The Benny Goodman Story him out of a romance with Alice Hammond (played by Donna Reed), whom Goodman eventually married, she says, "Bagels and caviar don't mix." The young Benny Goodman is taught clarinet by a Chicago music professor. He is advised by bandleader Kid Ory to play whichever kind of music he likes best, but to make a living, Benny begins by joining the Ben Pollack traveling band. Later in New York, where his new band band gets a lukewarm reception, Benny meets jazz lover John Hammond and his sister Alice. He is invited to the stately Hammond home to perform a Mozart
Benny Goodman two nations after the Cuban missile crisis and the end of that phase of the Cold War; both visits were part of efforts to normalize relations between the United States and the USSR. The Bolshoi Ballet came to the United States, and the Benny Goodman Orchestra toured the USSR. Members of the band included Jimmy Knepper, Jerry Dodgion, and Turk Van Lake (Vanig Hovsepian). Goodman was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. After winning polls as best jazz clarinetist, Goodman was inducted into the "Down Beat" Jazz Hall of Fame in 1957. He was a member of the radio