Biography
Composer, songwriter ("Swanee," "Tea for Two," "Crazy Rhythm," "Just a Gigolo"), author, and publisher, educated at Chautauqua Mountain Institute and City College of New York. He served as a stenographer on the Henry Ford Peace Ship during World War I. He became a member of ASCAP in 1920, serving as a director from 1920 to 1946 and again in 1949. He was also a co-founder and former president of AGAC. His musical collaborations included work with George Gershwin, Vincent Youmans, Victor Herbert, Sigmund Romberg, Rudolf Friml, Ray Henderson, Cliff Friend, Louis Hirsch, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Joseph Meyer, Oscar Levant, and Gerald Marks. His Broadway scores feature "Greenwich Village Follies" (four editions), "Betty Lee," "Sweetheart Time," "No, No, Nanette," "Yes, Yes, Yvette," "Here's Howe," "Americana," "Ripples," "Nina Rosa," "The Wonder Bar," "Melody," and "White Horse Inn." His popular songs include "Imagination," "There Ought to Be a Law Against That," "Lady Play Your Mandolin," "You Are the Song," "What, No Mickey Mouse," "Give Me a Roll on the Drum," "If I Forget You," "Hold My Hand," "My Dog Loves Your Dog," "Oh, You Nasty Man," "Oh, Susannah, Dust Off that Old Piano," "That's What I Want for Christmas," "Animal Crackers in My Soup," "Blue Eyes," "I Cannot Live Without Your Love," "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?," "Love Is Such a Cheat," "Umbriago," "I Was So Young (You Were So Beautiful)," "Sixty Seconds Every Minute," "Chansonette," "What Do You Do Sunday, Mary?," "Nashville Nightingale," "I Want to Be Happy," "Too Many Rings Around Rosie," "You Can Dance With Any Girl At All," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Gigolette," "I'm a Little Fonder of You," and "Your U.S. Mail Gets Through" (official song of the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S.).
