Jack Little (born John Leonard; May 30, 1899 – April 9, 1956), (Another source gives his birth date as May 28, 1902.)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 167. sometimes credited Little Jack Little, was a British-born American composer, singer, pianist, actor, and songwriter whose songs were featured in several movies. He is not to be confused with the burlesque comedian also known as "Little" Jack Little, who stood 4'5".

Early years

Little was born in the

Silvertown Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, hundred of Becontree, and the historic county ...

section of London, but moved to the United States when he was 9 years old, growing up in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...

. He was educated in pre-med classes at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, where he played in and organized the university band.

Career

Early in his career, Little worked at radio stations, including

WSAI WSAI (1360 AM) is a Cincinnati, Ohio commercial radio station. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, its studios, as well as those of iHeartMedia's other Cincinnati stations, are in the Towers of Kenwood building next to I-71 in the Kenwood sect ...

and

WLW WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One. WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...

, both in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. He had a 15-minute daily program (originating from WLW) on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

radio in the early 1930s. Little toured the country with an orchestra, appearing in hotels, night clubs, and on radio. In one such touring appearance on radio, at WOC in Davenport, Iowa, Little "made a new endurance record for himself ... when he remained on the air three hours and sixteen minutes ... ndsang fifty-one songs in answer to thousands of requests." He collaborated musically with Tommie Malie, Dick Finch, John Siras, and Joe Young. In 1928 he joined ASCAP. From 1933 to 1937, he recorded prolifically, starting on

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...

, Columbia, and finally ARC, playing in a light society dance band style. He often worked with musical director

Mitchell Ayres Mitchell Ayres (December 24, 1909 – September 5, 1969) was an orchestra leader, music arranger, composer and performer. He is best known for his many years of work with Perry Como on radio, records, and television and as the musical condu ...

. His compositions include "Jealous, I Promise You", "

A Shanty in Old Shanty Town "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town" is a popular song written by Ira Schuster and Jack Little with lyrics by Joe Young, published in 1932. Ted Lewis and His Band performed it in the film ''The Crooner'' in 1932. His version was released as a sing ...

" and "You're a Heavenly Thing". Details of his chart success per Joel Whitburn are given below.

Chart successes

Recognition

Little has a star at 6618 Hollywood Boulevard in the Radio section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.

Personal life

He was married to Thea Hellman, who died in 1940; they had two children.

Death

Little died in his sleep on April 9, 1956, at his home in Hollywood, Florida after suffering from hepatitis for some time.

References

External links

*
Little Jack Little on YouTube

Jack Little recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. 1899 births 1956 deaths 1956 suicides People from Silvertown American male composers Songwriters from Iowa British emigrants to the United States Writers from Waterloo, Iowa Suicides in Florida University of Iowa alumni 20th-century American singers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters Radio personalities from Iowa {{US-entertainer-stub