Jimmy Van Heusen

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Jimmy Van Heusen

Jimmy Van Heusen , actually Edward Chester Babcock (born January 26, 1913 in Syracuse , New York , † February 7, 1990 in Rancho Mirage , California ) was an American composer . He wrote songs for revues and musicals, but also films and television.

Live and act

He started writing songs in high school. When he was 15, he took the name Jimmy Van Heusen as a pseudonym for a show on local radio. He studied at Cazenovia and Syracuse University , where he befriended Jerry Arlen, younger brother Harold Arlen , with whom he played songs for the Cotton Club revues . such as "Harlem Hospitality" wrote. He then became a pianist at one of the Tin Pan Alley music publishers . In 1938 he wrote "It's the Dreamer in Me" to a text by Tommy Dorsey . In collaboration with the lyricist Eddie DeLange , songs like “Heaven Can Wait”, “So Help Me” or “ Darn That Dream ” were created; In 1940 he wrote more than 60 songs. In the same year he began working with Johnny Burke . Together they went to Hollywood and wrote for musicals and films in the 1940s and 1950s. During the Second World War , Van Heusen also worked as a test pilot for Lockheed Corporation .

He later worked successfully for Hollywood with the lyricist Sammy Cahn ; Among other things, they wrote songs for Das Fenster zum Hof (1954), Sieben gegen Chicago (1964) and Frank Sinatra's albums . In 1965 Van Heusen wrote the musical Skyscraper , in 1966 the musical Walking Happy . In 1971 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame , but was still active into the late 1970s. Songs like “Here's That Rainy Day”, “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” or “Darn That Dream” have also become jazz standards .

Awards

Van Heusen won four Academy Awards for Best Song and an Emmy in 1956 . Overall, he was nominated 14 times in twelve years for the Oscar (1946 and 1964 each for two songs); In 1944, 1957, 1959 and 1963 he received the Oscar. In 1965 he was nominated for a Grammy Award .

Songs (selection)

Oscar-winning songs

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Van Heusen, Jimmy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Van Heusen, James; Babcock, Edward Chester (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH January 26, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Syracuse , New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 1990
Place of death Rancho Mirage , California, United States