
Acting
April 29, 1899
Died at age 75
May 24, 1974
Date of Death
Washington, District of Columbia, USA
75 Credits
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem.