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Frank Loesser

FRANK LOESSER VIDEO
PictureFrank Loesser
Frank Loesser (1910-1969) was an American composer and lyricist whose songs appeared in an incredible 113 productions for the stage and screen.  Loesser had two main periods in his musical life: as a lyricist from 1931-1946, and as a composer-lyricist from 1947-1969, joining Irving Berlin and Cole Porter in the top tier of songwriters writing both the music and lyrics.  During Loesser's rich career he received 5 Academy Award nominations (winning once), 4 Tony Award nominations (winning twice), one Grammy award, and one Pulitzer prize.  His signature Tony and Golden Globe award winning musical, Guys and Dolls, has been called “the greatest American musical of all time”.
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Frank Loesser was born in Manhattan and was raised in a musical family, his father being an accomplished classical pianist and piano teacher.  Disdaining classical music, Loesser self-learned the piano and began writing popular music and lyrics at the age of 6.  When he was 16 his father's death forced him to work at various jobs  to support the family, including writing sketches and song lyrics.  He published his first song in 1931 as a lyricist with the composer William Shuman,  played piano in nightclubs, and wrote lyrics for his first Broadway show The Illustrator’s Show in 1936.

​The Broadway experience landed him a contract with Paramount Pictures and he moved to Hollywood where he received good notices for his lyrics in a song sung by Dorothy Lamour in the 1937 film The Hurricane.  For the next ten years Loesser wrote lyrics with some of the best music composers of the day and produced the popular songs  “Two Sleepy People”, “Small Fry”, and “Heart and Soul” with Hoagy Carmichael;  “I Don’t Want To Walk Without You” with Jule Styne;  “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood”, “Murder He Says”, “Say It Over and Over Again” and “Let’s Get Lost” with Jimmy McHugh;  “I Hear Music” and “The Lady’s in Love with You” with Burton Lane; and “They’re Either Too Young or Too Old” with Arthur Schwartz. 

In the midst of these songwriting efforts, Loesser joined World War II in the Army Air Force and eventually found himself with fewer composer collaborators.  Being a decent pianist, he started formulating and writing his own melodies to his lyrics, and In 1944 wrote the lyrics and music to a duet that he and his wife would perform at parties.  Five years later this duet, called “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, was featured in the 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter and won the Academy Award for best original song.  In 1947 and 1948 he composed the two highly acclaimed classic American standards “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” and “On A Slow Boat to China”. 

These popular song successes enabled Loesser to return home 
to Manhattan and compose for Broadway.  During the next 20 years he composed the music and lyrics for six blockbuster musicals:  Where’s Charley (1948), Guys and Dolls (1950), Hans Christian Andersen (1952 film), The Most Happy Fella (1956), Greenwillow (1959), and How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (1961).  These productions contained some of the nicest melodies and song standards and produced all of his Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer prize awards.  Guys and Dolls, based on two short stories of Damon Runyon, was quickly recognized as a top premier musical and won five Tony Awards (including Best Musical), as well as producing one of the top show tunes "Luck Be a Lady" and three of Loesser's best song standards:  "I'll Know", "I've Never Been in Love Before",  and "A Woman in Love".   Made into a Hollywood film in 1955, it received 6 Academy and Golden Globe nominations winning for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy).

At the time of his premature death at the age of 59, Loesser was writing the book, music, and lyrics for Señor Discretion Himself, a musical version of the Budd Schulberg short story.  Versions of this production were presented in 1985 and in 2004.  In 2006 PBS produced the documentary Heart and Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser.  In 2013 a musical tribute titled Once In Love With Loesser was produced by the 42nd Street Moon Theater in San Francisco.  When he was asked why he did not write more Broadway shows, Loesser responded that "I don’t write slowly, it’s just that I throw out fast."
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Frank Loesser’s music appears in the following 113 productions for the stage and screen

 AS A LYRICIST
1934
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1934​
1935
  • Poetic Gems​
1936
  • The Illustrator’s Show
  • The Man I Marry
  • Postal Inspector
1937
  • Blossoms on Broadway
  • The Hurricane
  • The Mysterious Crossing
  • Yellowstone​
1938
  • Vogues of 1938
  • Cocoanut Grove
  • College Swing
  • Fight for you Lady
  • Freshman Year
  • Give Me a Sailor
  • Men With Wings
  • Sing You Sinners
  • A Song Is Born
  • Spawn of the North
  • Stolen Heaven
  • The Texans
  • Thanks for the Memory
1939
  • $1000 Touchdown
  • Beau Geste
  • Café Society
  • Dance With The Devil 
  • Destry Rides Again
  • The Gracie Allen Murder Case
  • Hawaiian Nights
  • Heritage of the Desert
  • Invitation to Happiness
  • Island of Lost men
  • The Llano Kid
  • Man About Town
  • Some Like It Hot
  • St. Louis Blues
  • The Star Maker
  • Zaza​
1940
  • Adventures in Diamonds
  • All Women Have Secrets
  • At Good Old Siwash
  • Buck Benny Rides Again
  • The Farmer’s Daughter
  • The Great Victor Herbert
  • Dancing for Nickels and Dimes
  • Moon Over Burma
  • A Night At Earl Carroll’s
  • Northwest Mounted Police
  • The Quarterback
  • The Road to Singapore
  • Seven Sinners
  • Seventeen
  • Typhoon
  • Youth Will be Served​​                                                                                
 1941
  • Aloma of the South Seas
  • Arizona Sketches
  • Birth of the Blues
  • Caught in the Draft
  • Dancing on a Dime
  • Glamour Boy
  • Henry for President
  • Hold Back the Dawn
  • Kiss the Boys Goodbye
  • Las Vegas Nights
  • Manpower
  • Mr. Bug Goes to Town
  • Sailors on Leave
  • Sis Hopkins
  • There’s Magic in Music
  • World Premier
1942
  • Beyond the Blue Horizon
  • The Forest Rangers
  • Piorities on Parade
  • Reap the Wild Wind
  • Seven Days Leave
  • Sweater Girl
  • This Gun For Hire
  • Tortilla Flat
  • True to the Army
1943
  • Army Show
  • Happy-Go-Lucky
  • Thank Your Lucky Stars
1944
  • About Face
  • And The Angels Sing
  • Christmas Holiday
  • Heavenly Days
  • Hi, Yank
  • OK USA
  • See Here, Private Hargrove
  • Tornado
  • The WAC Musical​  
​ 1945
  • Behind City Lights
 1946
  • The Day Before Spring
  • Lady Called Lou
  • Strange Triangle
 AS A COMPOSER-LYRICIST
1947
  • A Miracle Can Happen
  • The Perils of Pauline
  • Variety Girl
1948
  • Lady From Lariet Loop
  • Let’s Dance
  • Neptune’s Daughter
  • Where’s Charley
1949
  • Red, Hot, and Blue
  • Roseanna McCay
​1950
  • Guys and Dolls
1951
  • The College Bowl
1952
  • Hans Christian Andersen
1955
  • The Trouble with Harry
1956
  • The Most Happy Fella
1960
  • Greenwillow​
1961
  • How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
1965
  • Pleasures and Palaces​
1969
  • Señor Discretion Himself
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