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{{Short description|American bandleader (1897–1984)}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2015}}
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'''Henry Halstead''' (November 16, 1897 – March 19, 1984) was an American bandleader. His orchestra began in early 1922<ref name="Coffin2012"/> and over the next twenty years had regular engagements at hotels in New York and California.
Halstead had from 15 to 20 band members at any given time. His orchestra appeared in numerous short subjects on the screen and made over 100 records, mainly with [[Victor Records]]. He appeared in short films released by [[RKO Radio]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Henry Halstead and his Orchestra|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/henry-halstead-and-his-orchestra/ |website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |date=7 April 2020 |accessdate=7 April 2020 }}</ref>
After rising to fame on radio and on the west coast, his orchestra was named the Favorite Band of Movieland. His fans included [[Marion Davies]], [[Sylvia Sidney]], [[Fredric March]], [[Claudette Colbert]], [[Kay Francis]], [[Rudolph Valentino]], [[Roscoe Arbuckle]], [[Maurice Chevalier]], [[Clark Gable]], [[Norma Shearer]], [[Greta Garbo]], [[Clive Brook]], [[Gary Cooper]], [[Marian Nixon]], [[Jack Oakie]], [[Charles Rogers (actor)|Buddy Rogers]], and [[Ruth Chatterton]].
==Career==
Henry Halstead was born November 16, 1897, in El Paso, Texas, and died on March 19, 1984, in California. As a young boy, he learned to play violin. After studying the violin for ten years, he turned professional when at 19, playing clubs and hotels. In 1919, he played violin [[Abe Lyman]] and [[Gus Arnheim]]. They were in a band at the Sunset Inn in Santa Monica, California, with Lyman on drums Gus Arnheim on piano. Roy Fox played the trumpet on occasion with them.
In 1923 Halstead, then director of the Palais Royal Orchestra, predicted for the coming year that even though dance steps may change, the tempo and rhythm will remain about the same as in 1922. And jazz, minus the shrieking and wailing, toned down with even a touch more of the classical than the case in the year now coming to a close, will continue to reign supreme in the popularity of dance fans. "Balance of harmony is the secret," Mr. Halstead said. "Careful selection of instruments and musicians are next in importance, but unless harmony is perfectly balanced, that soft, dreamy effect so necessary in the modern fox trot is lost."{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} The Buescher phone, an unusual instrument for a dance orchestra, is featured in the Palais Royal Orchestra.
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Upon leaving the Big Bear area, Halstead and his family moved to San Francisco, where he booked talent at the St. Francis Hotel for a couple of years. For a short time they were in Los Angeles and then by 1953 he was working at the Westward Ho Talent Booking in Phoenix, Arizona. From February 1955 to November 1958 he was owner and operating broker of a real estate company in the Phoenix area. The sign for his real estate office was a yellow sign of a music note. Hasltead was color blind and the only color he could easily see was yellow.
==Personal
Halstead was married to blues vocalist Marjorie Whitney Halter, who sang with the [[King's Jesters]].
After Halstead and Marjorie were divorced, Halstead continued in the real estate business. He worked with Del Webb in creating the Deer Valley section of Phoenix. He was honored by having one of the streets named after him: West Halstead Drive. In the late 1960s Henry moved to California. He lived in San Diego for a short time, and died in Hemet, California. He is buried in San Diego.<ref>Conversation with Joan Halstead 21 July 2014</ref>
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Many vocalists and entertainers performed with the Henry Halstead Orchestra. Maxine Harding with her deep-dyed blues singing was a soloist with Henry Halstead's Orchestra. Clarence Rand was featured, so was Myrtle Harwin, Niela Goodelle, Margaret Reed, and Peggy Mann.
The orchestra performed at the Blossom Room at Hotel Roosevelt, New York City; the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California; the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco; the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago; and a season at Fatty Arbuckle's "Plantation" in Culver City where such entertainers as [[Al Jolson]], [[Sophie Tucker]], [[Gus Edwards (
Hollywood actor [[Lew Ayres]] was discovered in the Henry Halstead band in 1927. Ayres said "I was a member of Henry Halstead's orchestra in 1927 at the Mission Beach Ballroom, San Diego, California...summer. My instruments were tenor banjo, long-neck banjo and guitar. After a hiatus, I rejoined Mr. Halstead with a new group, including Phil Harris, on New Years Eve the same year for the opening night of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel... a memorable occasion." Henry Halstead is given credit for making the first [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] [[Vitaphone]] movie short with Warner Brothers in 1927 called ''Carnival Night in Paris'' where [[Lew Ayres]] was discovered playing banjo.<ref name="Coffin2012"/> The three music selections for the Vitaphone production where listed as follows: 1. Volga Boatman, 2. At Sundown, 3. Rosy Cheeks.
Halstead was on the cover of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' issue of July 27, 1935 at that time known as Henry "Hank" Halstead and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra playing at the Hotel-Park Central, New York.
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