Agent Harold Kudlats, known as The Colonel, and the man responsible for helping to launch the national and international careers of Conway Twitty, Ronnie Hawkins and The Band, passed away Wednesday night shortly before his 100th birthday.

His death was confirmed by Deanna Levy at Shalom Village where he lived. His funeral will be held this Sunday, Sept. 11, at 3:30 at the United Hebrew Memorial Chapel of Hamilton.

The uncle of well-known actor and comedian Eugene Levy, the Hamilton-based Kudlats was known as the man who brought rockabilly music to Canada, after transitioning from booking big bands into the area (Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Stan Kenton among them) and promoting Negro League baseball teams and games.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Kudlats fell into booking talent unexpectedly, but through the years gained a stellar reputation as an agent who was as good as his word. The Harold Kudlets Agency (although he promoted himself professionally as 'Kudlets,' the correct spelling of his name was 'Kudlats'), eventually gained worldwide fame as Kudlats was appointed booker of such legendary U.S. nightspots as The Peppermint Lounge and the Freemont Hotel.

On August 22, FYIMusicNews ran the last interview conducted with Harold Kudlats. For more backgrounder, here is the link to that story.