May 16, 1953: Django Reinhardt Dies

May 16, 1953: Django Reinhardt dies of a brain hemorrhage in the Paris suburb of Fontainebleau, France. The Belgian jazz guitarist was only 43 years old.

Born as Jean Reinhardt on January 23, 1910 in Pont-à-Celles, in the mostly-French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium, he was of Manouche Romani descent. (The Romani are the people previously called "Gypsies," but that is now considered a slur.) "Django" appears to have been a Walloon diminutive of "Jean," and not, as his later fans would claim, a Romani word meaning "I awake."

As a child, living in and around Paris, Reinhardt saw his father playing piano and his mother dancing. This led him to music, playing guitar, banjo and violin. By the time he was 15 years old, he was already making money, if not much, busking in cafés, often with his brother Joseph. At this time, his repertoire did not include jazz.

He began recording in 1928, but late that year, he and his wife nearly died in a fire. He nearly lost his right leg, and walked with a cane for the rest of his life. The ring finger and pinky on his right hand were damaged, forcing him to change his playing style. By 1934, he was playing guitar in the Quintette du Hot Club de France in Paris, the top European jazz group of the era. In 1935, Decca Records became the 1st company to release his records in America. By 1938, they were playing to crowds of thousands in London.

World War II meant that Romani people like Reinhardt were targeted by the Nazis. The Nazis also hated jazz, an un-German. He and his group had to "go underground," and twice he tried and failed to escape from France. But he managed to survive the war. Over 600,000 Romani did not.

He toured America in 1946, playing with Duke Ellington at Cleveland Music Hall, and taking 6 curtain calls at Carnegie Hall in New York. He built a new group in 1949, with Italian musicians who were influenced by the bebop jazz of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

But on May 16, 1953, while walking up to his house in Paris after a performance, he collapsed from a brain hemorrhage and died. He was only 43 years old. Over the 1950s and '60s, men like Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins would change jazz. By the time Miles started his "fusion jazz" in 1969, Django could still have been alive, and who knows how he would have followed, or even made, the changes in jazz.

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May 16, 1953 was a Saturday. Actor Pierce Brosnan, who starred in 4 James Bond films, was born on this day.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees led 3-0 going into the 9th inning, but Vic Raschi ran out of gas, and among the hits he allowed was a home run to the White Sox' pitcher, the once-and-future-Yankee Tommy Byrne. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4.

* The New York Giants lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It had just been renamed from Sportsman's Park. It would be replaced by Busch Memorial Stadium in 1966, and a new Busch Stadium in 2006. Willie Mays did not play in this game. Stan Musial was 2-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 1-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams did not play, and the only run of the game came on a home run by George Kell.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 6-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. It had just been renamed from Shibe Park.

* The Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Bob Porterfield allowed 8 hits, but kept his shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Joe Garagiola, a catcher and a future broadcaster, not known for his hitting, hit a home run. Ralph Kiner went 1-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Braves, 3-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. The 1st batter of the game for the Braves was Billy Bruton, and he singled off Curt Simmons. Simmons did not allow another baserunner for the rest of the game, coming that close to a perfect game. He also got a hit himself in the 7th inning.

* And the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The game was made up 2 days later. The Reds won, 2-1. Ted Kluszewski won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Clarence "Bud" Podbelian, a former Dodger, outpitcher Elwyn "Preacher" Roe, who both went the distance. Jackie Robinson went 1-for-4 with 2 walks and an RBI.