Bennett A. "Ben" Ryan (March 30, 1892 – July 5, 1968) 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. ...
who wrote the music and lyrics to the popular song "
(The Gang that Sang) Heart of My Heart". He also wrote or co-wrote many other popular songs including "
Inka Dinka Doo", "
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I", "No Nothing", "The Thrill of a New Romance", "When Frances Dances with Me", and "When I Send You a Picture of Berlin"
Born in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, Ryan was also a
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 ...
performer, film actor and screen writer. Between 1914–1925, he teamed with Harriet Lee as the "Ryan & Lee" duo's comedy and singing-and-dancing vaudeville acts, including the hit "Won and One is Two". Following a lengthy illness, on July 5, 1968, he died at his home in
Leonia, New Jersey
Leonia is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,304, an increase of 367 (+4.1%) from the 2010 United Sta ...
.
[via ]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
"Ben Ryan, Noted Song Writer, Dies In Jersey"
''The Indianapolis Star
}
''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...
'', July 7, 1968. Accessed May 16, 2016. "Leonia, N.J. (AP) Song writer and vaudeville performer Ben Ryan, who wrote "Inka Dinka Doo" for Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...
, died Friday at his home here after a long illness."
References
External links
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1892 births
1968 deaths
American lyricists
Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri
Songwriters from New Jersey
Songwriters from Missouri
20th-century American composers
20th-century American songwriters
Writers from Leonia, New Jersey
{{US-songwriter-stub