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Burton Lane

 
American Theater Guide: Burton Lane
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Lane, Burton [né Levy] (1912–96), composer. The New York native began his professional career by writing the music for songs that were interpolated into the revues Three's a Crowd (1930) and The Third Little Show (1931). He then wrote the score for Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1931, after which he spent a decade in Hollywood. Lane returned to provide songs for Hold On to Your Hats (1940) and Laughing Room Only (1944) but wrote his best score for Finian's Rainbow (1947). He also provided commendable music for the less‐successful musicals On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965) and Carmelina (1979).

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Burton Lane
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(born Feb. 2, 1912, New York, N.Y., U.S. — died Jan. 5, 1997, New York City) U.S. songwriter. Lane worked in Tin Pan Alley, where he came to the attention of George Gershwin. His tunes were featured on Broadway from the early 1930s and were later heard in films, including Babes on Broadway (1942). His greatest success came with Finian's Rainbow (1947; film, 1968), for which he worked with lyricist E.Y. Harburg. He collaborated with Alan Jay Lerner on the film Royal Wedding (1951). Another joint effort with Lerner, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965; film, 1970), gave Lane his last notable success.

For more information on Burton Lane, visit Britannica.com.

Artist: Burton Lane
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Performed Songs By:

Alan Jay Lerner

Formal Connection With:

Ted Koehler, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
  • Born: February 02, 1912, New York, NY
  • Died: January 05, 1997, New York, NY
  • Active: '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s
  • Genres: Soundtrack
  • Instrument: Piano, Vocals, Producer

Biography

The Broadway and Hollywood composer best-known for Finian's Rainbow, Burton Lane was born in New York in 1912. He began writing songs before his teens and after dropping out of high school, worked as a song plugger and staff composer. Influenced by Gershwin, Lane met his idol through a family friend and began composing for the theater while still a teenager. Teaming with lyricist Harold Adamson, he wrote songs for Earl Carroll's Vanities and Artists and Models in 1930. The pair wrote songs for several other shows, then traveled to Hollywood under the aegis of Irving Berlin's publishing company; after authoring two major film hits, "Everything I Have Is Yours" (from Dancing Lady) and "Says My Heart" (from Cocoanut Grove), Lane ended up staying for over two decades. He contracted with MGM, then Paramount, working on more than 30 pictures during the 1930s. After working at MGM for several years during the '40s, Lane returned to Broadway in 1947 to present Finian's Rainbow with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. The show became a big success thanks to songs like "How Are Things in Glocca Morra," "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," and "Something Sort of Grandish."

Despite the grand homecoming, Burton Lane returned to Hollywood and worked on films, including Royal Wedding, Give a Girl a Break, and Jupiter's Darling. Lane's last major success, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, appeared in 1965. Written with Alan Jay Lerner, the show launched a hit with the title song and became a feature film in 1970. Though he rarely composed during his last two decades, he worked tirelessly as the president of the American Guild of Composers and Authors. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Writer: Burton Lane
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  • Born: Feb 02, 1912 in New York City, New York
  • Died: Jan 05, 1997 in New York City, New York
  • Occupation: Writer, Actor
  • Active: '30s-'60s
  • Major Genres: Musical, Comedy
  • Career Highlights: Royal Wedding, Give a Girl A Break, Finian's Rainbow
  • First Major Screen Credit: Dancing Lady (1933)

Biography

Distinguished American songwriter/composer Burton Lane has written many memorable songs for stage and screen. Born in New York City, he began his long career at age 15 in the 1920s writing songs for Remick Music. Lane became well known in 1933 after penning the memorable "Everything I Have Is Yours" for the Joan Crawford, Clark Gable film Dancing Lady. Over his career, Lane wrote songs for over 30 feature films. His best known musicals are Finian's Rainbow, which he wrote in collaboration with E.Y. Harburg, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever with Alan Jay Lerner. Both were later made into films. The latter musical earned Lane and Lerner a Grammy. He has also won two Academy Award nominations for the songs "How About You" and "Too Late Now". Between 1985 he was on the board of ASCAP; earlier (1957-1966) he had served as the president of the Songwriters Guild (formerly the American Guild of Authors and Composers). Lane passed away on January 5, 1997 in New York at age 84. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Burton Lane
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Burton Lane
Birth name Burton Levy
Born February 2, 1912(1912-02-02)
Origin New York City, U.S.
Died January 5, 1997 (aged 84)
New York City, U.S.
Occupations Lyricist, composer

Burton Lane (February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist.

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Biography

Lane (real name Burton Levy) was best known for his Broadway musicals, Finian's Rainbow (1947) and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965). He also wrote the music for the less successful Broadway shows, Hold On to Your Hats (1940), Laffing Room Only (1944), Junior Miss (1957), and Carmelina (1979), the latter with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, who had also written lyrics to Lane's music for On a Clear Day and the film Royal Wedding (1951). Lane also wrote music for films such as Dancing Lady, Babes on Broadway, and Some Like it Hot. For a time, he was president of the American Guild of Authors and Composers, during which period he campaigned against music piracy. He also served three terms on the board of directors of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).

Lane's best-known songs include "Old Devil Moon," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?", "Too Late Now," "How About You?", and the title song from "On a Clear Day." He shared a Grammy Award in 1965 for Best Broadway Cast Album of the year (On a Clear Day You Can See Forever).

Finian's Rainbow has had three major revivals (1955, 1960 and 1967), and was also made into a film starring Fred Astaire and Petula Clark, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in 1968. In 2004 the Irish Repertory Theatre staged a well-received Off-Broadway production. New York's City Center Encores! series performed a critically acclaimed concert version of the piece in March 2009. Directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, it starred Tony Award-winner Jim Norton and Kate Baldwin as Finian and Sharon, with Cheyenne Jackson as Woody and Jeremy Bobb as Og, the leprechaun. A Broadway revival will begin on October 8, 2009, with opening scheduled for October 29 at the St. James Theatre with most of the Encores! cast. Newly added to the Broadway cast are Christopher Fitzgerald as Og and Chuck Cooper as Billboard; Jim Norton, Kate Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson all reprise their roles.

Lane is credited by Songwriters' Hall of Fame (www.songwritershalloffame.org) with discovering the 11-year-old Frances Gumm (Judy Garland). He caught her sisters' act at the Paramount theater in Hollywood which featured a movie and a live stage show. The sisters, Susie and Mary Jane, brought on the kid, Frances, who sang "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart". Lane immediately called Jack Robbins, head of the music department at MGM, and told her he'd just heard a great new talent.

Robbins told him to bring her in next day for an audition which Lane did. Robbins was knocked out by the little girl's voice (Lane played the audition piano for her), rushed upstairs and dragged Louis B. Mayer down to listen to her belt out some songs. Mayer was so impressed he ordered every writer, director and producer on the lot to hear her with the result that the audition, which began at 9 am, finished at 7:30 pm. But Frances (Judy) was signed, and that was the start of her great career. Because of circumstance, and contractural arrangements, Burton Lane didn't work with her again for seven years (Babes on Broadway), but it was definitely he who discovered her.

Works for Broadway and Tony Award nominations

References

External links



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American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Writer. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Burton Lane".  Read more