Edward Eliscu
Edward Eliscu (born April 2, 1902 in New York City , † June 18, 1998 in Newtown , Connecticut ) was an American actor , screenwriter and songwriter .
Life
After his bachelor's degree from City College of New York , Edward Eliscu moved to Broadway , where he appeared as an actor from 1924. At the end of the 1920s he also began working there as a songwriter. Together with the composer Vincent Youmans and the songwriter Billy Rose he wrote the musical Great Day , which ran for less than a month on Broadway in 1929, but from which the songs More Than You Know , Without a Song and Great Day advanced to standards and later several times found use in films, e.g. B. in Funny Lady (1975) with Barbra Streisand and in Die fabelbaren Baker Boys ( The Fabulous Baker Boys , 1989). He also wrote skits for Broadway shows like The Third Little Show .
Called to Hollywood by RKO Pictures , he wrote the songs for the film musical Flying Down to Rio together with Youmans and Gus Kahn in 1933 , in which Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had their first screen appearance together. For one of these songs, Carioca , Eliscu, Youmans and Kahn were nominated for an Oscar for Best Song . At 20th Century Fox he was the scriptwriter and songwriter for a number of films with child star Jane Withers , including the small musical Paddy O'Day , in which Rita Hayworth played one of her first roles alongside Withers. In the 1940s Eliscu moved to Columbia Pictures , where he wrote scripts for musicals and comedies.
In the 1950s he was blacklisted by the Committee on Un-American Activities for his political opinion , but continued to work for the theater and eventually for American television. From 1968 to 1973 he was President of the American Guild of Authors & Composers. In 1975 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame . With his wife, dance teacher and painter Stella Bloch , with whom he was married until his death, he had sons David and Peter. He died at his Newtown, Connecticut home in 1998 at the age of 96.
Filmography (selection)
- Movie songs
- 1930: Whoopee!
- I'll Still Belong to You
- 1933: Flying Down to Rio
- Music Makes Me
- Carioca
- Orchids in the Moonlight
- Flying Down to Rio
- 1935: Paddy O'Day
- I like a balalaika
- Keep That Twinkle in Your Eye
- 1943: Always more, always happier ( The More the Merrier )
- The Torpedo Song
- 1975: Funny Lady
- More Than You Know
- (It's Gonna Be A) Great Day
script
- 1935: Paddy O'Day
- 1941: Sis Hopkins
- 1943: Something to Shout About
- 1945: The Gay Senorita
- 1949: Alice in Wonderland ( Alice au pays des Merveilles )
- 1950: Three Husbands
More songs
- Happy Because I'm in Love
- Ankle Up the Altar
- Meet the people
- A Fellow and A Girl
- You Forgot Your Gloves
- They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree
- Without a song
Awards
- 1938: Oscar nomination in the category Best Song for Carioca from the film Flying Down to Rio together with Vincent Youmans and Gus Kahn
Web links
- Edward Eliscu in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Edward Eliscu in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
- Edward Eliscu on songwritershalloffame.org (English)
- Edward Eliscu in the All Movie Guide (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sylvia Görke: Bloch, Stella. In: General Artist Lexicon . Addendum, Volume 3, KG Saur, Munich and Leipzig 2008, ISBN 978-3-598-22863-6 , p. 200.
- ^ Mel Gussow: Edward Eliscu, 96, Songwriter and Playwright . In: The New York Times , June 22, 1998.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Eliscu, Edward |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American screenwriter and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 2, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 18, 1998 |
| Place of death | Newtown , Connecticut |