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Guido Deiro (September 1, 1886 - July, 26 1950) was a famous vaudeville star, international recording artist, composer and teacher. He was the first accordionist to appear on big-time vaudeville, records, radio and the screen. Guido usually performed just under the name "Deiro". Guido and his younger brother Pietro were among the highest paid performers on the vaudeville circuit, and they both did much to introduce and popularize the piano accordion in the early 20th century.
Born Guido Pietro Deiro in the village of Salto Canavese (near Turin in Piedmont), Italy. He was born into a minor aristocratic family that were involved in raising dairy cattle, growing wine grapes, tending fruit orchards, and operating general stores to sell their produce. While a young boy, Guido entertained himself by playing the ocarina, an ancient flute-like wind instrument usually made from ceramic or wood. His uncle noticed Guido’s unusual musical ability on the ocarina, and decided to get him a more sophisticated instrument, a diatonic button-accordion. Guido started to play the accordion when nine years old. His father allowed Guido to play this two-row accordion in the street outside his stores because Guido’s playing would draw a crowd and attract potential customers.
In 1909, an accordion company in Italy asked him to perform and demonstrate accordions at the Alaskan Yukon Pacific Exposition. This world's fair was held in Seattle from June to October 1909. After the fair, he stayed on in Seattle working as a musician in saloons. By this time, he was playing a piano accordion. In 1910 he was discovered by an agent for the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit. His opening debut was at the American Theatre in San Francisco (managed by Sid Grauman) on June 15th, 1910. He became an immediate sensation, and began traveling the vaudeville circuit routinely back and forth across the United States and Canada (and other countries as well) as a headliner. In addition to playing the popular hits of the day and light classical and operatic fare, the Guido composed his own original compositions. In 1911, Guido Deiro wrote the hit song Kismet. Kismet became the theme song of a successful Broadway musical (1911) and was also featured in two Hollywood movies (1921, 1930). During his lifetime, he recorded more than 110 songs (primarily on Columbia Records, and occasionally for Edison). The records were enormously popular, and, along with his vaudeville stardom, helped to propel Deiro to the status of a minor celebrity in American culture. Throughout the teens and well into the 1920's, Guido Deiro was a dominant voice of accordion. As Guido Deiro showcased the piano accordion through his vaudeville performances across the United States, more and more people were introduced to the instrument, the popularity of the accordion increased. In 1928, Guido was featured in an early sound film, Vitaphone #2968, titled GUIDO DEIRO: The World's Foremost Piano-Accordionist. He appeared as an accordionist in several other motion pictures, such as the musical Shine on Harvest Moon and the Carole Lombard comedy The Other Man.
Guido was married four times. His second marriage, in 1914, was to a young vaudeville star and sex symbol, Mae West (later to become a film star)[1]. For unknown reasons (possibly disapproval from her family or because her divorce from an earlier marriage was not complete), she did not publicly announce her marriage to Guido. Throughout 1914 and several years thereafter, Mae and Guido traveled together and appeared all over the country on the same vaudeville stages. They officially divorced in 1920.[2] His other marriages were to Julia Tatro (1913), Ruby Lang (1920-1927?), and Yvonne Teresa Le Baron de Forrest (1937-1941).
Deiro continued to play vaudeville shows until at least 1935, although after 1929, he traveled less and focused his career on the west coast of the United States. During the 1930's, he opened a number of accordion studios and taught and sold accordions. After World War II, he lost most of his studios. He became ill in 1947, and died of congestive heart failure in 1950.