Theodora Morse (July 11, 1883 — November 10, 1953) was an American songwriter and composer. She was a

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

lyricist who collaborated to produce a number of popular songs.

Background

Alfreda Theodora Strandberg was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. On March 7, 1907, she married

Theodore F. Morse Theodore F. Morse (April 13, 1873 – May 25, 1924) was an American composer of popular songs. Biography Born in Washington, D.C., Morse was educated at the Maryland Military & Naval Academy. He went on to study both violin and piano. He and ...

(1873–1924). She and her husband became a successful songwriting team for

. Listed as Terriss & Morse, they were one of the earliest Tin Pan Alley husband-wife songwriting teams.

Career

Theodora not only wrote with her husband, but also collaborated with other composers. Professionally, she often used the pseudonyms of Dorothy Terriss, Dolly Morse and D. A. Esrom. She wrote the lyrics for ''

Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here is an American popular song first published in 1917. The lyrics, written by D. A. Esrom (pseudonym of Theodora Morse) to a tune composed by Arthur Sullivan for the 1879 comic opera ''The Pirates of Penzance'', are ...

'' to a tune originally written by

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

for the comic opera '' The Pirates of Penzance''. The popular good-night waltz ''

Three O'Clock in the Morning "Three O'Clock in the Morning" is a waltz composed by Julián Robledo that was extremely popular in the 1920s. Robledo published the music as a piano solo in 1919, and two years later Dorothy Terriss wrote the lyrics. Paul Whiteman's instrument ...

'' was written to music composed by

Julián Robledo Julián Robledo (1887–1940) was a composer best known for the song "Three O'Clock in the Morning". Robledo lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the early 1900s where he played piano in tango orchestras and composed some of the earliest published t ...

. The song was recorded in 1922 by

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

and his orchestra. Jazz and pop standard, ''

Wonderful One "Wonderful One" is a popular song recorded by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra on January 25, 1923 in New York and was released as Victor 19019-B. The record reached no. 3 on the ''Billboard'' chart. The song was also recorded as "My Wonderful One". ...

'', was written by Paul Whiteman and

Ferde Grofé Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé (March 27, 1892 April 3, 1972) (pronounced FUR-dee GROW-fay) was an American composer, arrangement, arranger, pianist and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement tone poem, ...

, with lyrics by Theodora Morse based on a theme by movie director

Marshall Neilan Marshall Ambrose "Mickey" Neilan (April 11, 1891 – October 27, 1958) was an American actor. Early life Born in San Bernardino, California, Neilan was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey N ...

. Theodora Morse died in White Plains, NY.

Selected works

*''

'' (1917) *''

Soldier Boy Soldier Boy is the name of three superhero characters in the comic book series ''Herogasm'' and '' The Boys'', created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The first character introduced (the second successor to the mantle, made by Vought along w ...

'' (1915) *''

'' (1921)"Gifted Girls Who Write Songs"
(January 18, 1929) ''The News-Palladium'' p. 24, via Newspapers.com. *''

'' (1922)

References

External links

The Composers of Tin Pan Alley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, Theodora 1953 deaths Musicians from Brooklyn American lyricists American women composers Songwriters from New York (state) American people of Swedish descent 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century women composers 1883 births