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 Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad produced the Broadway show ''The Honeymoon Express'', starring

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

, in 1913. By 1918, Conrad was writing and publishing with Henry Waterson (1873–1933). He co-composed "

Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of the related names Margaret, Marjorie, or Margarita, all of which mean "pearl". Margie may refer to: People * Margie Abbott (born 1958), Australian businesswoman * Margie Ac ...

" in 1920 with J. Russel Robinson and lyricist

Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. In ...

, which became his first major hit. He went on to compose hits that became standards, including: * " Palesteena" with co-composer and co-lyricist J. Russel Robinson (1920) * " Singin' the Blues" with co-composer J. Russel Robinson and lyricists Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young (1920) * "You've Got to See Mama Ev'ry Night" with co-composer and co-lyricist

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman, lyricist and columnist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainm ...

(1923) * "Come on Spark Plug" with co-composer and co-lyricist

(1923) * "Barney Google" with co-composer and co-lyricist

(1923) * "Memory Lane" with lyricist

Buddy DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs, and along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol R ...

and co-composer Larry Spier (1924) * "Lonesome and Sorry" with lyricist

(1926) * " Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me" with lyricist

Sidney Clare Sidney Clare (August 15, 1892 – August 29, 1972) was an American comedian, dancer and composer. His best-known songs include " On the Good Ship Lollipop" (introduced by Shirley Temple), " You're My Thrill" (recorded by Billie Holiday), and " P ...

(1928) In 1923, Conrad focused on the stage and wrote the scores for the Broadway shows: ''The Greenwich Village Follies'', ''Moonlight'', ''Betty Lee'', ''Kitty’s Kisses'' and '' Americana''. In 1924 the

Longacre Theatre The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and is named for Longacre Square, the former ...

staged the small musical ''Moonlight'', with a score by Conrad and William B. Friedlander. The next year Conrad and Friedlander's ''Mercenary Mary'' was presented at the Longacre. In 1929, Conrad moved to Hollywood after losing all of his money on unsuccessful shows. There he worked on films such as ''Fox Movietone Follies'', ''Palmy Days'', ''

The Gay Divorcee ''The Gay Divorcee'' is a 1934 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes (actor, born 1906), Erik ...

'' and ''Here’s to Romance''. Conrad received the first

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Song for '' The Continental'' in 1934 with collaborator Herb Magidson. He died four years later in Van Nuys, California at age 47 after a long illness."Con Conrad" (obituary). Variety, 5 October 1938, 62. His spouse was actress Francine Larrimore. Conrad was inducted posthumously into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work represent and maintain the heri ...

in 1970.

Notes

External links

* * *
Sheet Music for "Margie"
Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co., 1920.
Con Conrad recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Con 1891 births 1938 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters Record producers from New York (state) 20th-century American songwriters