Lionel Hampton

Lionel Hampton worked on a variety of projects during his entertainment career. Hampton had an early acting career in film, appearing in such titles as "A Song Is Born" (1948), the Steve Allen biopic "The Benny Goodman Story" (1955) and the Alan Freed musical "Mister Rock and Roll" (1957). He also appeared in "No Maps on My Taps" (1978). Hampton worked in television around the start of his acting career with a role on "Austin City Limits" (PBS, 1974-2015). Hampton also contributed music to "The Atomic Cafe" (1982) with Kevin Rafferty. In the eighties and the nineties, Hampton's music continued to appear on the silver screen, including in films like the comedy "Losin' It" (1983) with Tom Cruise, "Pobre Mariposa" (1986) and the adaptation "Memphis Belle" (1990) with Matthew Modine. Hampton's music was also featured in the Nicolas Cage dramatic adaptation "City of Angels" (1998), "Focus" (2001) with William H. Macy and the Julia Roberts dramatic period piece "Mona Lisa Smile" (2003). His music was also featured in the thrilling mystery "Hollywoodland" (2006) with Adrien Brody and the romantic comedy "Music and Lyrics" (2007) with Hugh Grant. Hampton's music was most recently featured in the Keanu Reeves action flick "John Wick" (2014).