Floyd Huddleston (August 19, 1918 - September 27, 1991) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, screenwriter, and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

Career

Huddleston was born in Leland, Mississippi, and would later sing and write songs for Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After he was discharged, Huddleston came to California where he was under contract with Decca Records in 1949. There, he co-wrote with

Al Rinker Al Rinker (December 20, 1907 – June 11, 1982) was an American musician who began his career as a teen performing with Bing Crosby in the early 1920s in Spokane, Washington. In 1925 the pair moved to Los Angeles, eventually forming the Rhythm ...

an estimated 800 songs, some of which were recorded by Frank Sinatra,

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, and Sarah Vaughan. Soon after, Huddleston would compose lyrics for theater productions such as ''

Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-Americ ...

'' and ''The New Ziegfeld Follies''. Later in his life, he wrote lyrics for songs in several films, including ''

The Ballad of Josie ''The Ballad of Josie'' is a 1967 Technicolor American comedy Western film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Doris Day, Peter Graves, and George Kennedy. It humorously tackles 1960s themes of feminism in a traditional Western setting ...

'' and ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

''. For Disney, he contributed the song, "Everybody Wants to be a Cat", to ''

The Aristocats ''The Aristocats'' is a 1970 American animated romantic musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. The 20th Disney animated feature film, the film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom R ...

''. For ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

'', he and

George Bruns George Edward Bruns (July 3, 1914 – May 23, 1983) was an American composer of music for film and television. His accolades include four Academy Award nominations, and three Grammy Award nominations. He is mainly known for his compositions for ...

were nominated for an Academy Award for "

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

," sung by his wife, Nancy Adams. Huddleston would also produce unused songs for a proposed version of ''

The Rescuers ''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American animated adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The 23rd Disney animated feature film, its story follows Bernard and Bianca, two members ...

'' with songs performed by

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he forme ...

with

Sam Butera Sam Butera (August 17, 1927 – June 3, 2009) was an American tenor saxophonist and singer-songwriter best noted for his collaborations with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Butera is frequently regarded as a crossover artist who performed with equal ...

and the Witnesses. In 1978, he not only produced and composed songs, but wrote the script for a 1978 TV special starring

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golde ...

Personal life and death

On December 30, 1965, Huddleston married Nancy Adams, a commercial jingle singer, at the First Baptist Church chapel in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Huddleston died from a heart attack on September 27, 1991 at a hospital located in

Panorama City, Los Angeles Panorama City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has a generally young age range as well as the highest population density in the Valley. Ethnically, more than half of its population was born ...

. Huddleston was survived by his wife Nancy, his son, Huston, and his mother, Hettye T. Huddleston. At the time of his death, Huddleston was working on a musical titled ''Brother Elwood's Gospel Truck.''

Discography

With His Family Singers

* ''Happy Birthday Jesus'' (Dobre Records DR1013, 1977)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huddleston, Floyd 1918 births 1991 deaths American lyricists Songwriters from Mississippi 20th-century American musicians People from Leland, Mississippi