Fats Waller #5 - Returning to New York in 1939

In 1939, Fats Waller and his companion Anita Rutherford toured the UK and Europe, and as the war storm clouds gathered they returned to New York on 14 June 1939 onboard the Ile de France ocean liner. Here's a photo on their departure.

[Photo from the Ed Kirkeby Collection, Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, used with permission in my book "Fats Waller on the Air: The Radio Broadcasts and Discography]

Here's an image of the Ile de France . . .

Stephen Taylor