Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 11:04 a.m.
Billy Guy, who as a member of the legendary rock 'n' roll group The Coasters entertained millions with his baritone lead on "Searchin' " and sang backup on many other hits, could wind up in an unmarked pauper's grave in Las Vegas.
Guy died Nov. 5 at his Las Vegas apartment and no one has claimed the body of the 66-year-old performer, who for five decades performed with the quartet that was formed in 1955 and enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 as one of the Cleveland museum's original inductees.
"After seven days we usually apply to Clark County for a Social Services burial, but because he was an entertainer, we have waited a little longer hoping some kind soul would step forward," Jerry Copija, director of Garden Memorial mortuary, said Thursday.
"But regardless of a person's celebrity, we really want to find family or friends who will give every person a decent farewell."
Local entertainer Nelson Sardelli, founder of The Cast Inc., a charitable organization of Las Vegas entertainers, was informed by a Sun reporter Thursday of Guy's death and said his organization would do what it can to defray the estimated $3,700 to $5,000 it would cost to bury Guy in a marked grave.
"We recently started this organization because there was nothing in Las Vegas to address situations like this," Sardelli said. "If we cannot pay the whole cost for the burial, we can help with part of the cost and maybe start a fund so that others can donate."
The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in New York has a fund to assist down-and-out musicians, but spokeswoman Elizabeth Freund said Thursday she did not know whether the fund also helps defray burial costs for indigent rockers.
The Clark County Coroner said Guy died from heart disease.
Guy's death marks the third time a Coaster has died in Southern Nevada:
The New York Times in an obituary in its Thursday editions said Guy's survivors include a female companion, a sister, a brother, a son and a daughter. Copija said the local coroner provided him no such information about potential kinfolk, and he said no one has called claiming to be a relative of Guy.
The Coasters long were known as the clown princes of rock 'n' roll with comical vocals and humorous onstage antics. They hit it big in the late 1950s with a string of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller collaborations, including "Yakety Yak" and "Charlie Brown."
Historically, they were at the birth of rock 'n' roll in 1956, becoming one of the first black groups to successfully cross over from rhythm and blues.
In their prime, Guy and his "hoodlum friends outside" -- an endearing lyric from "Yakety Yak" -- appeared at every major rock 'n' roll venue and on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" and "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Born June 20, 1936, in Ittasca, Texas, Guy was 19 years old when he met up in Los Angeles with two ex-members of The Robins, Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn. Leon Hughes, formerly of the Four Flames, rounded out the original members.
The name Coasters refers to the group's West Coast origin.
The Coasters had several rhythm and blues chart toppers including "Young Blood" and "Searchin"' in 1957 before hitting the top of the pop charts with "Yakety Yak" in 1958 and "Charlie Brown," which reached No. 2 in 1959. "Along Came Jones" and "Poison Ivy" also were Top 10 hits in the late '50s.
Their other million-sellers included a doo-wop version of "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart," "Little Egypt" and "Love Potion No. 9."
Guy was considered the comedian among the comics, keeping the other members of The Coasters amused backstage and on tour bus rides with raunchy jokes and stories, according to a biography on the All Music Guide website.
"In 1972, he issued his only comedy effort (that) stands alone as one of the nastiest comedy albums ever released," the website says, referring to Guy's comedy album "The Tramp is Funky."
Although the group underwent several changes with Gunter, Wilson and former Earl "Speedo" Carroll replacing original members, Guy stayed with the group until it disbanded in the mid-1970s.
Over the years, many former members formed their own versions of the Coasters. Guy performed as the frontman of The World Famous Coasters and in more recent years toured with his group billed as Billy Guy's Coasters.
In 1988, Guy joined Gunter, Will "Dub" Jones and Tom Palmer to perform as The Coasters for Atlantic Records' 40th Anniversary concert in New York city.
Guy occasionally performed in Las Vegas in R&B revues, one at the Sahara's Congo Room in 1999 with one of the latter-day versions of The Coasters.
Cedric Cade, a Garden Memorial employee assigned to pick up bodies as part of a weekly rotation system by local mortuaries, was dispatched to Guy's apartment on Nov. 5.
"On this job you can't get too emotional," Cade said Thursday, noting he was a fan of The Coasters who early on inspired him to sing in his church choir.
"But I looked at him and saw a man who had entertained so many people and realized he had his time, and I hoped he had lived his time to the best of his ability. What's real sad is that no one's come to claim him."
