Ned Washington

• Born: August 15, 1901, Scranton, PA
• Died: December 20, 1976, Los Angeles, CA
• Active: '20s, '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s
• Genres: Vocal Music
• Instrument: Lyricist, Songwriter

Biography

American pop lyricist Ned Washington wrote many hits for Broadway and film from the 1930s through the 1960s. He began his career in music as a vaudeville MC and served as an agent for some of the vaudeville performers. Eventually, Washington began writing material for the vaudeville acts, and so started songwriting. One of his tunes was used in Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1928 and the following year, Washington was hired by Warner Bros. While working for them, Washington had a big hit with "Singing in the Bathtub," which was used in the revue Show of Shows. For the cinema, Washington went on to write music for MGM, Republic Studios, Paramount Pictures, and Walt Disney Studios. He also worked on successful Broadway musicals, including Murder at the Vanities (1933). His chief collaborator was composer Victor Young, but he worked with a variety of composers, including Lester Lee, Sam H. Stept, Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy McHugh, and many more. Washington won a number of Academy Awards for Best Song, from 1940 for Pinocchio's "When You Wish Upon a Star" through 1961's Town Without Pity title song. Other hits by Washington can be heard in the films The Hit Parade (1937), Dumbo (1941), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), Green Dolphin Street (1947), High Noon (1952), The Unforgiven (1960), Ship of Fools (1965), and many more. Some of the best-known songs by this member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame include "I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You," "Smoke Rings" (1932), "A Ghost of a Chance" (1933), "My Foolish Heart," and "The High and the Mighty" (1954). ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide

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