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Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American
popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...
lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter 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 ...
. His work was used in over 23 films and four
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
revues. He won the first
Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
in 1934.


Life and career

Magidson was born and raised in
Braddock, Pennsylvania Braddock is a borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 1,721 as of the 2020 census. The borough is represented by the Pen ...
. He had an early interest in the art of magic and was a member of the Pittsburgh Association of Magicians in his youth. He attended the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
and then worked briefly for a music publisher in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.Layne, Joslyn. "
Herbert Magidson Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934. Life and career Magidson was bo ...
.
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved on August 27, 2009.
Magidson then moved to
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a metonymy, shorthand reference for the Cinema of the United States, U.S. film industry and the people associated with i ...
in 1929 while under contract to
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
to write music for films. In 1934, he won the first
Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
along with
Con Conrad 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, and published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad p ...
for his lyrics to "
The Continental The Continental may refer to: * ''The Continental'' (1952 TV series), a 1952–53 television series on CBS * ''The Continental'' (miniseries), an upcoming television series on Peacock * "The Continental" (''Saturday Night Live''), a recurring sk ...
", used in ''
The Gay Divorcee ''The Gay Divorcee'' is a 1934 American musical film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes (actor, born 1906), Erik Rhodes. The sc ...
'' (1934) starring
Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
and
Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
. Magidson also co-wrote the lyrics to the 1937
Allie Wrubel Elias Paul "Allie" Wrubel (January 15, 1905 – December 13, 1973) was an American composer and songwriter. Biography Wrubel was born to a Jewish family in Middletown, Connecticut, United States, the son of Regina (née Glasscheib) and Isaac ...
song "
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
" (no connection to the novel of the same name nor used in the 1939 film). Magidson received Oscar nominations for the songs, "Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There" from the film ''
Hers to Hold ''Hers to Hold'' (aka ''Three Smart Girls Join Up'') is a 1943 American romantic musical comedy film and is the third film in the unofficial ''Three Smart Girls'' trilogy. In ''Hers to Hold'', Deanna Durbin reprises her role as Penny Craig, who ...
'' (1943), and "I'll Buy That Dream" from the film ''
Sing Your Way Home ''Sing Your Way Home'' is a 1945 musical film directed by Anthony Mann and featuring Jack Haley and Marcy McGuire. Cast * Jack Haley as Steve Kimball * Marcy McGuire as Bridget Forrester * Glen Vernon as Jimmy McCue * Anne Jeffreys as Kay Lawrenc ...
'' (1945). He first wrote lyrics for ''
The Show of Shows ''The Show of Shows'' is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost $850,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor. ''The Show of Sho ...
'' (1929), and many more films, including: ''
No, No, Nanette ''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves th ...
'' (1930), '' Gift of Gab'' (1934), ''
The Gay Divorcee ''The Gay Divorcee'' is a 1934 American musical film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, and Erik Rhodes (actor, born 1906), Erik Rhodes. The sc ...
'' (1934), ''Here's to Romance'' (1935), ''
George White's 1935 Scandals ''George White's 1935 Scandals'' is an American musical film, written by Jack Yellen and produced in 1935 by Fox Film Corporation. It was a follow-up to (but not a sequel to) the 1934 release, ''George White's Scandals''. Plot The film centers ...
'' (1935), ''
King Solomon of Broadway ''King Solomon of Broadway'' is a 1935 American musical film directed by Alan Crosland and starring Edmund Lowe, Dorothy Page and Pinky Tomlin.Monaco p.139 A shady figure wins a nightclub during a card game. Cast * Edmund Lowe as King Solomon ...
'' (1935), ''
Miss Pacific Fleet ''Miss Pacific Fleet'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Ray Enright. The film stars Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, and Hugh Herbert. The film was based on the short story of the same name by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan in the ''Collier's ...
'' (1935), ''
The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrna L ...
'' (1936), '' Hats Off'' (1936), ''
I'd Give My Life ''I'd Give My Life'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by George O'Neil based upon the play '' The Noose''. The film stars Guy Standing, Frances Drake, Tom Brown, Janet Beecher, Robert Gleckler, and Helen Low ...
'' (1936), ''
Radio City Revels ''Radio City Revels'' is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and starring Bob Burns, Jack Oakie and Ann Miller. The film's sets were designed by the art director Van Nest Polglase. Although set in New York City, sp ...
'' (1938), and ''
Sing Your Way Home ''Sing Your Way Home'' is a 1945 musical film directed by Anthony Mann and featuring Jack Haley and Marcy McGuire. Cast * Jack Haley as Steve Kimball * Marcy McGuire as Bridget Forrester * Glen Vernon as Jimmy McCue * Anne Jeffreys as Kay Lawrenc ...
'' (1945). Magidson had his last hits in 1951, including the song "Happiness". Magidson collaborated with many songwriters, including Con Conrad,
Allie Wrubel Elias Paul "Allie" Wrubel (January 15, 1905 – December 13, 1973) was an American composer and songwriter. Biography Wrubel was born to a Jewish family in Middletown, Connecticut, United States, the son of Regina (née Glasscheib) and Isaac ...
,
Carl Sigman Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice in ...
,
Sam H. Stept Samuel Howard Stept (aka Sammy Stept; 18 September 1897 – 1 December 1964) was an American songwriter who wrote for Broadway, Hollywood and the big bands. He became known simply as Sam Stept or Sam H. Stept – he rarely used his full middle n ...
, and
Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre. ...
. He was inducted 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 her ...
in 1980.Herbert Magidson
. January 4, 1986. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Retrieved on August 27, 2009.
He died at the UCLA Medical Hospital in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
at the age of 79, five days before his 80th birthday, survived by his wife, Elsie."Herb Magidson, stage and movie lyricist". January 4, 1986. ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
''. p. 16.


Published songs

For a more complete list, see article on Herb Magidson in Songwriters Hall of Fame. *"Black-Eyed Susan Brown" *"Conchita Lopez" *"
The Continental The Continental may refer to: * ''The Continental'' (1952 TV series), a 1952–53 television series on CBS * ''The Continental'' (miniseries), an upcoming television series on Peacock * "The Continental" (''Saturday Night Live''), a recurring sk ...
" (1934) *" Enjoy Yourself" (1948) *"
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
" (1937) *"Good Night, Angel" (1937) *"H'lo, Baby" *"Hummin' to Myself" *"I Can't Love You Any More" *"I'll Buy That Dream" (1945) *"I'll Dance at Your Wedding" (1947) *"I'm Stepping Out With a Memory Tonight" *"Linger in My Arms a Little Longer, Baby" *"The Masquerade Is Over" *"Midnight in Paris" *"Music, Maestro, Please" (1938) *"My Impression of You" *"A Pink Cocktail for a Blue Lady" *"Roses in December" *"Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There" *"Something I Dreamed Last Night" *"
Singin' in the Bathtub "Singing in the Bathtub" is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and Ned Washington for the film ''The Show of Shows''. ''The Show of Shows'' was Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', ...
" (1929) *"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" ot the nursery tune(1936) *"Violins from Nowhere"


References


External links

* *
Herb Magidson -Pittsburgh Music History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magidson, Herb Songwriters from Pennsylvania Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters People from Braddock, Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh alumni 1906 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American musicians American lyricists