-
His Birth
Thomas Wright Waller was born on May 21 1904 -
Period: to
His Childhood
Waller learned to play piano at the age of 6, and within a few years was also learning the reed organ, string bass and violin.At the age of 15 he dropped out of school and became an organist at the Lincoln Theatre in Harlem. -
Period: to
Rise to popularity
Waller became more involved with writing and performing for revues in the late 1920s, starting with Keep Shufflin' in 1927. -
Ain't misbehavin
In 1929 his most popular song “Ain't Misbehavin'” was composed in 1929 byhimr and Harry Brooks. -
Late Career and Death
Waller returned to Hollywood early in 1943 to film Stormy Weather with Lena Horne and Bill Robinson. After returning to New York, he began writing songs for another revue, Early to Bed.3, he contracted bronchial pneumonia, an illness that he died from in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 15, 1943.