Meredith Irwin Flory, known professionally as Med Flory (August 27, 1926 – March 12, 2014), was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist, bandleader, and actor.

Early years

Flory was born in

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash River, Wabash an ...

, United States. His mother was an organist and encouraged him to learn clarinet as a child. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was an Army Air Force pilot, and after the war he received his college degree in philosophy from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Career

Flory played in the bands of Claude Thornhill and Woody Herman in the early 1950s, before forming his own ensemble in New York City. In 1955, he relocated to California and started a new group, which played at the 1958

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

. In the late 1950s, he played with Terry Gibbs,

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American jazz musician, most known as an alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet (his first instrument) and bass clarinet. Active ...

, and Herman again, playing both tenor and baritone saxophone. He was cast in twenty-nine episodes from 1956 to 1957 of the ABC

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

, '' The Ray Anthony Show''. In the 1960s, Flory was less active in music, working in television and film as an actor and screenwriter; his credits include ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

''; ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

''; '' Ripcord'' (twice); '' Rawhide'' (twice); ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' (twice); '' Perry Mason'' (twice - including 'The Case of Crying Comedian'); '' Maverick'' (twice); '' The Virginian'' (five episodes); '' Route 66'' (twice); '' Bronco''; '' Surfside 6''; '' Mona McCluskey''; ''

Run, Buddy, Run ''Run, Buddy, Run'' is an American sitcom TV series that aired on CBS for one season of 16 episodes in 1966-1967. The series was created by Leonard B. Stern, and starred jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor Jack Sheldon. Description At a steambath ...

''; '' 77 Sunset Strip'' (three episodes); '' The Dakotas''; '' Destry''; '' Lawman'' (three episodes); '' Wendy and Me''; '' It's a Man's World''; '' The Monroes''; '' Cimarron Strip''; ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

(seven episodes); Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' (twice); ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' (three episodes); ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

''; '' Lassie'' (ten episodes); '' How the West Was Won'' (three episodes); and '' High Mountain Rangers'' (four episodes as

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Mike McBride). He appeared in the films '' The Gumball Rally'', '' The Night of the Grizzly'', and '' The Nutty Professor''. In the mid-1960s Flory worked with

and Joe Maini on transcriptions and arrangements of

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

recordings. In 1972, he co-founded Supersax, an ensemble devoted to Parker's work. Supersax's debut album, ''Supersax Plays Bird'', won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

Personal life

Flory was married to Joan Barbara Fry until her death in 2000.

Death

Flory died of a heart ailment on March 12, 2014, in Hollywood,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, at the age of 87.

Filmography

*'' Gun Street'' (1961) - Willie Driscoll *'' Spencer's Mountain'' (1963) - Spencer Brother (uncredited) *'' The Nutty Professor'' (1963) - Warzewski *''

Move Over, Darling ''Move Over, Darling'' is a 1963 American comedy film starring Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen and directed by Michael Gordon filmed in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope released by 20th Century Fox. The film is a remake of a 1940 sc ...

'' (1963) - Seaman (uncredited) *'' Man's Favorite Sport?'' (1964) - Tucker (uncredited) *''Mike and the Mermaid'' (1964) - Dad *'' The Night of the Grizzly'' (1966) - Duke Squires *'' Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!'' (1967) - Policeman *'' The Reluctant Astronaut'' (1967) - White Shirt in Bar (uncredited) *'' Rough Night in Jericho'' (1967) - Weaver (uncredited) *'' The Big Mouth'' (1967) - Male Nurse (uncredited) *'' The Trouble with Girls'' (1969) - Constable *'' Which Way to the Front?'' (1970) - G.I. Sentry (uncredited) *''

Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came ''Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came'' (also known as ''War Games, Old Soldiers Never'') is a 1970 American drama-comedy film directed by Hy Averback, produced by Fred Engel, and starring Brian Keith, Don Ameche, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine ...

'' (1970) - Military Policeman (uncredited) *'' Home for the Holidays'' (1972) - Sheriff Nolan *'' The Teacher'' (1974) - Joe Roberts *'' Let's Do It Again'' (1975) - Rufus *'' Hustle'' (1975) - Albino-Beating Cop *'' The Gumball Rally'' (1976) - Officer Williams *'' Uncle Joe Shannon'' (1978) - Humphreys / Shannon's Musicians - Keyboard *'' The Hearse'' (1980) - Sheriff Denton *'' The Boogens'' (1981) - Dan Ostroff

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flory, Med 1926 births 2014 deaths Musicians from Indiana People from Logansport, Indiana American male actors American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American male jazz musicians United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II 20th-century American saxophonists