Skinnay Ennis

Skinnay Ennis
Skinnay Ennis in 1945 advertisement
Born	Edgar Clyde Ennis, Jr. August 13, 1907 Salisbury, North Carolina
Died	June 3, 1963 (aged 55) Beverly Hills, California
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of North Carolina
Occupation	Bandleader
Spouse(s)	Carmene Calhoun (1939-1959, divorce)
Children	1 son, Christopher

Edgar Clyde "Skinnay" Ennis, Jr. (August 13, 1907 - June 3, 1963) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and singer.

The son of Mr. and Ms. E.C. Ennis, he was born Edgar Clyde Ennis Jr. in Salisbury, North Carolina and had a brother, James W. Ennis. He met Hal Kemp while attending the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. The two were members of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity there.

An obituary reported about Ennis and his orchestra, "His band had performed in every major dance palace in the nation."

Ennis joined Kemp's orchestra as a drummer and vocalist in the late 1920s, playing with him through 1937 including one tour of Europe in 1930.

In 1938, Ennis put together his own band, which became a popular ensemble in Hollywood films. "Got a Date With an Angel" was his theme song. During this time Gil Evans was one of his arrangers.

Toward the end of the 1950s Ennis's career had faded, and he worked mostly in hotels in the Los Angeles area.

Ennis appeared in the film College Swing.

Ennis began performing comedy routines, and in 1938 he landed a job on Bob Hope's radio program, appearing as a regular until he entered the Army.

He returned to Hollywood bandleading at the war's end and joined the Abbott and Costello radio program during the 1946-47 season.

Ennis joined the Army in 1943, serving as a "warrant officer in charge of a 28-piece band" during World War II.

Ennis was married to the former Carmene Calhoun for 20 years, and they had one son, Christopher. The couple divorced in 1959.

Ennis, whose nickname originally was "Skinny," changed it to "Skinnay" after it was misspelled that way on the label of a record early in his career.