Gillis, Lew, 1927-1989

Lewis Dean Gillis was born on November 26, 1927 in Cameron, Missouri, and was the younger brother of composer Don Gillis. According to his obituary in the Dallas Morning News, Lew Gillis graduated from Paschal High School and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, and performed as a trombonist with the Stock Show Rodeo Band there beginning in the mid-1940s, before becoming its director in 1957. Gillis was the director of bands at TCU from 1950 until 1955, following in the footsteps of his brother Don, who held that position from 1935 until 1942, during which time Lew Gillis was the mascot. He also wrote jingles and other commercial music, and served as conductor and arranger for the traveling shows of Bob Hope, Eddy Arnold, Glen Campbell, and others, and joined the jazz faculty of what is now the University of North Texas from 1969 until 1977, directing the Commercial Singers. Lew Gillis died in Fort Worth on January 8, 1989.