n 1926, he left the Savoy and opened his 'School of
Syncopation' which specialised in teaching modern music techniques such as
ragtime and
stride piano. This in turn, led to the long running correspondence course on 'How to play like Billy Mayerl'. It was during this period that he wrote his most famous solo 'Marigold'. By the late 30's his correspondence school is said to have over 100 staff and 30,000 students. It finally closed in 1957.On October 28, 1925, Mayerl was the soloist in the London premiere of
George Gershwin's
Rhapsody in Blue. In December 1926, he appeared with
Gwen Farrar (1899–1944) in a
short film – made in the
Lee DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process – in which they sang Mayerl's song "I've Got a Sweetie on the Radio". His song "Miss Up-to-Date" was sung and played by
Cyril Ritchard in
Alfred Hitchcock's sound film
Blackmail (1929).On Tuesday, 1 October 1929, Billy Mayerl's orchestra performed at the opening of
The Locarno Dance Hall in
Streatham.In the 1930s Mayerl composed several works for the musical theatre including three connected with horse racing,
Sporting Love, opening at the
Gaiety Theatre, London in 1934,
Twenty to One (Coliseum 1935), and
Over She Goes (Saville 1936). In 1938, famed jazz pianist
Marian McPartland joined his group "Mayerl's Claviers" under the name Marian Page.Mayerl died in 1959 from a
heart attack at his home, Marigold Lodge, after a long illness.
