2. uncountable noun [oft in NOUN] Distress is the state of being in extreme danger and needing urgent help. He expressed concern that the ship might be in distress. The constable received a distress call, and saw two youths attacking his colleague. Synonyms: danger, risk, difficulty, peril More Synonyms of distress.
But Dizzy Gillespie -- born John Birks Gillespie in Cheraw, S.C., on Oct. 21, 1917 -- saw himself primarily as a player. I always thought I was a musician, he told Musician magazine's Chip Stern a year ago. Thought I was a musician before I really was a musician..
Born James Jonah Cummings on November 3, 1952, he grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. Sooner or later, he moved to New Orleans. There, he designed Mardi Gras floats, was a singer, door-to-door salesman, and a Louisiana riverboat deckhand. Then Cummings moved to Anaheim, California, where he started his career playing Lionel from the program Dumbo's Circus ... See full bio Â».