Arno Marsh passed away on July 12, 2019 at the age of 91. He was born in
Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 28, 1928. Both of his parents were musicians
and he knew at an early age that he wanted to follow in their footsteps. Arno
got his first saxophone when he was 11 years old and by the time he was a
teenager he was playing in a Midwest territory road band. From there he went
on to play with Johnny Long, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Jerry Fielding,
Charlie Barnett, Les Elgart, Lionel Hampton, Harry James, and Buddy Rich.
Arno became well known for his jazz tenor solos during the three years with
Woody Herman's Third Herd. After spending many years on the road Arno
moved to Nevada in 1957. His talent enabled him to work with entertaining
lounge groups as well as major show rooms. Over the years he played with
"house" bands at the Sahara, New Frontier, Caesars Palace, MGM (now Baily's),
Dunes and EI Rancho. Additionally he worked the Reno- Tahoe-Las Vegas circuit
with Charlie Ventura, Buddy Greco, Big Tiny Little and Tex Beneke. Arno was
with the Dick Rice Orchestra at the EI Rancho Hotel when it burned down in
1960. After the fire the orchestra moved to the Golden Hotel (later Harrah's) in
Reno. Three years later Arno returned to his home in Las Vegas where he joined
the Antonio Morelli Orchestra at the Sands Hotel backing up major stars that
included members of the "rat pack." In 1971 he was offered a position with a
group opening at the new Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. While in
Florida Arno performed with the Florida Symphony as a saxophone soloist on a
program with Dave Brubeck. Arno returned to Las Vegas in 1974 where he
worked various hotels including 1 112 years with the Russ Morgan Orchestra at
the "Top of the Dunes." In 1977 he joined the Forrest Wasson Orchestra at
Shangri-La Resort on Grand Lake O'The Cherokees in northeast Oklahoma.
Returning to Las Vegas in 1989 Arno was active with the Las Vegas Jazz Society
and performed at numerous jazz concerts. He was a soloist with Dr. Tom
Ferguson's Southern Nevada Community College Wednesday night band's
numerous concerts. He has also been featured at various jazz festivals
including Los Angeles, Sacramento and Palm Springs. Arno joined the Fred
Radke Orchestra playing the music of Harry James, on several world cruises.
He has occasionally joined his son, Randy, on a series on concert tours in
Michigan. Arno has been a member of the Saint Andrew Catholic Community in
Boulder City since 1993. From 1993 until Jan. 2019 he provided musical
backing with the church choir. He was preceded in death by son, James A.
Marsh; daughter, Sandra Duke; brother, James W. Marsh; great granddaughter,
Fiona Whipkey. Survived by Leslie, wife of 61 years; children and step-children,
William (Pat) Marsh, Randy Marsh, Pamela (Ric) Castleman, Linda Shields,
Robert E. (Linda) Salyer and Nancy (Don) O'Shaughnessy; 17 grandchildren, 35
great grandchildren and 7 great great grandchildren. Funeral Service will be held
on Friday, July 19, 2019 at Saint Andrew Catholic Community, 1399 San Felipe,
Boulder City, NV. Visitation is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., with the funeral service
to follow at 11 :00 a.m. A reception will be held in the church hall.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmmortuary.com for the MARSH family.
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