Richard A. Whiting

Richard A. Whiting

Richard A. Whiting (born November 12, 1891 in Peoria , Illinois , † February 10, 1938 in Beverly Hills , Los Angeles County , California ) was an American composer and songwriter whose score appeared in over 450 films and the one time was nominated for an Oscar for best song and posthumously received the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) award for most played song in 1987 .

Life

Whiting worked from 1919 to 1933 as a composer and songwriter mainly for productions at Broadway - musical theaters such as the Musical revues Toot Sweet (1919) and Tip Top (1920). With Joseph Eldan and Raymond Egan he wrote Sleepy Time Gal in 1925 ; In 1927 he worked as a composer for the first time on a film production, namely on a film directed by Philip Braham about the singer and pianist Norah Blaney with the title Norah Blaney . Whiting, who suffered from heart problems, wrote numerous well-known standard melodies such as "Ain't We Got Fun?", " On the Good Ship Lollipop ", "Too Marvelous", "Japanaese Sandman" and "Louise", but also until his death with Harry Akst and Gus Kahn the jazz classic "Guilty" from 1931. He also worked with composers and songwriters such as Buddy DeSylva , Raymond B. Egan , Neil Moret and Sidney Clare .

At the Academy Awards in 1937 he was together with the songwriter Walter Bullock for the song " When Did You Leave Heaven " from the music film Sing, Baby, Sing (1936) by Sidney Lanfield with Alice Faye , Adolphe Menjou and Gregory Ratoff for the Oscar for the best song nominated.

His songs have also been used widely after his death in over 450 films and television series, but also for production of records of Lester Young as with Johnny Mercer wrote the song "Too Marvelous For Words" or the for the album Man and Other Billie Carmen McRae Sings Lover Holiday Classics used the song "Miss Brown to You," a co-production by him, Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger . In 1987 Whiting, who was inducted posthumously into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, was awarded the Most Performed Song Award for the song "Hooray for Hollywood" by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Whiting, whose grandfather Richard H. Whiting was a member of the US House of Representatives from Illinois from 1875 to 1877 , was the father of the singers Margaret Whiting and Barbara Whiting .

Awards

• 1987: ASCAP Award for the most frequently played song

Filmography (selection)

• 1928: Our Dancing Daughters (Song "Ain't We Got Fun")
• 1929: Why Bring That Up? (Songs "Do I Know What I'm Doing While I'm in Love", "Shoo Shoo Boogie Boo")
• 1930: Lord Byron of Broadway (song "The Japanese Sandman")
• 1930: With Byrd to the South Pole ( documentary With Byrd at the South Pole ; "Till We Meet Again")
• 1930: Monte Carlo
• 1931: Freshman Love ( short film , "She's Funny That Way")
• 1931: The Marx Brothers at Sea ( Monkey Business )
• 1932: Gentleman for a day ( Union Depot ; song "Beyond the Blue Horizon")
• 1932: Fire Head ( Red-Headed Woman )
• 1932: Handle with Care (song "Throw a Little Salt on the Bluebird's Tail")
• 1933: I Loved You Wednesday (Song "It's All for the Best")
• 1934: The Circus Clown (song "Ain't We Got Fun")
• 1934: Lachende Augen (Bright Eyes) (song "On the Good Ship Lollipop")
• 1935: The Big Broadcast of 1936 (song "Double Trouble")
• 1936: Wash Your Step (short film, song "Ain't We Got Fun")
• 1937: Ain't We Got Fun (short film, song "Ain't We Got Fun")
• 1937: She Loved a Fireman (Song "The Japanese Sandman")
• 1938: Four corpses go astray ( A Slight Case of Murder ; Song "I'm Like a Fish out of Water")
• 1938: Porky's Hare Hunt (short film, song "Hooray for Hollywood")
• 1938: The Penguin Parade (short film, songs "Penguin Parade", "Sing, You Son of a Gun")
• 1938: Count Me Out (short film, songs "Hooray for Hollywood", "Let That Be a Lesson to You")

Web links

• Richard A. Whiting in the Internet Movie Database (English)