Sacramento, California: Robert Ringwald, the pianist who played and promoted jazz in California for more than half a century, has died, according to his daughter, actor and musician Molly Ringwald. He was 80 years old.
Ringwald, known to friends and fans as Bob, died on August 3, Molly Ringwald wrote in an obituary Saturday for the Sacramento Bee. No reason was given.
Born with vision problems in Roseville, California, Ringwald became blind at an early age. He started learning piano at the age of 5 and started his first band at the age of 13.
Four years later, at the age of 17, he was able to grow a beard enough to be able to pass for an adult to play in nightclubs as a professional musician, an occupation he had for the next six decades, His daughter wrote.
First drawn to modern jazz, the music of Louis Armstrong instilled in Ringwald a lifelong passion for performing and preserving traditional New Orleans jazz.
By the 1970s, Ringwald was playing the piano in clubs seven nights a week.
He co-hosted the first Sacramento Jazz Festival in 1974, and his band spearheaded the event, which became an annual city tradition. In 2012, Ringwald was honored by the festival as the Emperor of Jazz.”
In addition to music, Ringwald’s passions included ham radio and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he once served as a guest announcer, reciting the lineup in braille.
Anyone who knew Bob knew his mischievous streak, and his ever-present, slightly ribald sense of humour. Molly Ringwald wrote that if you didn’t beg hard enough to be taken off her email joke list, you’d only get one a few days before you died.
Robert Ringwald is survived by his daughter Molly as well as his wife of 60 years, Adele; a sister, René Angus; another daughter, Beth Ringwald Carnes; one son, Kelly Ringwald; two grandchildren; two granddaughters; two step-granddaughters; a great-grandson; and a step-grandson.
A memorial service is pending.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made either to the Foundation Fighting Blindness or to a cure for childhood cancer.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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