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This year Peter left to drum up business on his own, and now the jobs are coming in so thick he has started teaching other groups his arrangements (the piano is always the focal point) and sending them out under his own name. Among his recent customers were Mrs. Douglas Dillon, Mrs. Raymond Guest, Ethel and Joan Kennedy.
Duchin shrugs off his success, explaining: "Besides Lester Lanin and Meyer Davis, there really isn't much competition. It's awfully hard to get a name in this business—that's why I was awfully lucky to have my dad's." But he has much more than a name. With a thick shock of hair and a bemused smile fixed on his angular face, he looks like a matinee idol, plays with the enthusiasm of the young bon vivant that he is. Says White House Secretary Bess Abell: "He has a gay spirit that makes for a festive evening."
Not content with his present lot, Peter is looking for new worlds to conquer. A sometime drama student who thought acting might give him added poise at the piano, Peter has already had a bit part in The World of Henry Orient and has played summer stock. This year he signed a contract with Universal Pictures to make a movie a year, plus eight TV dramas. And if that does not keep him busy, Cheray has plans too. Last week she announced that a new generation of Duchins would appear in May. If it's a boy, Peter is already readying a baby grand.