Jack Sheldon’s Legendary Trumpet Silenced; Jazz Great Dies At 88

LOS ANGELES, CA — Jack Sheldon, known for his work on “The Merv Griffin Show” and “Schoolhouse Rock!”, has joined the “Jazz Cats in heaven,” a spokeswoman for the charismatic trumpeter, singer and actor said on Facebook. Sheldon, who offered legions of children lessons on grammar and politics with catchy ditties like “Conjunction Junction” and “I’m Just a Bill,” was 88.

Sheldon, who worked for Griffin’s talk show for most of its 1962 to 1986 run, died of natural causes on Dec. 27, Sheldon’s manager and longtime partner, Dianne Jimenez, said in a statement.

His tender trumpet solo, “The Shadow of Your Smile” from the 1965 film “The Sandpiper” was the song of the year at the Grammys and the best original song at the Oscars.

“It’s a haunting trumpet he plays,” Griffin told the Los Angeles Times in 2002, according to an account of Sheldon’s death by The Associated Press. “Henry Mancini once told me, 'If I've got a couple making passionate love on screen and I'm writing the score, it's Jack Sheldon's trumpet I want.' "

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1931, Sheldon began his love affair with the trumpet early, playing professionally as a youngster and played with several Air Force bands. He moved to Los Angeles in 1947 and by the 1950s had established himself alongside artists Art Pepper, Stan Kenton and Shorty Rogers as a prominent member of the West Coast jazz movement.

During his decades-long career, he also played with jazz and pop greats Benny Goodman, Peggy Lee, Lena Horne and Frank Sinatra.

Sheldon lent his distinctive voice to the animated children’s series, “Schoolhouse Rock!”, which ran from 1973 to 1985, and then was briefly revived in 1987.

“I’m just a bill,” he boomed the Dave Frishberg tune in his gravelly voice, explaining in a three-minute clip how legislation wends through Congress and becomes law. “Yes I am only a bill. And I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill.”

He also performed the Bob Dorough tune, “Conjunction Junction,” on the educational television program. Using train analogies, the song explains how conjunctions like “and,” “but” and “or” hook together words, phrases and clauses.

He loved playing the wiseguy on stage and on the screen. He starred in the 1966-67 television sitcom “Run Buddy Run,” opposite Sally Field in the short-lived “The Girl With Something Extra” in the 1970s, and also in episodes of “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

He played opposite Bette Middler in “For the Boys,” playing a World War II bandleader in the 1991 film. He starred with James Caan in “Let’s Get Lost,” a documentary about trumpet player Chet Baker. Sheldon was the subject of a 2008 documentary, “Trying to Get Good: the Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon.”

Sheldon had battled health problems, including colon cancer in 1996 and strokes in 2005 and 2001. The strokes left his right hand impaired, and Sheldon learned to play his trumpet with his left hand and continued to perform. He hosted jam sessions at his Los Angeles area home until 2019.

No details of his death were given in the announcement of Sheldon’s death. Services will be held Jan. 10 in Cypress, California. In addition to Jimenez, he is survived by children Jessie and John.