Big Band Music Man Dies

By Stephen M. Silverman

09/18/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

Big Band-era musician Ray Hendricks, 88, who performed with such '40s stars as Benny Goodman, Hoagy Carmichael and Betty Grable, died in Spokane, Wash., on Thursday. The cause of death was not immediately available. Hendricks first went to Hollywood with another Washington state native son, bandleader Bob Crosby, brother of crooner Bing. After WWII (during which he served as a flying instructor), Hendricks returned to Spokane, where he formed his own orchestra.