* Pete Pontrelli; Orchestra Leader, Musician

Pete Pontrelli, who picked up a trumpet as a child and embarked on a career as a musician and bandleader that lasted more than eight decades, has died at a Camarillo hospital. He was 95.

Pontrelli, a former longtime North Hollywood resident who most recently lived in Camarillo, died Monday after a lengthy illness, said his son, Michael Pontrelli, of Hermosa Beach.

Born in Bari, Italy, Pontrelli began playing the trumpet at age 7. As a child, according to a 1935 Times “Band of the Week” profile, he would travel to a nearby town where he would perform “from sun-up till midnight” for a dollar a day.

At 16, Pontrelli followed his brothers to the United States and went to work in the machine shop of Southern Pacific Railroad, where he played in the company’s band. Soon after, he took up the alto saxophone and earned the nickname “Sammy Sax” during the 1920s while playing as a sideman in Los Angeles clubs such as the Cinderella Rose and the Red Mill.

Pontrelli also performed frequently at parties and weddings during that period. His son said that later in his career, Pontrelli performed at the 50th wedding anniversaries of eight couples he’d entertained at their original nuptials.

In the mid-1920s, Pontrelli struck out on his own, leading his own band in ballroom performances at Southland piers, where couples could dance for a nickel at each stop. During the 1930s, he performed at the Paris Inn Cafe in downtown Los Angeles, leading an 11-piece dance band.

With several partners, Pontrelli bought the Figueroa Ballroom in the early 1940s, where he played for nearly 12 years. During World War II, he often entertained swing-shift defense workers with midnight performances that lasted until the early morning.

According to his son, Pontrelli never retired, playing in small combos at ballrooms and at parties and weddings until about two years ago. His last public performance was New Year’s Eve, 1991, his son said. In addition to the saxophone and trumpet, Pontrelli also played the clarinet and accordion.

In addition to his son Michael, Pontrelli is survived by his wife of 69 years, Madeline; another son, Richard Pontrelli of Oxnard; two daughters, Kay Meyer of Santa Maria and Anne Marie West of Carpinteria; a sister, Amalia Mance of Manhattan Beach; a brother, Nick Pontrelli of Camarillo; nine grandchildren; and one great grandchild.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. today at St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church, 1039 N. Broadway, Los Angeles. Pierce Brothers Valhalla Mortuary in North Hollywood is handling the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a music scholarship in Pontrelli’s name at USC or to the Cooley Anemia Foundation in care of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.