Monte Kay

ARCHIVE: L.A. TImes
OBITUARIES : Monte Kay, 63; Producer, Manager and Club Founder dies at 63 …
L.A. Times
May 27, 1988

Monte Kay, record producer, personal manager and founder of several jazz clubs in New York City, died Wednesday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center of an apparent heart attack.
Kay, 63, began producing jazz concerts in New York when he was in his late teens. Artists he featured included Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. Later he was a founder of Birdland and operated two other less-famous jazz spots, Royal Roost and Le Downbeat.

He next became a vice president for United Artists records and manager of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Kirby Mann, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz.

At this time, record producer Monte Kay married singer/actress Diahann Carroll in 1956. Her father boycotted the wedding ceremony which was presided over by Adam Clayton Powell Jr. at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. The union produced a daughter, Suzanne Kay Bamford (born September 9, 1960), who became a freelance media journalist. The Kay/Carroll marriage ended in 1962.

Kay moved to Los Angeles as manager of Flip Wilson and helped produce the comedian’s highly rated TV show. He and Wilson founded Little David Records, a comedy-oriented label whose artists include Wilson and George Carlin.

Kay is survived by his wife, Roberta, and three children. In lieu of flowers contributions are asked to the I Can Assn., an organization at 4024 Durfee Road, El Monte 91732, that helps abused and neglected children.

References

• Updated from Biographical Summaries of Notable People via daughter Suzanne Kay Bamford by SmartCopy: Sep 23 2015, 19:05:07 UTC
• Monte Kay Dies at 63; Founder of Nightclubs AP Published: May 28, 1988. He is survived by his wife, Roberta; a daughter, Suzanne, and two stepchildren, Tony and Tara.
• Jet Jun 20, 1988 Page 52 Services for Monte Kay, ex husband of Diahann Carroll, Record Exec.
• Ancestry.tree
  • Updated from Ancestry Genealogy by SmartCopy: Sep 24 2015, 1:28:28 UTC
• https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LT6L-J2P