Willie Berg of Flossmoor, a manufacturer of musical accessories, died Thursday in Olympia Fields Osteopathic Medical Center. Mr. Berg, who was 80, suffered from heart and kidney failure. In the 1930s, he was a struggling musician who played clarinet and saxophone, according to a son, Irwin. Mr. Berg would stuff a gym bag with reeds, oil and other accessories and wait backstage at big band shows in hopes of selling spare parts to musicians. In 1940, musician Glenn Miller suggested to Mr. Berg that he create a mute that could change the sound of brass instruments. Mr. Berg created the Stonelined Mute, a device that “changes the tonal color of an instrument,” according to his son. Mr. Berg founded the Humes & Berg Manufacturing Co. Inc., a musical accessory company in East Chicago, Ind. Mr. Berg also is survived by his wife, Faye, and another son, Mitchell. Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday in Piser Weinstein Menorah Chapels.
