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

Al Capone

Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...

's speakeasy club, The Coliseum, and giving lessons to many musicians, including the likes of Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker

Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....

.

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

Johnny Green

Johnny Green was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, and conductor. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earliest, "Body and Soul"...

 and Henry Busse

Henry Busse

Henry Busse Sr. was a jazz trumpeter known for work with sweet bands and big bands.-Early life:Born May 19, 1894 to a generational German Band family. Henry Busse studied violin and then trumpet under his Oompah Band leader uncle...

 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

Hot Lips

"Hot Lips" is a popular song written by jazz trumpeter Henry Busse, Henry Lange, and Lou Davis. The song was a #1 hit for Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra...

".

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, Edger 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. Through those doors passed such jazz legends as Charlie "Bird" Parker, Paul Desmond

Paul Desmond

Paul Desmond , born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a jazz alto saxophonist and composer born in San Francisco, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five"...

, Harry Carney

Harry Carney

Harry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...

, Lee Konitz

Lee Konitz

Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...

, and Sonny Stitt

Sonny Stitt

Edward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...

. Runyon had students in most of the big bands of the era, inclluding those of Benny Goodman, Count Bassie, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington. When Lawrence Welk

Lawrence Welk

Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...

began his long-running television show, five of his saxophone players were Runyon alumni.

Mouthpiece design

In 1941, Runyon sold his first mouthpiece, a variation of the 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, but moved to Beaumont, Texas, in 1960 and continued to play professionally at the Petroleum Club there.
Runyon moved to Lafayette, Louisiana in 1970 and began playing at Toby's and also opened a manufacturing facility on Lewisburg Road in Opelousas.