William Axtmann

Born: 21 August 1891, New York City
Died: 24 July 1930, New York City
Pseudonyms: William Arlington?
Labels: Connorized, Rythmodik

William Otto Axtman was born in New York City on 21 August 1891. A key staff pianist for the Connorized label, he also recorded under the name William Arlington. His father Otto, of German descent, worked as a letter carrier, while his mother, Kate Worrs-De'Luc, was of mixed French-German ancestry.

His World War I draft card described him as tall with a medium build, grey eyes, and brown hair. At the time, he was working as a pianist for Phillip John Harvey, who ran a café at 181st Street and Boston Road in the Bronx.

Axtman’s playing style was noted for its energetic use of rapid octave runs in the bass. These same flourishes appear on several rolls attributed to “Scott Joplin” on the Connorized label, suggesting they were part of the label’s distinctive house sound rather than true to Joplin’s own style.

In 1917, Axtman recorded a single roll for Rythmodik, and on 8 August of that year, married Eleanor Wendelstorf at the Church of the Intercession in Manhattan. He listed his profession as musician and his address as 503 W. 147th Street.

1918 brought personal tragedy, as Axtman lost both his father and younger brother Walter within six weeks. Around 1920 he left Connorized; the federal census of that year finds him and Eleanor living in Manhattan, where he worked as a Victrola demonstrator.

By 1924, performing as “Billy Axtman,” he teamed up with vocalist Fred Hughes for a vaudeville and radio act. Axtman himself was praised for having a singing voice of the “highest quality.” He appears to have remarried around this time, as by 1925 he was living with Georgia Axtman, a younger singer listed as his wife in the state census.

Axtman later became associated with Irving Berlin, Inc., and in June 1929 joined Robbins Music Corp. as assistant to the manager, coinciding with the death of his mother. The 1930 census confirms that he and Georgia married in 1924 and that he was working as a pianist for a music publishing company.

Sadly, in March 1930, Axtman was diagnosed with esophageal cancer - possibly linked to a long-time cigar habit recalled by a fellow Connorized artist years later. He died on 24 July 1930 at just 38 years old and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, New York City.