Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American

lyricist A lyricist is a writer 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 income derives ...

born in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

Life and career

Washington was nominated for eleven

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 ...

from 1940 to 1962. He won the Best Original Song award twice: in 1940 for " When You Wish Upon a Star" in ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'' and in 1952 for " High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')" in ''

High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western (genre), Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in Real time (media), real time, centers ...

''. Washington had his roots in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

as a master of ceremonies. Having started his songwriting career with '' Earl Carroll's Vanities'' on Broadway in the late 1920s, he joined the ASCAP in 1930. In 1934, he was signed by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

and relocated to Hollywood, eventually writing full scores for feature films. During the 1940s, he worked for a number of studios, including

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, and

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. During these tenures, he collaborated with many of the great composers of the era, including

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor, author and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s and 1940s, a ...

, Victor Young, Max Steiner, and Dimitri Tiomkin. With Leigh Harline, he contributed most of the melodic songs that distinguished the ''Pinocchio'' soundtrack, including "When You Wish Upon a Star". He also served as a director of the ASCAP from 1957 until 1976, the year he died of a heart ailment. Washington is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His grave is located in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery. He was posthumously honored as a Disney Legend, in 2001.

Songs

Some of Washington's songwriting credits include: * " Town Without Pity" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1961), sung in the movie by

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 h ...

* " Rawhide" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1958), sung in the TV show by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

* " Night Passage" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin), two songs, "Follow the River" and "You Can't Get Far Without a Railroad", both sung in the film by

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

. * " The 3:10 to Yuma" (music by George Duning, 1957), sung in the movie by Frankie Laine * " Wild Is the Wind" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1956) sung in the movie by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

* " Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1956), sung in the movie by Frankie Laine * " Wichita, music by Hans J. Salter * " The High and the Mighty" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1954) (Deleted from the final "cut" of the movie, but nominated anyway for the Best Song at the 27th Academy Awards; also deleted from the recent "restoration" by Batjac) * Lyrics from the musical numbers in the film '' Let's Do It Again'', 1953. * Take the High Ground!, (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1953) * "Return to Paradise" from the film '' Return to Paradise'', (music by Dimitri Tiomkin), 1953 * " High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')" in the film ''

'', sung by Tex Ritter. (music by Dimitri Tiomkin) 1952 * " My Foolish Heart" (music by Victor Young, 1950) * "Mad About You", from the film '' Gun Crazy'' (music by Victor Young, 1950) * "Don't Call It Love", from the film '' I Walk Alone'', with Allie Wrubel, music by Victor Young, 1948 * " On Green Dolphin Street" (music by Bronislau Kaper, 1947) * " Stella by Starlight" (music by Victor Young), 1944), recorded by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

on her Verve album '' Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!'', also covered by

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, and

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

* " Baby Mine", " Pink Elephants on Parade", and "When I See an Elephant Fly" for '' Dumbo'' (music by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace, 1941), the first sung in the movie by Betty Noyes (uncredited); nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song at the 14th Academy Awards and the second by the character Dandy (Jim) Crow, voiced by

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American pop singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop sta ...

(uncredited), also known as " Ukulele Ike". * " When You Wish Upon a Star" for ''

'' (music by Leigh Harline, 1940), sung in the movie by the character

Jiminy Cricket Jiminy Cricket is the Disney version of the Talking Cricket, a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'', which Walt Disney adapted into the animated film '' Pinoc ...

, voiced by Cliff Edwards, also known as " Ukulele Ike", won the Academy Award for Best Song at the 13th Academy Awards. * Give a Little Whistle, from the film ''Pinocchio'' (music by Leigh Harline, 1940) * " The Nearness of You" (with

, 1938) written for Gladys Swarthout for the film '' Romance in the Dark'' * "Cosi Cosa" (with Bronislaw Kaper & Walter Jurmann, 1935) sung by Allan Jones in the film '' A Night at the Opera''. * A Hundred Years from Today, (music by Victor Young, 1933) * "Smoke Rings" (music by H. Eugene Gifford, 1932) * " I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You" (music by George Bassman, 1932), used by

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

as his theme song * " I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You" (music by Victor Young, 1932), recorded by Ella Fitzgerald on her Pablo release '' Digital III at Montreux.'' * " Singin' in the Bathtub" (with Herb Magidson; music by Michael H. Cleary, 1929)

References

External links

*
''Do Not Forsake''

Ned Washington
at the Songwriters Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Ned 1901 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American composers American musical theatre lyricists Animation composers Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters Broadway composers and lyricists Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Disney Legends Golden Globe Award–winning musicians Musicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania Songwriters from Pennsylvania Walt Disney Animation Studios people