Actors playing the tuba in the movies & TV

[KCarubia]

Bill Murry & Tommy Johnson

[David Richoux]

Here are a few unanswered questions on the topic from the "Who Played Tuba On..." section:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=47715 and viewtopic.php?f=14&t=45998

[ScottM]

On the old show "Love American Style" there was an episode called "Love and the Tuba player." Tommy Johnson played the music but don't know who the actor was. Tommy's story about the recording was pretty funny as I recall.
ScottM

[Bandmaster]

How about Anna Paquin in "Fly Away Home"? About the little girl that raised that the geese and guided them south with an ultralight aircraft. There were several scenes in the movie where she played the tuba.

[daytontuba]

Look for Buddy Hackett on a sousaphone in the ending of the "Music Man" movie.

[David Richoux]

Look for Buddy Hackett on a sousaphone in the ending of the "Music Man" movie.

So does that make the 2nd Banana the true focus of the story? The Music Man sings about being "the one and only Bass" but when the film ends, he is the director. And where does Shipoopie really fit into the narrative? I demand an investigation!

[pjv]

Wow, strange that you guys missed these two. I'll just quote Wiki to make it easy (for me):

You, the Living (Swedish: Du levande) is a 2007 Swedish film written and directed by Roy Andersson
"There is no central plot, but some of the vignettes connect loosely. All the stories show the essential humanity of the characters and address themes of life, existence and happiness. The stories in the film include: -A sousaphone player (Björn Englund) makes money by playing in funerals, including the one of the CEO."

and

The Prompter (Norwegian: Suffløsen) is a 1999 Norwegian film directed by Hilde Heier.

No info about the plot from Wiki. The IMDb site summarizes the plot;

"Siv works as a prompter for the Norwegian opera. As the rehearsals for Aida starts, she marries a demanding man, Fred, who still has a strong connection to his ex-wife. Starting at her wedding, Siv must repeatedly take a back seat, both to Freds children and their mother. But when she meets a man who shares her passion for music, she starts to question the path her life has taken."

The man is the new Swedish tuba-player (Philip Zandén) in the orchestra. I remember the film being quite humerous and charming.

[Matt Walters]

"The Great Rupert" stared Jimmy Durante in the role of Louie Amendola. In that movie I think it is Tom Drake playing Peter Dingle who is the tuba player courting Jimmy's daughter Rosalinda Amendola played by Terry Moore. A real Hoaky Christmas time movie.

[P8822]

As I remember, Dan Aykroyd played the tuba in the movie "My Girl." He was coached on how to play the parts by John Allred (who recorded the tuba parts for the movie). And if memory serves, the tuba used in the movie was owned by Dave Gannett.

Thought I'd add this to the collection...

Paul Weikle

[David Richoux]

Here is an odd one - a scene in "Dr. Phibes Rises Again" features Valli Kemp as "Vulnavia," holding a Sousaphone for no apparent reason.

Dr. Phibes Rises Again.jpg

I have not seen this film, so I have no idea why... or if she even plays a note. As one blogger says:

Dr. Phibes Rises Again has a few points of interest — Price gets to deliver lines such as "Nothing can stop me now!" and "So, we meet at last, Biederbeck!", we see Vulnavia in a Pharaoh's tomb holding a tuba for no reason other than it looks so loopy, and the film closes with Price singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as he rafts, Huck Finn-like, down the River of Life, presumably on his way to elysian marital bliss — but otherwise this one's a dreary slog.

[David Richoux]

Here is proof of Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) playing tuba - from a review of a DVD set of "The Avengers"

emma peel plays tuba.jpg

Emma & Tuba.jpg

I watched many of those episodes when they were first shown on American TV, but I sure do not remember seeing THAT!
It was the first episode with Emma Peel, so maybe it never made it to the US run.

In “The Murder Market”, another piece of dialogue is conducted while Mrs Peel (for no apparent reason) practices playing a tuba! The light, jovial tone and outrageous, ingenious, surrealist plots of this particular series, combined with the cinematic black and white photography, is felt by many to represent the show at its pinnacle and it is certainly the case that it has never looked so pin sharp and detailed as it does on this new DVD set.

This episode owes one of its best scenes to a brainstorm by Patrick Macnee. Originally he was supposed to play the tuba, but he suggested that Diana Rigg do it instead. The director balked, but Macnee insisted, and the result proved his instinct was right—thereby helping to shape Emma's character. from another blog.

[Craig Garner]

In the movie "What's Your Number," an actor played Wagner's Bridal Chorus at the beginning of the wedding scene. (I was unable to locate credits for either the actor or who played tuba, but it was very nice playing!!) From what I recall (oddly, this is like the only part of this movie I remember....), the tuba had to play the wedding march because the harpist got delayed to the gig.

As a result of this movie, I kinda was hoping for an increase in the number of weddings asking for solo tuba to play the wedding march, but alas, this did not happen.

[circusboy]

Here is proof of Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) playing tuba - from a review of a DVD set of "The Avengers"

emma peel plays tuba.jpg

Emma & Tuba.jpg

OK, so who can name that tuba? Looks like quite the beast.