John Elliot (also known as Jack Elliot, John M. Elliot, John M. Elliott and Jack Elliott) (7 May 1914 – 3 January 1972) was an American songwriter, credited with having written more than 600 songs for motion pictures.
[''The Hour'' (5 January 1972), p. 6.]
Biography
Elliot was born in
Gowanda, New York
Gowanda is a village in western New York, United States. It lies partly in Erie County and partly in Cattaraugus County. The population was 2,512 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a local Seneca language term meaning "almost surr ...
, on 7 May 1914. He was educated at
Bennett High School in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
and then worked as an entertainer in
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
, nightclubs, and on radio. In 1939, he also worked as a theatre reporter for the
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
edition of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine. He began to write songs in 1940, moved to
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
in 1943, and became a member of
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
in 1945. Jack subsequently composed songs for over 40 Western movies at
Republic Studios
Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
alone, most notably for
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...
and
Dale Evans
Dale Evans Rogers (born Frances Octavia Smith; October 31, 1912 – February 7, 2001) was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.
Early life
Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on Oc ...
films.
He was the lyricist for several songs by
Harold Spina
Harold Spina (21 June 1906 – 18 July 1997) was an American composer of popular songs. His best-known work happened in the early 1930s, when he collaborated with lyricists Johnny Burke and Joe Young on songs such as "Annie Doesn't Live Her ...
, including "It's So Nice To Have A Man Around The House" (made famous by
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...
). With Lew Quadling, he wrote "
Sam's Song", which was a hit recording in 1950 for both
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
(Decca 27112) and
Joe "Fingers" Carr
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
(Capitol 962). Elliot also wrote songs with
Sonny Burke
Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University, where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke ...
for Walt Disney's ''
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
''Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom'' is a 1953 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Ward Kimball and Charles A. Nichols. A sequel to the first ''Adventures in Music'' cartoon, the 3-D short '' Melody'' ( ...
'' which won the 1953
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
for Best Short Animated Feature.
By 1955, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine was describing him as an "ex-songwriter and Hollywood producer of TV commercials" and as the manager of French-born
nightclub singer
A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...
, Vicki Benet. At the time, Elliot and Benet were developing a television series called ''Rendezvous with Vicki'', which was to be hosted by a "genuine British lord" who would also do the commercials. In 1964, Elliot and Benet married in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
where Elliot was working on a television series with Australian producer and promoter Jack Neary.
[''The Sun-Herald'' (6 September 1964), p. 27.]
Elliot died of a heart attack in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, on 3 January 1972 at the age of 57.
He had married Judy Rotman in 1940: they had a son John Michael.
Notes and references
Sources
*
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
''The American Film Institute catalog of motion pictures produced in the United States'', Volume 1, Part 1 University of California Press, 1971.
*Cotter, Bill, ''The Wonderful World of Disney Television: A Complete History'', Hyperion, 1997.
*Jasen, David A.
''A century of American popular music: 2000 best-loved and remembered songs (1899–1999)'' Taylor & Francis, 2002.
*Lonergan, David F.
''Hit records, 1950-1975'' Scarecrow Press, 2005.
*McNamara, Daniel I. (ed.). "Elliott, John M. (Jack)"
''The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary Of Composers, Authors, and Publishers''Second Edition, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1952, p. 143
*''
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 d ...
'', "John M. Elliott, 57, Wrote 'Sam's Song'", 6 January 1972, p, 40
*''
The Hour'' (via
UPI
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
)
"Obituaries" 5 January 1972, p. 6
*''
The Sun-Herald
''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald' ...
''
"Stars Wed in Secret" 6 September 1964, p. 27
*''
Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
''
"Radio: The Blonde & the Peers" Vol. LXVI, No. 5, 1 August 1955, p. 38
*Young, William H. and Young, Nancy K.
''Music of the World War II Era'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008.
External links
the "genuine British lord" chosen by Elliot and Benet for their projected television show
*Vicki Benet on the cover of her debut album for
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...
''Woman of Paris''(1956) and o
''Sing to me of Love''for
Liberty Records
Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...
(1960).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, John
Songwriters from New York (state)
American lyricists
1914 births
1972 deaths
People from Erie County, New York
Place of birth missing
20th-century American musicians
ASCAP composers and authors