Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra pal Buddy Greco dies in Las Vegas

Singer-pianist Buddy Greco, who hung out with Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack, gave a command performance with the Beatles and owned a chic jazz supper club in Cathedral City, died Tuesday in Las Vegas. He was 90.

His son, Buddy Greco Jr., of Desert Hot Springs, said in an email, "My beloved dad has passed away. The world is a lesser place. There will never be another... I was lucky to be his drummer for three years... and his son forever."

Greco, born Armando Greco in Philadelphia, was known as one of the leading singer-pianists-arrangers in jazz. He was hired by the legendary big band leader Benny Goodman when he was 16. He sang, played piano and wrote arrangements for the band for four years before starting a solo career that included hit recordings of “The Lady Is A Tramp” and perhaps the first recording of “Up, Up and Away.”

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Greco and his fifth wife, singer Lezlie Anders, headlined The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies in 2004 and made Palm Desert their full-time home. They bought property in Cathedral City and in 2006 opened Buddy Greco’s Dinner Club, featuring touring jazz and traditional pop acts, plus performances by Anders with Greco on a grand piano.

He also performed and recorded with the Cathedral City High School jazz band and performed and arranged music for the Coachella Valley Symphony while living in the Coachella Valley. Buddy Jr. plays drums in his own rock band.

Buddy Greco’s Dinner Club closed in 2009 and Anders and Greco moved to England, where they performed their theatrical production of "Fever," based on Greco's relationship with the late singer, Peggy Lee. Greco celebrated his 80th year in show biz in Essex in 2013 performing with a Rat Pack tribute act. His website said he first appeared on radio when he was 4 years old.

The Review-Journal said Greco celebrated his 90th birthday last August at the Italian American Club in Las Vegas. Friends said he was working on an autobiography in Vegas when he died.

Before moving to Palm Desert, Greco performed at a benefit to raise funds for the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center at the McCallum Theatre with Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Mel Torme and Dinah Shore. He also performed with Sinatra at the first Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational Gala in 1989 and was a regular at the Jazz Celebrity Golf & JAMS Session in Palm Desert.

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Greco, who recorded more than 40 albums in his career, was signed in 1965 to Sinatra’s Reprise Records, where he recorded three albums, including “Big Band & Ballads.” He was visiting Sinatra at his Cal Neva Lodge at Lake Tahoe July 28-29, 1962, and had his photo taken with Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. He said Monroe acted like she “didn’t have a care in the world,” but she was found dead a week later in her Brentwood home.