The Walter “Fats” Pichon collection is open for research

Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC) is pleased to announce the processing and finding aid publication of the Walter “Fats” Pichon collection (HJA-023), part of the holdings of the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz. 

The archival collection contains 1.50 linear feet of professional and personal photographs and ephemera from the life and career of pianist Fats Pichon, including materials representing New Orleans where he was born in 1906; and Chicago, where he died in 1967. The collection also includes Pichon’s personal script for a 1952 episode of Duffy’s Tavern, an NBC radio comedy which he played an on-air character for. 

In addition to being a pianist, Fats Pichon was a vocalist, bandleader, arranger, songwriter, and touring musician who released recordings from 1929 through 1956, both under his own name and as a member of other ensembles. Pichon also worked with artists including King Oliver, Mamie Smith, Armand Piron, Fats Waller, Chick Webb, and more. In the 1920s, he played regularly throughout both the U.S. and the Caribbean, and in New Orleans especially from the 1940s through 1960s, including as the house pianist at The Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. 

The Walter “Fats” Pichon collection is available for public research, and can be accessed via appointment at Tulane University Special Collections, located in Jones Hall on the uptown campus of Tulane University.

For more information, contact Hogan Archive curator Melissa A. Weber at mweber3@tulane.edu or 504-247-1807. To learn more about Tulane University Special Collections, visit the TUSC website at library.tulane.edu/tusc, email specialcollections@tulane.edu, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. 

Published July 9, 2025

Photo caption: Materials from the Walter “Fats” Pichon collection, including a photograph of the Walter “Fats” Pichon Orchestra on the S. S. Capitol, 1936, pictured left to right: Pichon, Chester Zardis, Stanley Williams, Meyer Kennedy, John Brunious Sr., Edward Bartley, Dave Bartholomew, Burroughs Lovingood, Lenox “Pinky” Alberts, William Casimir, Sam Casimir; Tulane University Special Collections.