Cottler also recorded and performed live with Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Walt Disney, Peggy Lee, Dinah Shore, Ella Fitzgerald, Neal Hefti, Nelson Riddle, Count Basie, and many others.
Cottler, born in Brooklyn in 1918, was a self-taught percussionist who began providing rhythm for the bands performing in the Catskills in New York when he was only 14.
At an early age he began working with such big-band leaders as Red Norvo, Van Alexander, Larry Clinton, Alvino Ray, Claude Thornhill, Les Brown and Tommy Dorsey.
In the early 1960s, Cottler was the drummer and percussionist on many Disney films, including Herbie, The Jungle Book, and Mary Poppins.
[2] With Count Basie With Pat Boone With Hoagy Carmichael With Ray Charles With Nat King Cole With Sammy Davis Jr. With Stan Kenton With Barney Kessel With Skip Martin and His Orchestra With André Previn With Carly Simon With Frank Sinatra With Keely Smith