Buddy DeSylva

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George Gard De Sylva (also: B. G. DeSylva, Bud G. DeSylva, Buddy Gard DeSylva; born January 27, 1895 in New York City , † July 1, 1950 in Hollywood , California ) was an American songwriter, playwright , screenwriter and Film producer.

Life

Buddy DeSylva was born in New York City in 1895, the son of the silent film actor Hal De Forrest .

He was discovered by Al Jolson in 1918 and worked from then on as a songwriter for Tin Pan Alley in New York. Songs for which he wrote the lyrics and occasionally composed the music were used in Broadway shows such as various editions of the Ziegfeld Follies or George White's Scandals as well as in musical comedies . DeSylva worked with George Gershwin for a number of revues and musical comedies . E.g .: La, La, Lucille (1919); The French Doll (1920), Sweet Little Devil (1924) and Tell Me More (1925). The most popular hit from this period is the song Look for the Silver Lining (music: Jerome Kern ) from the musical Sally (1920).

In 1925 he began working with Lew Brown and Ray Henderson ; During this time, a number of revues and musicals, u. a .: Manhattan Mary (1927), Hold Everything! (1928) and Follow Thru (1929). The musical Good News from 1927 became the most successful show. Most of these musicals were then filmed in Hollywood; In 1929 the "songwriting trio" worked for the film Sunnyside Up . The history of this team was in 1956 fanfares of joy (The Best Things in Life Are Free) filmed.

In the early 1930s, DeSylva separated from Henderson and Brown and started working as a film producer in Hollywood. There he had great success with some Shirley Temple films such as The Little Colonel (1935), The Littlest Rebel (1935) or Poor Little Rich Girl (1936). Early 1940 he became the chief producer of Paramount Pictures .

During his time in Hollywood DeSylva worked on several projects on Broadway, mainly as a writer and producer (together with Laurence Schwab ). Worth mentioning are: Du Barry Was a Lady (1939), Louisiana Purchase (1940), Panama Hattie (1940). In 1941 he worked on the film Birth of the Blues, which was Oscar-nominated for its film music .

In 1942 DeSylva founded the record company Capitol Records with Glenn Wallichs and Johnny Mercer .

Filmography (selection)

As a producer

Web links

personal data
SURNAME DeSylva, buddy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES De Sylva, George Gard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American songwriter, playwright, screenwriter, and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH January 27, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 1950
Place of death Hollywood , California