Ed Lang certainly did not die broke. In the early 30's when Bing Crosby began his rise to fame Ed Lang was his big buddy and he took him with him and used him on all his record dates, broadcasts, public appearances and films, in which he had speaking parts. By 1933 he was the highest paid guitarist in the country but he had always suffered from laryngitis and it began to effect his voice and Bing Crosby advised him to have a tonsillectomy, a routine operation. Sad to say he never recovered from the operation. He was only 30 years old.