Whatever Happened to the Accordion Player at Battista's Restaurant?

My first wife and I first visited Las Vegas in the late '70s, staying at the Flamingo. We would go to dinner at Battista’s Hole in the Wall and there was an accordion player that would wander from table to table playing request. The last time we remember seeing him was 5 or 6 years ago. Can you tell us anything about him?

The most famous fixture at Battista’s, the long-time and beloved Italian restaurant behind the Flamingo, was elfin accordion player Gordon "Gordy" Jaffe, just shy of five feet tall. The restaurant hired him in 1981.

"He's been here so long, he's like one of the fish I hung on the walls," Locatelli told the Las Vegas Sun in 1997.

If you wanted "Tico Tico," "Chicago," or the University of Michigan fight song, Jaffe was your man. He could basically play anything on the accordion, an instrument he took up as a child because the music store was out of xylophones (just imagine a strolling xylophone player!) and cut his teeth at the Town Casino in his native Buffalo, New York, playing in the backup band.

After too many ferocious Buffalo winters, he moved his family to Vegas, playing various restaurant gigs until Battista’s signed him for what turned into a lifetime job.

"The first night was like a movie script. The whole place was singing along and having a great time," he told the Sun.

Jaffe played his accordion for countless folks, both great and small, including Clint Eastwood and Liza Minelli.

The Sun article pegged Jaffe as being in his "late sixties." Which would put him somewhere around 95 years old today. The last time we saw him at Battista's was around 10 years ago and we haven't heard about him playing there for most of the years since.

We couldn't find an obituary for him, but we did unearth one for his wife, Opal Jean Jaffe, from 2015, with Gordon listed as her surviving spouse. So he was alive then. We also found a 2019 Facebook post that mentioned Gordy as being alive and well, having undergone hip surgery a few years prior.

On Ancestry.com, there's a record of a Gordon Jaffe, born on July 26, 1932, in New York, who died in November 2022 in Las Vegas. Given the two matching locations and similar age, it's possible, even probable, this refers to him.

We also found the following Reddit response: "Gordy Jaffe passed in November 2022. I confirmed with the restaurant today, June 20, 2023."

So it appears that the most famous accordion player in Las Vegas history lived to be a little over 90 years old.

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Comments

William Nye Nov-29-2024

Missed

He was great.  When he found out we were from the Buffalo area he spoke of street names especially in the Kenmore, NY area just outside Buffalo where he was from he told us.  Sorry he will not be their to play his tunes and make you feel welcome.

Gregory Nov-29-2024

Roll out the barrel...

My Dad was a big fan of Battista’s.  We had dinner there pretty much every trip to Vegas.  When Gordy stopped at our table he'd ask us where we were from (Minnesota) and he'd instantly start playing Roll out the Barrel.  I assume he had a go-to song for visitors from every state in the country.

Cal Nov-29-2024

Gordy

Went to Bautista's in the mid 80's. Met Gordy. I grew up
in Kenmore, NY and Gordy lived two blocks over and lived next-door to my brother-in-law. He remembered him. When visiting Vegas
always made it a point to see him. We often mentioned "Your Host"
and "Ted's Red Hots" and missed Webers Mustard.
to

jay Nov-29-2024

Buca di Pepeo

Batistas always held a warm spot in my heart. Gordy, and the horrible red wine they served were both memorable. I was in Pittsburgh and went to a Buca di Pepeo restaurant. It is basically a large scale rip blatant off of Batistas franchised across the country. Now that Gordy has permanently retired the owners should sue the chain and retire multimillion times over.

VegasROX Nov-29-2024

Bautista's phone working?

Did anyone from LVA put in a call to Bautista's, to verify?? Just a thought...

[email protected] Nov-29-2024

They DID call the Restaurant

From the article: We also found the following Reddit response: "Gordy Jaffe passed in November 2022. I confirmed with the restaurant today, June 20, 2023."

Thank you.

Sandra Ritter Nov-29-2024

They Didn't Confirm

If you look where the second quote mark, ", is, the Reddit person commenting made the call.

Raymond Nov-29-2024

RIP Gordy

I met Gordy while dining at Batista's c. 2013.  We had a brief conversation, he asked me where I lived.  I told him, and he asked if I'd ever been to Buffalo.  I mentioned tha I had lived there from age less than one to age seven, in Kenmore and Tonawanda.  He immediately broke into "Roll Out the Barrel" and smiled.  He even knew the street we lived on in Kenmore.  We had a good laugh.  Fun time.

Hoppy Nov-29-2024

Re: Sandra Ritter

Good eye

Question of the Day - 29 November 2024

Comments