THE SLYE BROTHERS

The Slye Brothers (Stan and Leonard)

I don’t remember Dad ever mentioning that his cousin, Stan Slye, was with him and Gramps (Dad always called him Pop) the summer they spent picking peaches for Del Monte Foods. Dad spoke about he and Gramps living in the same type of camps that John Steinbeck wrote about in Grapes of Wrath and even camping along the roads.  But, I don’t remember him mentioning that Stan was with them. Well, Larry Zwisohn has sent me some more information he has come across. I don’t know how he digs up this information but he’s a wonder! Thanks, Larry.

Discoveries (magazine), October 1991 – Dad: We had a chance to go up to the San Joaquin Valley, above Bakersfield, to Tulare in the summer of 1931. There, my cousin (Stan Slye), Pop and I picked peaches all summer. Then we came back to Southern California, to Lawndale (where Dad’s oldest sister, Mary, and her family lived).

Los Angeles Times, July 7, 1980 – Dad: It was one night when we were, as usual, camping beside the road. No money for hotels or anything like that. Just for something to do, my dad and my cousin Stanley, who was with us, brought out their mandolins and started playing.  I strummed along on a guitar. Well, by the time we were done with the first song, we had a crowd! They were people like us, camping out and mostly pretty hungry. You could tell most of them hadn’t smiled in a long, long time. But now they smiled, listening to the music. It made them happy. Kept the dark away for a little bit. That’s what I learned that night. I learned what music is for.

Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1998 – After two months of the trio looking for work with nothing much happening, Gramps took a job at a shoe factory (the same work he had done in Ohio).  Dad: And that was lucky because it gave me a chance to talk Stanley into a wonderful idea I had. I had this vision of a Western singing act taking the music business by storm. ‘The Slye Brothers’ I called it, and Stanley agreed to give it a try.

Late Summer 1931 – Work for The Slye Brothers was limited. According to some sources, they found occasional work at taverns and beach parties. They also appeared at least once on the radio program The Hollywood Hillbillies. Out of which, may have come their booking at the Arrow Theater on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, where they appeared for one week. Still bookings were so sporadic and they earned so little, that after awhile Stan decided to look for steady work but Roy was determined to stick with music.

Over the years, Dad had mentioned that he and Stan had called square dances around Scioto County, Ohio, where they had grown up, when they were about 10. I only remember Stan acting as stand-in for Dad at Republic (in the films) and later on Dad’s TV show, where he also played bit parts and was billed as Russ Scott. Larry Z. told me that Stan even made a record  as Russ Scott.

(Just so I don’t confuse you in how I put this post together, names of publications are in italics, quotes from Dad are in bold and, Larry Z and my comments are in regular print.)

Dad with his cousin, Stan Slye, fishing in the ocean off of Malibu, CA .

Happy Trails, Cheryl