Licco Liggy

Violinist and Bandleader. Liggy was born in Vienna, Austria, on July 4, 1881, to a Turkish-born father, Semaja Liggy, and an Austrian mother, Regina Eskenasy Liggy. By 1900, he was playing in the second violin section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Victor Herbert. On February 18, 1906, he performed with The Vienna Quartet at Carnegie Hall alongside violinist Ludwig Schönberger, cellist Otto Krist, and pianist Simon Zucker. By 1918, he'd become a naturalized citizen of the U.S. and was living at 66 Ft. Washington Avenue in New York City. He had relocated to Los Angeles, California, by 1931 when his first wife, Vera Gordon, died suddenly at the age of 24. Their address had been 6141 Afton Place, Apartment 27, Los Angeles. On August 23, 1936, he performed in Santa Barbara, California's first "Symphony in the Bowl," which consisted of musicians working under the Federal Music Project, part of the federal government's New Deal program which employed musicians, conductors, and composers during the Great Depression. By the early 1940s, Liggy had moved to 6224 Leland Way, Los Angeles. On September 11, 1944, he married Amy Cynthia Murray (1905-1958), a teacher from El Dorado Springs, Missouri, who was employed as a masseuse during her 18 years in California. "The Los Angeles Times" reported in its April 13, 1947, edition on page 16 that Amy had filed for a divorce against Licco. Ten days later, Licco had died of circulatory failure due to coronary sclerosis. He was buried on April 28, 1947, in Beth Olem Cemetery.