Biography

Lyricist ("If You Were the Only Girl in the World", "Valencia", "Got a Date with an Angel") and author, educated at King Edward VI School. He began as an actor, then wrote the Broadway stage scores for "Sally", "Vogues of 1924", "Artists and Models (1924, 1925)", "Annie Dear", "June Days", "Gay Paree", "A Night in Paris", "Great Temptations", "The Merry World", "Hit the Deck", "The Madcap", and "The Three Musketeers". He was also the librettist for "Lady Butterfly", "Marjorie", "Mayflowers", "Sunny Days", and "Ups-a-Daisy". Joining ASCAP in 1925, his chief musical collaborators included J. Fred Coots, Jay Gorney, Jerome Kern, Sigmund Romberg, Rudolf Friml, Lewis Gensler, Johnny Green, Oscar Levant, Leo Robin, Richard Myers, Victor Schertzinger, Herbert Stothart, Vincent Youmans, Werner Janssen, Al Goodman, Maurie Rubens, William Cary Duncan, and Jean Schwartz. His other popular-song compositions include "Wild Rose", "Sally", "Whip-Poor-Will", "The Lorelei", "The Church 'Round the Corner", "Hallelujah", "Why, Oh Why?", "My Love Parade", "The Rogue Song", "Dream Lover", "Ma Belle", and "March of the Musketeers".