Frank Loesser

Frank Henry Loesser (June 29, 1910 – July 26, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the scores to the Broadway hits Guys And Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the latter. He also wrote numerous songs for films and Tin pan alley, many of which have become standards, and was nominated for five Academy Awards for best song, winning once for "Baby, It's Cold Outside".

Biography

Early years

Loesser was born in New York City to Henry Loesser, a pianist, and Julia Ehrlich. He left City College of New York in 1925 after one year. After trying various jobs, by 1935 he was performing in a club with singer Lynn Blankenbaker Garland, whom he married in 1936.Frank Loesser biography,pbs.org, accessed December 5, 2008

After signing with Universal Pictures in 1936 he moved to Hollywood, and then worked for Paramount Pictures. He wrote the lyrics for many songs during this period, including "Two Sleepy People" and "I Hear Music. He stayed in Hollywood until World War II, when he joined the Army Air Force.

One of the early films he worked on was Destry Rides Again (1939), for which he wrote the lyrics to "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have", sung by Marlene Dietrich.

WWII era

During World War II, he wrote 1942's "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition"

. Formerly a successful lyricist in collaboration with other composers, this was the first song for which Loesser composed the melody in addition to the lyric.

In 1944, Loesser worked on a little known musical intended to be performed by and for US soldiers abroad, titled Hi Yank!, the music for which was composed by Alex North. Hi Yank! was produced by the U.S. Army Office of Special Services as a "blueprint special" to boost the morale of soldiers located where USO shows could not visit. The "blueprint" was a book containing a musical script with instructions for staging the show, using materials locally available to deployed soldiers. A document located at the US Army Centre for Military History states, "A touring company has been formed in Italy to tour a production of "Hi, Yank!"".

This unique Hi Yank! show without stars or a conventional theater run was generally forgotten until 2008, when the PBS History Detectives TV show researched the case of a long-saved radio transcription disc. The disc has two songs and a promotional announcement for the show's Fort Dix premiere in August 1944, when the disc was broadcast there.

Career

In 1948, Broadway producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin asked Loesser to write both music and lyrics to George Abbott's book for an adaptation of the Brandon Thomas play ''Charley's Aunt. That musical, Where's Charley? (1948), starred Ray Bolger, and ran for a successful 792 performances. This led to his next musical, Guys and Dolls (1950), also produced by Feuer and Martin, which became a hit and earned him two Tony Awards.Loesser biography, mtishows.com, accessed August 4, 2009

He wrote the book, music and lyrics for his next two musicals, The Most Happy Fella (1956) and Greenwillow (1960). He wrote the music and lyrics for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), which ran for 1,417 performances and won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and for which he received two more Tonys.

The last musical that he worked on, Pleasures and Palaces (1965), closed during out-of-town tryouts.

Another unproduced musical, Senor Discretion Himself, premiered after his death. He started working on a musical version of the Budd Schulberg short story Senor Discretion Himself in 1966, but stopped working on it after 2 years. A version was presented in 1985 at the New York Musical Theatre Works. With the support of Jo Loesser, a completed version was presented at the Arena Stage, Washington, DC, in 2004, reworked by the group Culture Clash and director Charles Randolph-Wright.

Personal life

Loesser married Jo Sullivan (born Elizabeth Josephine Sullivan) on April 30, 1959. Loesser was introduced to Jo by his first wife Lynn. She had played a lead in Most Happy Fella. They had two children, Hannah and Emily. Emily is a performer.

His first two children with Lynn Loesser, his first wife, are John Loesser and Susan Loesser, an author who wrote her father's biography A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life: A Portrait by His Daughter (1993, 2000).

He died of lung cancer at age 59 in New York City.

Notable songs

see also cat Musicals by Frank Loesser

Loesser was the lyricist of over 700 songs.

Broadway musicals

"Once in Love With Amy" from ''Where's Charley?
"A Bushel and a Peck", "Fugue for Tinhorns", "I'll Know", "If I Were A Bell" (a favorite of Miles Davis, featured in recordings with John Coltrane) and "Luck Be a Lady Tonight" from Guys and Dolls
"Standing on the Corner" from The Most Happy Fella
"Never Will I Marry" from Greenwillow
"I Believe In You" and "The Brotherhood of Man" from How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

Film and Tin Pan Alley

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" from the M-G-M picture "Neptune's Daughter" (1949). This was originally a song which Loesser and his wife Lynn performed at parties for the private entertainment of friends. They also recorded the song for Mercury Records. Under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to supply a full score for ''Neptune's Daughter, Loesser included this song which he had created in 1944, originally for their housewarming party.
"Heart and Soul" (from the Paramount short subject A Song is Born) – lyrics
"I Don't Want to Walk Without You" from the Paramount picture Sweater Girl (1942)
"On a Slow Boat to China" (1948)
"Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year" from the Universal picture Christmas Holiday (1944)
"Inch Worm", "Thumbelina" and "Wonderful Copenhagen" (which is now the official song of the city of Copenhagen) from the Samuel Goldwyn picture "Hans Christian Anderson" (1952)
"Two Sleepy People" (music by Hoagy Carmichael) from the Paramount picture "Thanks for the Memory" (1938)
"What are You Doing New Year's Eve?" (written in 1947)

He was also the author of "The Ballad of Rodger Young", which was prominently quoted in Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers.

Awards and legacy

Loesser received Tony Awards for music and lyrics for each of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Guys and Dolls. He was nominated for the Tony Award for book, music and lyrics for The Most Happy Fella and as Best Composer for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Loesser was awarded a Grammy Award in 1961 for Best Original Cast Show Album for How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

He won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside". He was nominated four more times:

"Dolores" from Las Vegas Nights (1941)"They're Either Too Young or Too Old" from Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)"I Wish I Didn't Love You So" from The Perils of Pauline (1947)"Thumbelina" (1953)

In 2006 the PBS documentary, Heart & Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser was released.

Signed Music Artists