Frank Loesser

• Born: Jun 29, 1910 in New York City, New York
• Died: Jul 28, 1969 in New York City, New York
• Occupation: Writer
• Active: '30s-'50s
• Major Genres: Comedy, Musical
• Career Highlights: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Hans Christian Andersen, Johnny Apollo
• First Major Screen Credit: Blossoms on Broadway (1937)

Biography

American composer Frank Loesser is more closely associated with Broadway thanks to his classic quartet Where's Charley (1948), Guys and Dolls (1950), Most Happy Fella (1956) and How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (1961). From 1938 through 1949, however, Loesser toiled almost exclusively in Hollywood, farming out his services to studios both big and small. Since Loesser was one of those rare birds who wrote both music and lyrics, he came in handy in the B-picture field, where a solo composer was a lot more attractive financially than a team. On more prestigious projects, however, Loesser did work in collaboration: With Alfred Newman, he wrote "Moon of Manakoora" for Goldwyn's The Hurricane (1939), while he was teamed with Frederick Hollander for such Destry Rides Again (1939) ditties as "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have." Largely unknown by name until the 1942 hit "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," Loesser became increasingly famous during his years at Paramount Pictures on the strength of such songs as "I Don't Want to Walk Without You, Baby," and "Jingle Jangle Jingle." 1949 was a particularly felicitous year for Loesser: He not only won the Academy Award for "Baby It's Cold Outside" (from MGM's Neptune's Darling) but also made his screen acting debut as a gangster in the Betty Hutton vehicle Red, Hot and Blue (1949). After composing such tunes as "Copenhagen," "Thumbelina" and "Inchworm" for Goldwyn's Hans Christian Andersen (1952), Loesser directed his energies almost exclusively to the Broadway stage (with a few sidetrips into TV commercial jingles). Frank Loesser's last direct-to-screen work consisted of three new songs for the 1955 film version of Guys and Dolls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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