By Carmina Danini, For the Express-News
Published 6:24 pm,
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Blau had pneumonia and heart problems, said his son David Blau.
Stationed with the U.S. Coast Guard in the Virgin Islands during World War II, Blau later served with the Air Force where he attained the rank of senior master sergeant.
“He worked all the way till he made fire chief, chief of fire protection,” David Blau said. He ended his Air Force career at Randolph AFB and he and his wife, Edna, stayed in San Antonio.
Music and the piano were never far from Blau’s life, even when he was in the military. After his job on base, he would entertain guests at nightclubs in San Antonio, the Houston area and other cities.
When visiting artists needed a pianist, Blau was often asked to accompany them on stage. Two such artists were Elvis Presley and Frankie Valli, the New Jersey native who was once lead singer with the Four Seasons. Presley may not have made much of an impression on Blau because it wasn’t until years later that his family learned he had been pianist for the future King of Rock and Roll.
Blau’s family believes he accompanied Presley in the Houston area, possibly in the mid-1950s when the singer was appearing with his trio.
“We didn’t know dad had played piano for Elvis until about five years ago when my brother Johnny mentioned he’d played for Elvis,” Betsy Blau said. “I was stunned; I had no idea.”
Born in Houston, Blau was the son of parents who had a traveling magic show. He learned to play the piano at a young age but he never learned to read music, his daughter Betsy Blau said. “It didn’t matter because he would hear a song and play it,” she said. Blau could play any kind of music, but “oldies” were his favorites, his son said. Blau’s family recalls many jam sessions at home.
Calling themselves “The Fabulous Fakes,” Blau would be joined by sons David on drums and Johnny on guitar. “There would be a jam session every holiday,” David Blau recalled. “It was really wonderful.”
Ira Leonard “Lennie” Blau
Born: Oct. 23, 1924, in Houston
Died: Aug. 19, 2016, in San Antonio
Preceded by: Two sons, Clyde Temple and Johnny Blau
Survived by: Wife Edna Blau of San Antonio; son David Blau of Smithville, Texas; daughter Betsy Blau of San Antonio; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services: Visitation 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Sunday at Sunset North Funeral Home, 910 North Loop 1604 East. Chapel service at 9 a.m. Monday at the funeral home with interment at 10:45 a.m. at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Wurzbach Road.
