Getty Images (FILM REEL); Ben Runkle (STILL)
MUSIC
TALENT, TASTE & JOY
Paul Montgomery in a snap from Time for Uncle Paul with Mildred Bradley, known as "Aunt Millie," and guests.
A television fixture for decades, Uncle Paul was more than a children’s entertainer
G
enerations of kids growing up in Raleigh between the early 1960s and early 1980s knew the late Paul Montgomery as Uncle Paul. Genial and avuncular, he served as host of the daily children’s program Time for Uncle Paul on WRAL-TV. In a top hat, tails, and a wide smile, Uncle Paul interacted with puppets and recurring characters like Melvin the Mailman, read viewer mail between cartoons he’d introduce, and played the piano a bit. And during every show,
by DAVID MENCONI Montgomery would lead the live studio audience of kids around the room in time to a Sousa march. Most viewers probably never would have guessed that Uncle Paul was legally blind. At one time, many American cities had a similar show on the big local television station, with a beloved host who came to feel like a member of the family. But Montgomery was unique, with an off-camera life as a musician that was legendary on multiple fronts. A renowned jazz pianist, Montgom-
ery was a linchpin of Raleigh’s jazz scene when it was centered around the Frog and Nightgown nightclub in the old Village Subway complex. His reputation went far beyond the city limits, too. “He was at the most elite level, playing with friends like George Shearing and Alberta Hunter,” says North Carolina Arts Council executive director Wayne Martin, a longtime friend of Montgomery’s. “Hanging out with Paul was incredible because of the people he knew, all these icons of the jazz world who knew and admired him. He was THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 29
