on as many as 3,000 film and television shows in his career.
He is perhaps best known for his jazz trumpet in 1974's Chinatown score.
Rasey also performed with Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Doris Day and the Monkees.