Fonds
William "Billy" (aka Willie) Eckstein (1888-1963) was born in Point St. Charles on December 6, 1888. His parents, George Hugo Eckstein (1843-1824), born in Sweden, and Wilhelmina Hildebrant (1848-1913), from Prussia, immigrated to Canada in 1879. The couple had 13 children, several of whom died at a young age, and Willie Eckstein was the youngest. Musically gifted, he began playing public piano concerts at the age of four. He received classical training from, among others, Moretzky Upton, a professor associated with the McGill University Conservatory of Music. He was quickly recognized as a child prodigy and dubbed "The Boy Paderewski," a reference to celebrated pianist Ignace Paderewski.
Coming from a family of modest means, he decided to seek his fortune as a pianist of popular music on Broadway. Hired by the Orpheum Circuit, he entered the world of American vaudeville, touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe from the ages of 12 to 18. Willie rubbed shoulders with artists like Houdini, Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth, and performed for the greatest names in music, including Paderewski himself, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Joseph Hoffman and Vladimir de Pachmann. The young pianist played at a variety of venues: Karn Hall in Montreal, the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, and even the White House in the United States, where he played a piece for President Theodore Roosevelt.
After a yearlong stay in Europe to complete his musical training, he returned to Montreal in 1906 and began his career as a silent film accompanist, first at the Lyric Hall, and then at the Strand Theatre (corner Mansfield and St. Catherine). It was said that his playing was often more popular than the film itself. Dubbed "Mr. Fingers," Eckstein accompanied films such as Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, creating a special atmosphere that attracted crowds. Willie Eckstein also worked as a piano demonstrator for J. W. Shaw. In 1919, he accompanied singer Gus Hill on Montreal radio station XWA for North America's first-ever live radio performance.
Prohibition came into effect in the United States in 1920, prompting many New York performers to move up to Montreal. This stimulated the city's burgeoning musical scene and numerous nightclubs and performance venues opened. When silent films fell out of favour, Eckstein left the Strand Theatre in 1930 and worked as a musician in several former cinemas like the Piccadilly (corner St. Alexandre and Mayor), the Outremont (corner Bernard and Champagneur), the Carioca (688 St. Catherine Street West) – which Willie actually managed at one time –, the Belmont (corner Mont Royal and St. Lawrence), the Amherst (corner St. Catherine and Amherst), the Rivoli (corner St. Denis and Bélanger), the Corona (corner Notre Dame and Charlevoix), the Seville (corner St. Catherine and Chomedey) and the Granada (corner St. Catherine Street East and Morgan).
Throughout his career, Willie Eckstein was known primarily for playing ragtime and "novelty piano," two genres related to jazz. The songwriter and composer worked with a number of well-known musical figures, like Beatrice Lillie (Béatrice Little), Nora Bayes, Jack Norworth, Harry Thomas (Reginald Thomas), Robert Langlois and Vera Guilaroff. He also started various groups, such as the Eckstein Jazz Band (Eckstein Jazz Orchestra), one of the first jazz bands in Montreal, directed by his brother Jack Eckstein, violinist; the William Eckstein Trio, an instrumental band; and the Piano Ramblers, a duo made up of Eckstein and Vera Guilaroff. Willie Eckstein also composed and played several patriotic songs, written for Queen Elizabeth II, Governor General Vincent Massey and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. In addition, he made regular appearances on radio and television.
In May 1963, numerous friends and admirers of the musician organized a celebration to commemorate his long career. It was the last time he performed in public. Later that evening, Willie Eckstein suffered a stroke, dying four months later on September 23 at the age of 74. The pianist left behind his wife, Catherine "Kitty" Casey ([1896?]-1979); his brother, Jack; two sisters, Mrs. H. L. Scott of Toronto and Mrs. Charles Smith of Boston; as well as three nephews, George W., Fred N. and John B. Eckstein, all from Montreal.
Willie Eckstein was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Lobby of Fame in 2006.
Source: Library and Archives Canada, Virtual Gramophone: Canadian Historical Sound Recordings. Willie Eckstein, pianist and composer (1888-1963), https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/virtual-gramophone/Pages/willie-eckstein-bio.aspx
Scope and Content
William Eckstein was a prominent figure on Montreal's cultural scene during the first half of the 20th century. A pioneering musician, he was also a real character, with a strong personality and good sense of humour. He was unquestionably very influential in his time.
The documents preserved in this fonds provide a record of this pianist's professional activities, his working relationships, his engagements and achievements, as well as his personal life, in all its uniqueness. The fonds includes correspondence and greeting cards, two relief engravings, certificates, a napkin, religious images, prayer books, agreements and contracts, posters, handbills, business cards, an album cover, a program, song lyrics, musical scores and early drafts, numerous press clippings, two pencil drawings, 16 humorous and erotic cards, and a restaurant menu with handwritten notes. Acknowledgements of receipt and letters of appreciation from places like the American Consulate, the Government of Canada and Buckingham Palace underscore the fame of Willie Eckstein, who wrote several songs over the course of his career in honour of King George V, President Roosevelt, Sir Winston Churchill, and Queen Elizabeth. A limited-edition portfolio illustrating the documents of surrender signed in Lüneburg, Reims, Berlin and Tokyo at the end of the Second World War is also evidence of the musician's support of various causes, like the Victory Loan campaigns in Canada. Additional documents include the handwritten will of William Eckstein, dated 1939, documentation related to his death on September 23, 1963 - a medical bill, cremation certificate and book of condolences - , letters, invoices and receipts saved by Kitty Eckstein in the 1960s and 1970s, and four extremely informative scrapbooks testifying to the pianist's early fame and popularity. Three of these scrapbooks essentially focus on Willie Eckstein's professional life, listing the various Canadian and American cities where he performed during his career, while the fourth is attributed to Charles "Chas" Summers, a member of the Eckstein Jazz Band and a great friend of Willie's.
The fonds also contains a batch of 29 negatives and 138 old photographs of various sizes that similarly document the pianist's private and professional lives, primarily during the period 1940 to 1963. Some of the images really stand out, like the Armistice parade in 1918 on the corner of University and Sherbrooke, an appeal for the 1940-1945 war effort, and concert pianos by Quidoz, another company that Willie Eckstein worked for as a representative. There are also autographed photographs of famous people and snapshots of the musician with his wife Kitty, his friends, or his dog Casey.
The fonds is divided into the following series:
P767/A
Personal Life, 1909-1977;
P767/B Professional Life, 1877-1990, predominant 1900-1964;
P767/C Photographs, 1940-1963.
Classification Scheme
P767 Willie
Eckstein
P767/A Personal Life
P767/A1 Willie
Eckstein
P767/A2 Kitty
Eckstein
P767/B Professional Life
P767/B1 Agreements, contracts and
correspondence
P767/B2 Concert
programs and advertisements
P767/B3 Musical works
P767/B4 Influences
and musical styles
P767/B5 Scrapbooks
P767/B6 Newspapers
and press clippings
P767/C Photographs
Source of title proper: Based on the creator of the fonds.
Dates of creation: Many documents are undated.
Physical description: The iconographic documents contained in this fonds include 2 relief engravings, 2 pencil drawings, 16 printed cards, 29 negatives and 138 gelatin silver print photographs of various sizes.
Immediate source of acquisition: When Willie died, the documents in this fonds were kept by his wife, Catherine "Kitty" Casey Eckstein. Following her death in 1979, the documents were given to Paul Viau. In 2015, the estate of Mr. Viau donated this valuable corpus to the McCord Museum.
Language: The documents are in English, French, Swedish and Arabic, but primarily in English.
Last update: March 29, 2019
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There are no works to discover for this record.
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.