Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

in 1934.

Life and career

Magidson was born and raised in Braddock, Pennsylvania. He had an early interest in the art of magic and was a member of the Pittsburgh Association of Magicians in his youth. He attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

and then worked briefly for a music publisher in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.Layne, Joslyn. " Herbert Magidson.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

. Retrieved on August 27, 2009. Magidson then moved to

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictur ...

in 1929 while under contract to Warner Bros. to write music for films. In 1934, he won the first

along with

Con Conrad Con Conrad (born Conrad K. Dober, June 18, 1891 – September 28, 1938) was an American songwriter and producer. Biography Conrad was born in Manhattan, New York, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...

for his lyrics to "

The Continental The Continental may refer to: * ''The Continental'' (1952 TV series), a 1952–53 television series on CBS * ''The Continental'' (miniseries), an upcoming television series on Peacock * "The Continental" (''Saturday Night Live''), a recurring sk ...

", used in '' The Gay Divorcee'' (1934) starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Magidson also co-wrote the lyrics to the 1937

Allie Wrubel Elias Paul "Allie" Wrubel (January 15, 1905 – December 13, 1973) was an American composer and songwriter. Biography Wrubel was born to a Jewish family in Middletown, Connecticut, United States, the son of Regina (née Glasscheib) and Isa ...

song " Gone with the Wind" (no connection to the novel of the same name nor used in the 1939 film). Magidson received Oscar nominations for the songs, "Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There" from the film '' Hers to Hold'' (1943), and "I'll Buy That Dream" from the film '' Sing Your Way Home'' (1945). He first wrote lyrics for ''

The Show of Shows ''The Show of Shows'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost $850,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor. ''The Show o ...

'' (1929), and many more films, including: '' No, No, Nanette'' (1930), '' Gift of Gab'' (1934), '' The Gay Divorcee'' (1934), ''Here's to Romance'' (1935), ''

George White's 1935 Scandals ''George White's 1935 Scandals'' is an American musical film, written by Jack Yellen and produced in 1935 by Fox Film Corporation. It was a follow-up to (but not a sequel to) the 1934 release, ''George White's Scandals''. Plot The film centers ...

'' (1935), ''

King Solomon of Broadway ''King Solomon of Broadway'' is a 1935 American musical film directed by Alan Crosland and starring Edmund Lowe, Dorothy Page and Pinky Tomlin.Monaco p.139 A shady figure wins a nightclub during a card game. Cast * Edmund Lowe as King Solomon ...

'' (1935), '' Miss Pacific Fleet'' (1935), ''

The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and ...

'' (1936), '' Hats Off'' (1936), '' I'd Give My Life'' (1936), '' Radio City Revels'' (1938), and '' Sing Your Way Home'' (1945). Magidson had his last hits in 1951, including the song "Happiness". Magidson collaborated with many songwriters, including Con Conrad,

Carl Sigman Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice in t ...

Sam H. Stept Samuel Howard Stept (aka Sammy Stept; 18 September 1897 – 1 December 1964) was an American songwriter who wrote for Broadway, Hollywood and the big bands. He became known simply as Sam Stept or Sam H. Stept – he rarely used his full middle n ...

, and

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre ...

. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980.Herbert Magidson
. January 4, 1986. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved on August 27, 2009. He died at the UCLA Medical Hospital in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

at the age of 79, five days before his 80th birthday, survived by his wife, Elsie."Herb Magidson, stage and movie lyricist". January 4, 1986. ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

''. p. 16.

Published songs

For a more complete list, see article on Herb Magidson in Songwriters Hall of Fame. *"Black-Eyed Susan Brown" *"Conchita Lopez" *"

" (1934) *" Enjoy Yourself" (1948) *" Gone with the Wind" (1937) *"Good Night, Angel" (1937) *"H'lo, Baby" *"Hummin' to Myself" *"I Can't Love You Any More" *"I'll Buy That Dream" (1945) *"I'll Dance at Your Wedding" (1947) *"I'm Stepping Out With a Memory Tonight" *"Linger in My Arms a Little Longer, Baby" *"The Masquerade Is Over" *"Midnight in Paris" *"Music, Maestro, Please" (1938) *"My Impression of You" *"A Pink Cocktail for a Blue Lady" *"Roses in December" *"Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There" *"Something I Dreamed Last Night" *"

Singin' in the Bathtub "Singing in the Bathtub" is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and Ned Washington for the film ''The Show of Shows''. ''The Show of Shows'' was Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', ...

" (1929) *"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" ot the nursery tune(1936) *"Violins from Nowhere"

References

External links

* *
Herb Magidson -Pittsburgh Music History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magidson, Herb Songwriters from Pennsylvania Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters People from Braddock, Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh alumni 1906 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American musicians American lyricists