Some High and Low Points For Alvin Keech

Presumably...

(Trigger warning for discussions of abuse, suicide, alcohol abuse and mental health)

Compared to an average person, Alvin Keech is well documented in print sources. I have found sources about his personal life, professional life and travels as well as advertising copy for his products. Compared to a musician like Elvis or even George Formby, the amount of material is tiny. Also, I don’t have his own words in print as much as I would like to, so I don’t really know how he thought or felt about things. As a “scholar,” I am not supposed to speculate too much about how he thought or felt, except where it applies to the task at hand. As a “human who likes going to therapy,” I can’t help but imagine what he was thinking and feeling during his best and worst days.

For this post, I will be looking at some documentation of what might be some of Keech’s best and worst moments. The facts are real, but the speculations are my own. First up is this short article from 1919 about his first marriage and divorce.

Well, that speaks for itself. The first marriage didn’t last and Alvin seemed to be at fault. Going forward, I don’t intend to celebrate an abuser, so I have to set that part of him aside so I can learn about the rest of him. This is the first item that points to Alvin’s possible instability or struggle with mental illness.

The next clipping is from when he returned to Los Angeles in 1926 after a few years in London. It was common at the time for reporters to be stationed at all the big hotel bars, just to see who was visiting and catch some gossip. This whole piece has the stink of someone bragging and re-writing their own story after a couple of scotch and sodas, but it is a primary source.

One of our modern American myths is the one about a couple of friends starting a software business in their Palo Alto garage before eventually making it big. Alvin going from broke to selling $1,250,000 of banjo ukes seems similar. (By the way, I really doubt that number). He is trying to tell you how successful he is, but I am thinking about his “reverses” and why he left town. I found documentation of Alvin starting a corporation with a few investors and then taking a payout and leaving for Europe. It sounds to me like he was running away. Also, people who tell this kind of success story usually leave out the part about the trust fund.

Next up is an article that presumably illustrates a high point. When Alvin was in England, there are many newspaper listings about his performances, broadcasts and teaching. This one is great, with some witty banter about how great it is to hang out with show girls.