Roger Wolfe Kahn

Biography

Roger Wolfe Kahn was born in Morristown, New Jersey on 19 October 1907. He was the son of German banker and financier Otto Kahn, who immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s. Rather than go into his fathers line of work, he became a musician and learned to play several instruments. He formed his own orchestra at an early age, and because of his family's wealth, he was able to hire some of the best musicians and vocalists of the time. (Among those who spent the early part of their careers with Kahn were Red Nichols, Gene Krupa, Jack Teagarden, Morton Downey, Joe Venuti, Tommy Dorsey, and Artie Shaw.) His orchestra performed for many years at the Biltmore Hotel in New York. Kahn's other great passion was aviation. His future career in this field is foreshadowed in the short subject The Yacht Party (1932), in which he pilots a biplane. In the mid 1930s he gave up his orchestra and became a test pilot for Grumman Aviation. He tested many of the fighter planes used by American fliers in World War II. He later became Grumman's director of service and product support. Kahn died in New York City on 12 July 1962.