Charlotte Enty Catlin
{{Short description|American pianist (1903–1968)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Charlotte Enty Catlin
| image = CharlotteEntyCatlin1923.jpg
| alt = A young African-American woman, with dark hair cut into a 1920s bob, wearing drop earrings and a strand of pearls.
| caption = Charlotte Enty Catlin, from a 1923 publication.
| other_names =
| birth_name = Charlotte Dyer Enty
| birth_date = 1903
| birth_place = Pittsburgh
| death_date = November 13, 1968
| death_place = Pittsburgh
| occupation = Pianist, music educator
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse(s) =
| relatives =
}}
Charlotte Dyer Enty Catlin (1903 – November 13, 1968) was an American pianist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who worked with Lena Horne. Among her piano students was jazz pianist and composer Billy Strayhorn.
Early life
Charlotte Dyer Enty was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Clever "Frank" Enty and Mary Jane Little Enty. Her father was a contractor. Her mother played church organ. She completed an undergraduate degree in music education at Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1923,[https://books.google.com/books?id=-sARAQAAMAAJ&q=Enty&pg=PA147 "The Horizon"] The Crisis 26(August 1923): 178-179. and was one of the eight founding members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority's graduate chapter in Pittsburgh, in 1927.{{Cite book|last=Whitaker|first=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_UxDwAAQBAJ&dq=Charlotte+Enty+Catlin&pg=PA127|title=Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance|date=2018-01-30|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-5011-2243-9|pages=127–129|language=en}}
Career
Catlin taught piano at Volkwein's Music Store in Pittsburgh,{{Cite web|title=Music Legacy|url=https://www.westinghousehighschoolhistory.com/music-legacy|access-date=2020-08-22|website=History of Westinghouse High School|language=en}} served as music director at a dance school,{{Cite news|last=Calvin|first=Floyd J.|date=1928-11-17|title=Musical Director in German Dancing Master's School|pages=13|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57803600/musical-director-in-german-dancing/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} and frequently entertained at society parties where Catlin also encouraged Lena Horne to accompany her with her singing. {{Cite book |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Smoketown/Mark-Whitaker/9781501122422 |title=Smoketown |date=2019-01-29 |isbn=978-1-5011-2242-2 |language=en |last1=Whitaker |first1=Mark |publisher=Simon & Schuster }} {{Cite news|date=1936-08-22|title=Pittsburgh Matron Feted in California|pages=8|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57821914/pittsburgh-matron-feted-in-california/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1924, she accompanied tenor Ruby Blakey at a music festival,{{Cite news|date=1924-05-17|title=Tenor and Pianist in Recital|pages=4|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57805016/tenor-and-pianist-in-recital/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} and soprano Florence Cole Talbert at the People's Tabernacle.{{Cite news|date=1924-08-23|title=Brilliant Artists in Recital Tuesday Evening|pages=5|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57804733/brilliant-artists-in-recital-tuesday/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1925, she performed at an American Music Day event sponsored by the Outlook Alliance.{{Cite news|date=1925-03-14|title=Enty-Deppe on Music Day Programme|pages=4|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57804480/enty-deppe-on-music-day-programme/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} She was active in the Society for Music Study, a music club in Pittsburgh.{{Cite news|date=1933-12-16|title=Popular Devotees of the Masters Among Members|pages=9|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57821787/popular-devotees-of-the-masters-among/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1934, she played music at a Bahá'i event in Pittsburgh.{{Cite news|date=1934-05-19|title=B'hai Programs to Foster Universal Peace Movement Open Series on Sunday|pages=7|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/273597/bahai-marie-taylor-talk-hosted-by-mrs/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} One of her students was Billy Strayhorn.{{Cite web|title=About – Billy Strayhorn|date=22 June 2017 |url=http://billystrayhorn.com/about/|access-date=2020-08-22|language=en-US}} She began accompanying Lena Horne in 1939.{{Cite news|last=Whitaker|first=Mark|date=2018-02-24|title=Mysteries of Pittsburgh: Where Lena Horne and Billy Strayhorn's Chaste Musical Love Affair Began|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/mysteries-of-pittsburgh-where-lena-horne-and-billy-strayhorns-chaste-musical-love-affair-began|access-date=2020-08-22}}{{Cite web|last=Allison|first=John|date=Spring 2018|title=A Terrific Look at the Sophisticated History of Black Pittsburgh|url=https://pittsburghquarterly.com/articles/a-terrific-look-at-the-sophisticated-history-of-black-pittsburgh/|access-date=2020-08-22|website=Pittsburgh Quarterly|language=en-US}}
In 1942, Catlin retired from her music career and began working for the City Recreation Bureau.{{Cite news|last=Jule|date=1942-03-21|title=Talk o' the Town|pages=9|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57821703/talk-o-the-townjule/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} She was director of the Ammon Recreation Center from 1950 until her death in 1968.{{Cite news|last=Heimbuecher|first=Ruth|date=1968-07-18|title=Ammon Center Director On Mark for Youth Olympiad Program|pages=27|work=The Pittsburgh Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57822507/ammon-center-director-on-mark-for-youth/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|last=Cohen|first=Harold V.|date=1965-10-28|title=Lena Horne Comes Back to What Once was Home|pages=20|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57823613/lena-horne-comes-back-to-what-once-was/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}}
Personal life
In 1931, Charlotte Enty married Charles William Catlin, a post office employee.{{Cite news|date=1931-01-03|title=Enty-Catlin Wedding is Charming|pages=5|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57822769/enty-catlin-wedding-is-charming/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}} In mid-life, Catlin was known for her distinctive hairstyle—parted center, with two coils of braids covering her ears. She died suddenly in November 1968, aged 65 years, in Pittsburgh.{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Toki Shalk|date=1968-11-30|title=Toki Types|pages=11|work=The Pittsburgh Courier|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57804097/toki-typestoki-shalk-johnson/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=1968-11-15|title=Catlin (death notice)|pages=29|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57824183/catlin-death-notice/|access-date=2020-08-22|via=Newspapers.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- Charles "Teenie" Harris, [https://collection.cmoa.org/objects/eceec0ed-b092-4246-9087-f868a033005a "Portrait of Charlotte Enty Catlin"] (1940s or 1950s), a photograph in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Catlin, Charlotte Enty}}
Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh
Category:American women pianists
Category:African-American classical pianists
Category:American classical pianists
Category:African-American jazz pianists
Category:Carnegie Mellon University alumni