Jerry Livingston

Artist: Jerry Livingston

Performed Songs By:

Rick Strauss

Worked With:

LeMel Humes, Jeff Jarvis, Miki Howard

Formal Connection With:

Mack David, Al Hoffman

Born: March 25, 1909, Denver, CO
Died: July 01, 1987, Beverly Hills, CA
Active: '30s, '40s, '50s, '70s
Genres: Vocal Music
Instrument: Songwriter

Biography

Composer Jerry Livingston was born Gerald Levinson on March 25, 1909, in Denver, CO. After completing his studies at the University of Arizona, he played piano in a Denver dance combo, also writing a handful of collegiate stage productions before relocating to New York City in 1932. Livingston soon scored his first hit, "When It's Darkness on the Delta," in collaboration with Marty Symes; the duo reunited the following year for "Under a Blanket of Blue," seeking third-party assistance from Al J. Neiberg to complete "It's the Talk of the Town." Livingston also teamed with composer Al Hoffman and lyricist Milton Drake for a number of hits, among them "I'm a Big Girl Now," "She Broke My Heart in Three," "Ashby De La Zooch," "If I'm Not Back in Five Minutes," and, most famously, the 1943 smash "Mairzy Doats." After writing "Blue and Sentimental" with Count Basie, Livingston increasingly began focusing his energies on Hollywood; his score to the 1950 Disney animated feature Cinderella generated the Oscar-nominated "A Wish Is a Dream Your Heart Makes" and he also composed music for 1951's animated Alice in Wonderland, in addition to a number of Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis comedies. For television, Livingston also authored themes for Casper, the Friendly Ghost and 77 Sunset Strip prior to his death in 1987. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

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Actor: Jerry Livingston

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Born: Mar 25, 1909
Died: 1987
Active: '50s-'60s
Major Genres: Comedy, Western
Career Highlights: Cinderella, Cat Ballou, Radio Days
First Major Screen Credit: At War With the Army (1950)

Biography

Composer Jerry Livingston has created numerous scores for feature films and television programs including the title songs for 77 Sunset Strip and Lawman. His best known film score is that of Disney's Cinderella. Livingston frequently collaborated with others including Mack David, Helen Deutsch, Ralph Freed and Paul Francis Webster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Wikipedia: Jerry Livingston

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Jerry Livingston (né Jerry Levinson; b. March 25, 1909, Denver, CO; d. July 1, 1987, Beverly Hills, CA) was an American songwriter, and dance orchestra pianist.

Biography

Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he composed his first score for a college musical. He moved to New York City in the 1930s, initially working as a pianist for dance orchestras.^[1]

From 1940s to the 1960s he had written songs for numerous films and television series, including Cinderella (1950), Bronco (1958), 77 Sunset Strip (television series, 1958), and Hawaiian Eye (television series, 1959). He worked on Tin Pan Alley and co-wrote with Mack David the theme song to Casper the Friendly Ghost.

Livingston's Broadway compositions included the musical Molly and the musical revue Bright Lights of 1944, both with Mack David.

With Mack David he was nominated three times for the Academy Awards, the first time in 1951 for the song "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" from Cinderella (1950), again in 1960 for the song "The Hanging Tree" from the film of the same name (1959), and the last time for "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" (from the 1965 film Cat Ballou) in 1966.

He died of a heart condition at his home in Beverly Hills, California at age 78.

References

^ "Jerry Livingston Dies; Wrote 'Mairzy Doats'". The New York Times. Friday, July 10, 1987. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/10/obituaries/jerry-livingston-dies-wrote-mairzy-doats.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21. "Jerry Livingston, the composer of Mairzy Doats, The 12th of Never, Talk of the Town and many other songs, died of a heart condition July 1 at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 78 years old. Mr. Livingston, whose name was originally Jerry Levinson, was born in Denver."

External links

Jerry Livingston at the Internet Broadway Database
Jerry Livingston at the Internet Movie Database

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		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
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		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jerry Livingston". Read more