#i. frank nowicki

[lost-in-woodlawn]

The above photograph shows violinist/musical director Ignace Frank Nowicki as a teenager in his 1917 yearbook entry from when he attended the New England Conservatory of Music. Nowicki rests with his parents in Woodlawn’s Rhododendron plot.

Ignace Nowicki (who sometimes went by the names I. Frank Nowicki or Frank Nowicki) wasn’t an “important” person in the music industry but he stands out to me because of his deep passion for his craft—he not only lived for music, he died for it.

In 1967 he was 71 years old and living in an apartment on the 2nd floor of a house on Long Island when a fire broke out there. A neighbor later told a newspaper reporter that he saw Mr. Nowicki leaving the house dragging a burning piece of furniture with him. If he’d remained outside he would have most likely survived the fire, but apparently Nowicki went back into the house specifically to retrieve his violin. He was found dead inside his apartment by firefighters, his violin by his side.

The son of Polish immigrants who lived in the Bronx, Nowicki began his musical training at age 8. As World War I was raging in 1918, he performed at a wartime bond drive presented by Boston department store Jordan Marsh:

(ad from the Boston Globe, May 3, 1918)    

Early in his career Nowicki played first violin in the Victor Herbert Symphony Orchestra. By the mid 1920s, he was part of S.L. “Roxy” Rothafel’s Capital Theatre Orchestra; they were heard on the radio every Sunday night. According to Ross Melnick’s biography of Roxy Rothafel, the show was wildly popular and thousands of fan letters were sent to Rothafel.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Roxy_Rothafel)

Nowicki must have had a good reputation with Rothafel’s organization; after playing with the Capital Theatre Gang, Nowicki was appointed as one of the Roxy Theatre conductors in 1931 and then associate conductor at Rothafel’s Radio City Music Hall in the late 1930s/early 1940s.

After that, Nowicki turned to Broadway, becoming assistant conductor or musical director for the classic 1940s/1950s musicals “Bells Are Ringing”, “South Pacific” and “On The Town.” Papers found by Nassau County Police in Nowicki’s home after his death showed that he had also been involved with “Show Boat” and “Gypsy” and played with the tour companies of various shows.

Nowicki never retired—neighbors told reporters that he’d been about to leave for Minneapolis to begin a concert tour when he died.

[lost-in-woodlawn]

I can't believe I stumbled across this post on I. Frank Nowicki, just a little more than a month after you posted it. Frank was my great uncle. I was too young to remember much about him, but always heard the family story of how he went back into the burning house to save his violin. Although the violin was found with him, it disappeared afterward, and no one in the family has ever been able to locate it. Thanks for this wonderful post, which included some information that was new to me!

Thank you so much; I’m glad I was able to give you some new info about your great-uncle, his story is a very moving one.