Jimmy Demaret was one of the best golfers of his era. He was the first to win the Masters Tournament three times. Demaret was also a very good singer. Every once in a while he would sing with Ben Bernie’s orchestra. Bernie was a very popular bandleader and had his own radio program. Demaret was so well liked that he gave up golf temporarily. In 1935, when he wasn’t doing too well on the golf course, Demaret sang with Bernie’s band full time.
From The Giant Book of More Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1966/04/04/it-was-fun-time-in-the-thirties
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Demaret
The only reference I was able to find to connect Demaret with Bernie was the 1966 SI article, which only states that Bernie was one of the people who staked Demaret for a golf tournament in CA. This story also notes, in very 1966 fashion, that Demaret seemed to have a debilitating gambling problem. Demaret’s biggest years were in the 40’s and 50’s, so if he sang full time in 1935, then that was before he really hit his stride as a golfer.
Seems Demaret is probably also to blame for all of the terrible, terrible, terrible golf “fashion” as he was known to walk onto a course wearing super flamboyant clothes while his competitors were wearing ties.