14 Facts About Harry Reser

Harrison Franklin Reser was an American banjo player and bandleader.

Harry Reser was regarded by some as the best banjoist of the 1920s.

Harry Reser was born in Piqua, Ohio, to William Scott Harry Reser and Alberta Wright.

Harry Reser remained with the two until the age of fourteen.

Harry Reser attended Steele High School in Dayton, and it was during these years that he decided what his vocation would be.

Harry Reser practiced until he was able to play to a high enough standard to supplement his piano playing, thus increasing his chances of earning a reasonable living.

Harry Reser soon moved to Buffalo, New York to appear at the Hippodrome, playing primarily violin, though continuing to work on his banjo technique as well.

Harry Reser sought out engagements and soon found himself in demand.

Harry Reser had three original compositions written for tenor banjo; The Cat and the Dog, Cracker Jack, and Lolly Pops.

Harry Reser played "Tiger Rag" and "You Hit the Spot" in the Vitaphone musical short Harry Reser and His Eskimos.

Harry Reser remained active in music for the rest of his life, leading TV studio orchestras and playing with Broadway theatre orchestras.

Harry Reser wrote several instructional books for the banjo, guitar, and ukulele.

In 1965, Harry Reser died of a heart attack in the orchestra pit of Manhattan's Imperial Theatre while warming up for a Broadway stage version of Fiddler on the Roof.

Harry Reser was inducted into the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame, a museum in Oklahoma, in 1999.