Clinton "Santy" Runyon was an American saxophonist and flautist as well as a designer and manufacturer of mouthpieces for woodwind instruments. Runyon's career included, among other things, playing at Al Capone's speakeasy club, The Coliseum, and giving lessons to many musicians, including the likes of Charlie Parker. Runyon went on to become a significant force in the mouthpiece manufacturing industry.
Early career
He began as a "trap" drummer in the pit of his father's movie house. Runyon would play percussion and supply sound effects for the silent films. He also learned to play the marimba and the vibes and eventually found the instruments that would be the passion of his life: the woodwinds. Runyon studied music at Oklahoma A&M and the University of Missouri before hitting the road as a traveling musician. He played saxophone with the Benny Maroff, Johnny Green and Henry Busse bands. As a member of the Busse group, at age 25, Runyon created the jazz shuffle beat showcased in Busse's hit recording "Hot Lips". In 1933, Runyon began an 11-year stint as lead flute player with the Chicago Theater Orchestra. and on Saturday nights, he played The Coliseum, a speakeasy owned by the infamous gangland legend, "Scarface" Al Capone. At the Chicago Theater, he worked with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Edgar Bergen, Betty Gable and other show business notables. He even did a running comedy bit with Jack Benny. Between radio, clubs, and the theater, Runyon weathered the Great Depression pretty well, earning $150 a week while many men were taking home $8 or $9 a week.
Teaching
Santy Runyon and Frank Anglund, lead trumpet with the Chicago Theater Orchestra, opened the Runyon Studio. It became an important institution in propagating recent advances in saxophone technique and served as something of a "finishing school" for professional musicians. Through its doors passed such jazz legends as Charlie "Bird" Parker, Paul Desmond, Harry Carney, Lee Konitz, and Sonny Stitt. Runyon had students in most of the big bands of the era, including those of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington. When Lawrence Welk began his long-running television show, five of his saxophone players were Runyon alumni.
Mouthpiece and instrument designer and builder
In 1941, Runyon sold his first mouthpiece, a variation of a 1918 curved device he had fabricated with chewing gum. A metal model built for an Army band member resulted in an order for thousands of mouthpieces. A manufacturer refused the order and he began manufacturing mouthpieces in Chicago. In the late 1940s he was a consultant for the C G Conn company as they sought to build a more modern alto saxophone, released as the 28M "Connstellation" in 1948. He went on to become one of the most innovative forces in the mouthpiece industry, with pieces like the "Custom" model saxophone mouthpiece that features a removable "spoiler," or baffle, that altered tonal and dynamic characteristics. After 1965, Runyon produced Brilhart model mouthpieces under contract to the H&A Selmer Company who had acquired rights to the brand. Runyon-produced mouthpieces became widely used among saxophone players who want something suitable for loud, electronic environments. Runyon moved to Beaumont, Texas in 1960 and to Lafayette, Louisiana in 1970, opening a manufacturing facility on Lewisburg Road in Opelousas. The Runyon Products company continues to operate. Runyon's understudy Jody Espinoza produces mouthpieces of Runyon-influenced designs under the brand Jody Jazz.
