Wardell Carl Gray (1921 - 1955)

Born 13 Feb 1921 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States

Died 25 May 1955 at age 34 in Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, United States

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Biography

Wardell Gray is Notable.

Wardell Gray was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.

Wardell Gray was born in 1921. ^[1]

He died at the age of 34 in 1955. He was survived by his wife, Dorothy, and two children. ^[2] He was interred in Detroit, Michigan, where his parents resided. ^[2][3][1]

Death

Wardell Gray was in Las Vegas to play the saxophone with Benny Carter's Orchestra at the opening of a new venue, the interracial club, Moulin Rouge.^[2]

His body was "found in a field on the edge of the desert about two miles from Las Vegas last Thursday by a passing motorist. Gray's neck was broken and there were bruises on the back of his head." ^[2] Wardell's death was initially reported as a murder. ^[4]

The police investigators held a man in the death, and after taking a lie detector test, the man admitted to moving Wardell's body. The two had been using narcotics and Mr. Gray fell in his room, causing his death. The second man, named Teddy Haley (or Hale; both names appear in news reports), a dancer, had become frightened about the death and tried to hide the body by moving it to a wheat field outside the city. ^[2] The death was eventually ruled to be accidental. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JPYN-Z3J : 9 January 2021), Wardell Gray, May 1955; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} The California Eagle, 2 Jun 1955, p. 1, col. 8.
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 23 January 2022), memorial page for Wardell Carl Gray (13 Feb 1921–25 May 1955), Find A Grave: Memorial #96321891, citing Detroit Memorial Park East, Warren, Macomb County, Michigan, USA ; Maintained by Kris 'Peterborough K' Peterson (contributor 46537737).
4. ↑ The Lincoln Star, 27 May 1955, p. 17, col. 3.
5. ↑ The Spokesman-Review, (Spokane, Washington) 28 May 1955, p. 2, col. 4.

See also:

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7MY-4C5 : accessed 24 January 2022), Wardell Gray in household of James F Chage, Detroit (Districts 0001-0250), Wayne, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 78, sheet 7B, line 75, family 42, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1034; FHL microfilm 2,340,769.

• "United States 1950 Census", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FSD-LHJ2 : Wed Oct 04 12:24:25 UTC 2023), Entry for Madeline Mapp and Wardell Gray, 10 April 1950.

• Wikidata: Item Q1740384, en:Wikipedia

• Wardell Gray Wardell Gray:The Many Faces of the Thin Man website

Research Notes

From the 1950 census - Wardell had a sister Madeline, born about 1912 in Oklahoma, who married a Mapp.