Buddy Pepper (born Jack Retherford Starkey, April 21, 1922 – February 7, 1993) was an American pianist, songwriter, arranger and actor, known as one of three writers of Billboard's top tune of 1953, "Vaya Con Dios," which has been recorded over 500 times. He also wrote several songs for Universal Pictures' films, including Mister Big (1943). In 1959, he wrote the title song for the Oscar-winning film Pillow Talk, which actress Doris Day sang during the opening credits.
In addition to his contributions in the film industry, Pepper was also known as the piano accompanist, arranger, and even vocal coach of such stars as Judy Garland, Margaret Whiting, Marlene Dietrich, Smilin' Jack Smith, and Lisa Kirk.
Early life
Buddy Pepper was born Jack Retherford Starkey in La Grange, Kentucky, on April 21, 1922. He took up piano without taking any lessons when he was only five years old, learning songs by ear alone, including the difficult ragtime tune "Twelfth Street Rag." He showcased his musical gifts around the age of seven, playing piano and singing on stages throughout his hometown. In 1930, he had his own "song and piano program," airing every week on local Louisville radio station WHAS. At age eleven, he performed as the star piano soloist in the Steedman Philharmonic Club at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, playing Mozart's D Major Piano Concerto. Starkey and another local child performer, Florence Krauss, often appeared together at different events throughout the city, even performing at the B. F. Keith owned Rialto Theatre in Louisville.
The two soon earned a letter of introduction from a Louisville dramatic critic and went to audition at RKO Pictures in Hollywood. When rejected by the studio, they created their own vaudeville act with Jack Pepper and titled the show "Buddy and Florence Pepper." It was at this time that Starkey first went under his stage name "Buddy Pepper."
After their act ended, Starkey and Krauss appeared on Major Bowes Amateur Hour in New York in July 1936, where Mr. Bowes liked them so much that he offered them a job with a local Manhattan band, though child labor laws prevented them from accepting. After their appearance on Amateur Hour, the two returned to California at the request of Jack Pepper and again performed their vaudeville act, until both were eventually discovered by Universal Pictures. Buddy Pepper, as he chose to be referred throughout his Hollywood career, gained his first acting role in the 1938 film That Certain Age, starring Deanna Durbin and Jackie Cooper.
Acting
Once established in California, Pepper began attending Ma Lawlor's Professional School, located off Hollywood Boulevard, where he met and became friends with actress Judy Garland. While going to school, he continued to further his career on screen alongside other child stars in Hollywood. His first big role was in the Paramount Pictures film Seventeen (1940), starring Jackie Cooper. A year later, he gained a starring role in Disney's film The Reluctant Dragon (1941), playing Humphrey the studio guide alongside Robert Benchley.
Shortly after the hit Broadway musical revue Meet the People opened on December 25, 1939, Pepper joined the cast on its nearly two-year run throughout the cities of Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco, among others. During his tour with the show, Starkey met actress Jane Withers following a performance which she attended. Pepper was then cast in the Twentieth Century Fox films Golden Hoofs (1941) and Small Town Deb (1941), both starring Withers herself.
His final movie role was in the 1942 film Reap the Wild Wind in an uncredited role. In 1956, he appeared in an episode of the TV series Front Row Center.
Military career
From 1942 to 1945, Pepper served in the military. He was first stationed at Fort MacArthur in California, during which time he and other servicemen performed in an "all-soldier" revue titled Hey, Rookie. After the revue's conclusion, he went on a 12,000 mile tour that included stops to entertain soldiers serving as bases in Alaska, northern Canada, and the Arctic Circle. He then started another tour throughout the Air Transport Command Ferrying Division bases after he was selected as one of "the three top entertainers" in the ATC.
During his time at the New Castle Army Air Base in Wilmington, Delaware, Pepper was the announcer of a radio show titled the "All Sports Show," which hosted his former co-star Jane Withers, among other popular names, in order to attract attention and raise funds for the creation of a service club at the air base.
Pepper was discharged in October 1945 and returned to his career in Hollywood.