William Marcel "Buddy" Collette, born on August 6, 1921 in Los Angeles, was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. Raised in Watts, he began playing piano at age ten and later took up the saxophone, forming his first band during middle school. During World War II, he served as a U.S. Navy band leader. In 1949, he became the first black musician hired by a nationally broadcast TV studio orchestra for You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx. Throughout the 1950s, he worked as a studio musician with notable artists such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. In 1955, he was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. His releases included the album Marx Makes Broadway (1958). He died on September 19, 2010.
