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Collection on Art Barduhn, 1920-1953

Overview of the Collection

Title
Collection on Art Barduhn
Dates
1920-1953 (inclusive)
1943-1953 (bulk)
Quantity
.63 cubic feet, (2 boxes, including 130 photographs)
Collection Number
2008.4 (accession)
Summary
Photographs and other materials related to the early career of a musician and performer from Seattle
Repository
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library

P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public by appointment.

Languages
English.
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Biographical Note

Arthur S. Barduhn (b. 1922), son of Carl E. and Blanche Etta Douglas Barduhn, began studying piano at age 4 and formed his first band at age 15, while attending Lincoln High School in Seattle. Barduhn attended the University of Washington School of Music intermittently beginning in 1941, studying composition and conducting. He joined the Coast Guard in 1942, serving at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu as a Seaman 1st class; later, having proven himself as a musician and performer, his rating was changed to Musician 2nd class. Barduhn performed with the Coast Guard band in 1943 and 1944, first in Honolulu, then in the St. Louis Guard District.

After the war, Barduhn formed a quartet with three fellow servicemen, traveling to play at lounges and hotels. Barduhn performed with various musicians before forming the Art Barduhn Trio in the early 1950s, with Barduhn playing piano, vibraphone and accordion, Glenn Thompson on guitar and Russ Phillips on bass. The trio performed at many venues in Seattle and elsewhere, with regular gigs at the Georgian room of the Olympic Hotel, the Grove Club in the Grosvenor House, and contracts for work in other states, including a summer stint at the Gay 90s Bar in the Last Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas. The group also recorded music with Linden records.

Barduhn's early musical career grew hand-in-hand with his television and radio career with KING-TV in Seattle. In 1949, Barduhn and University of Washington classmate Stan Boreson were invited by KING-TV to participate in "Campus Capers," a local 15 minute television show featuring university students. Afterwards, Barduhn and Boreson starred in their own television show "Two B's at the Keys," which offered viewers music, parodies, and comedy sketches, with an emphasis on the Scandinavian humor for which Boreson is still known. The two musicians, along with trio members Glenn Thompson and Russ Phillips, were contracted with the Clipper Oil Company in 1950 for the radio-television show "Clipper Capers." The trio plus Boreson also performed in People's National Bank's "People's Parade" in 1952-1953, and in public service radio programs for the Office of Price Stabilization. The popularity of the group grew as a result of this exposure, increasing the demand for live performances by the Art Barduhn Trio and Stan Boreson.

Art Barduhn married his wife Marie in Minneapolis in 1946 and the couple had a son and daughter. Art Barduhn continues to perform as a musician based in California as of 2009.

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Content Description

Photographs, scripts, correspondence, and other materials related to the early musical career of Seattle musician and performer Art Barduhn.

Early photographs depict Barduhn's parents, and Barduhn and his older brother, Allen, as children. The beginnings of Barduhn's musical career are documented in photographs of his performances as a musician and leader of a Coast Guard band, circa 1942-1943, including performances in Honolulu, where he was stationed. The photographs follow the trajectory of his career throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, depicting early trios as well as the group with which Barduhn made a name in local television, radio and live performances: Barduhn, guitarist Glenn Thompson, bassist Russ Phillips, and accordionist and humorist Stan Boreson. Photographs, correspondence, contracts, scripts and ephemera document the group's performances in front of live audiences and well as in the KING-TV studio, and the various TV and radio programs with which the group was involved in the early 1950s.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.

Restrictions on Use

The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Collection on Art Barduhn, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in series and subseries:

  • Photographs and drawings
    • Family
    • Coast Guard
    • Art Barduhn musical groups
    • KING-TV
    • Miscellaneous photographs
    • Drawings
  • Papers
    • University of Washington
    • Coast Guard
    • King-TV
    • Correspondence
    • Programs, brochures and publications
    • Ephemera
    • Miscellaneous

Location of Collection

3a.4.4

Acquisition Information

Gift of Feliks Banel; received in 2008.

Processing Note

Processed by Leila Martin and Jody Hendrickson, 2009.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Musical ensembles--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Musicians--Washington (State)--Seattle

Personal Names

  • Barduhn, Arthur Douglas
  • Boreson, Stan
  • Peabody, Eddie, ca. 1901-1970

Corporate Names

  • Art Barduhn Trio
  • United States Coast Guard Band

Finding aid prepared by Jody Hendrickson
2009

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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