Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates 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 genre and film scoring. ...

and dance orchestra pianist.

Life and career

Born in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

to Sam and Dora (Lazarus) Levinson, Jerry Livingston studied music at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. While there he composed his first score for a college musical. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the 1930s, initially working as a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

for dance orchestras. Livingston served in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

's Special Services division during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Biography of Hy Zaret
argosymusiccorp.com. Retrieved August 12, 2021. Among the songs Livingston helped write are "

It's the Talk of the Town "It's the Talk of the Town" is a popular song written by Jerry Livingston, the lyrics by Al J. Neiburg and Marty Symes. The song was published in 1933. The song is a pop standard, with many versions recorded by many artists. A recording by Gle ...

", " Under a Blanket of Blue", "

Blue and Sentimental Blue and Sentimental is a song written by Count Basie, Jerry Livingston, and Mack David. It was written in 1938 and recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra on June 6th of that year. Other recordings *1947 - Count Basie recorded the song again on Octo ...

", " Close to You", " Mairzy Doats", " Wake the Town and Tell the People", " The Twelfth of Never", and " Young Emotions". From the 1940s to the 1960s he wrote songs for numerous films and television series, including ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (1950), ''

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

'' (1958), ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'' (television series, 1958), ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...

'' (television series, 1959), '' Bourbon Street Beat'' (television series, 1959), '' Surfside 6'' (television series, 1960), and the song "This is It" (for the 1960s ''

The Bugs Bunny Show ''The Bugs Bunny Show'' is a long-running American animated anthology television series hosted by Bugs Bunny that is mainly composed of theatrical ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons released by Warner Bros. between 1948 and 196 ...

''). He worked on

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

and co-wrote with

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

the theme song to ''

Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is a fictional character who serves as the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a translucent ghost who is pleasant and personable, but often criticized by his thr ...

'', and co-wrote "The Unbirthday Song" for ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'' and "Trick or Treat For Halloween" for '' Trick or Treat'' with David and

Al Hoffman Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...

. Livingston's Broadway compositions included the musical '' Molly'' and the musical revue '' Bright Lights of 1944'', both with Mack David. With Mack David, he was nominated three times for the

Academy Awards 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 in ...

, the first time in 1951 for the song " Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" from ''Cinderella'' (1950) with

, again in 1960 for the song " The Hanging Tree" from the film of the same name (1959), and the last time for "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" (from the 1965 film ''

Cat Ballou ''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his ...

'') in 1966. In 1965, he and his wife, Ruth ( Schwartz), a former singer, were shot at their Beverly Hills home on North Rodeo Drive by their son, Gary, for "bugging him about getting out of bed at 1 PM", after Gary had reportedly attempted suicide the previous night. Jerry and Ruth Livingston were taken to UCLA Medical Center in "satisfactory condition." Livingston had a bullet wound in his left arm and his wife was shot in the chest. Gary Livingston barricaded himself in the house and defied officers with a cache of arms a 12 gauge shotgun, a .22 caliber revolver and a .22 caliber rifle. Tear gas was used to take him into custody. Jerry Livingston died of a heart condition at his North Rodeo Drive home in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. He was 78 years old. He was survived by his wife, Ruth, and a son, Dennis. He was predeceased by his other son, Gary.

References

External links

* *
Biography
dennislivingston.com. Accessed July 16, 2023. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Jerry 1909 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American composers American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers Broadway composers and lyricists Jewish American songwriters Musicians from Denver Songwriters from Colorado University of Arizona alumni Walt Disney Animation Studios people