Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem.

Filmography

• 2026Only the Dead Know Brooklyn — Music, Musician
• 2014Concerto Ellington-Marsalis — Music
• 2012So Long — Original Music Composer
• 2010The Bankbus — Music
• 1997Nutcracker Sweeties — Music
• 1991The Very Best of The Ed Sullivan Show (Vol. 1)
• 1988Sand Dance — Music
• 1987Misanthrope — Original Music Composer
• 1982Sophisticated Ladies — Musical
• 1978The War of the Infras — Music
• 1977The Turning Point — Music
• 1974On the Road with Duke Ellington — Self, Music
• 1969Change of Mind — Original Music Composer
• 1966Assault on a Queen — Original Music Composer
• 1961Paris Blues — Original Music Composer
• The Asphalt Jungle — Music
• 1959Anatomy of a Murder — Pie Eye (uncredited), Original Music Composer
• 1958A Smattering of Spots — Music
• 1957Daybreak Express — Music
• 1950Salute to Duke Ellington
• 1949Symphony In Swing
• 1945The Vampire — Music
• 1943Cabin in the Sky — Duke Ellington (uncredited), Music
• 1943Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
• 1943Reveille with Beverly — Duke - Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (uncredited)
• 1942Flamingo
• 1942I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good
• 1937The Hit Parade — Duke Ellington
• 1935Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life — Self, Original Music Composer
• 1934Belle of the Nineties — Piano Player
• 1934Many Happy Returns — Piano Player (uncredited)
• 1934Masks and Memories — Songs
• 1934Murder at the Vanities — Duke Ellington
• 1933Betty Boop's May Party — Music
• 1930Check and Double Check — Orchestra Leader
• 1929Black and Tan — Duke Ellington

Appearances as themselves (59)

• 2024I Can't Give You Anything But Love: The Jimmy McHugh Story — Self (archive footage)
• 2024Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat — Self (archive footage)
• 2024Steve e il Duca — Self (archival)
• 2022Charlie Parker: Bird Songs — Self (archive footage)
• 2021Duke Ellington in Isfahan — Self (archive footage)
• 2019Duke Ellington and his Orchestra - Live — Himself
• 2019The Apollo — Self (archive footage)
• 2019The Green Book: Guide to Freedom — Self - Musician (archive footage)
• 2018The Jazz Ambassadors — Self (archive footage)
• 2014Duke Ellington & Sarah Vaughan Live At The Berlin Philharmonic Hall 1989 — Self
• 2014Jazz Legends in Their Own Words — Self (archive footage)
• 2012The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America — Self (archive footage)
• 2008Jazz Evolution — Self - Piano
• 2007Alice Babs - Swing It! — Himself (archive footage)
• 2007Jazz Icons: Duke Ellington Live in '58 — Self - Piano
• 2005Billie Holiday: The Ultimate Collection — Himself
• 2005Duke Ellington: The Big Band Feeling — Self
• 2004Improvisation — Self
• Parkinson — Self - Guest / Performer (archive footage)
• 2004The Harlem Renaissance — Self (archive footage)
• 2004The Story Of The Blues — Self
• 2003Duke Ellington: Live At The Tivoli Gardens — Self
• 2003Piano Blues — Self (archive footage)
• 2003The Intimate Duke Ellington — Self
• 2002It's Black Entertainment — Self (archive footage)
• Jazz — Self (archive footage)
• 2000Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1929-1943 — Self
• 1991The Lou Rawls Show with Duke Ellington — Self
• 1987Moments without Proper Names — Self (archive footage)
• 1975Black Shadows on a Silver Screen — Self (archive footage)
• Le Grand Échiquier — Self
• 1969Duke Ellington Orchestra @ Berliner Jazztage 1969 — Self
• The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest
• 1967Duke Ellington: Love You Madly — Self
• 1966Duke Ellington at the Côte d'Azur with Ella Fitzgerald and Joan Miro — Self
• NET Playhouse — Self
• 1966The First World Festival of Negro Arts — Himself
• 1966The Strolling '20s — Self
• The Merv Griffin Show — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self
• Discorama — Self (archive footage)
• The Bell Telephone Hour — Self
• Aktuelle Schaubude — Self
• Tonight Starring Jack Paar — Self
• 1956Jazz Ball — Self (archive footage)
• The Steve Allen Show — Self - Guest
• 1952Mood Indigo — Self
• 1952Solitude — Self
• 1952Sophisticated Lady — Self
• German Film Award — Self
• What's My Line? — Self
• Bambi — Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
• 1947Date with Duke — Self
• 1942Bli-Blip — Himself
• 1941Birth of the Blues — Self (archive footage)
• 1934Hollywood on Parade No. B-10 — Self
• 1933A Bundle of Blues — Self
• What's Happening — Self