Janice Renée Torre (August 17, 1914 – February 21, 1985) was a songwriter and lyricist best known for the song "

Paper Roses "Paper Roses" is a popular song written and composed by Fred Spielman and Janice Torre. It first was a top five hit in 1960 for Anita Bryant. Marie Osmond recorded it in 1973 and took her version to number one on the US country chart. Anita B ...

", which she wrote with composer Fred Spielman.

Early years

Janice Torre was born in New Orleans, the daughter of Peter Torre, an Italian immigrant developer in the oil industry, and Juanita Mottram. Janice graduated from

Academy of the Sacred Heart (New Orleans) The Academy of the Sacred Heart is a private Catholic high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located within the Archdiocese of New Orleans and was established in 1886 by the Society of the Sacred Heart. Athletics Academy of the Sacred H ...

, H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College of

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, where she was president of her Senior Class, and Yale School of Drama. At Newcomb she was a member of

Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage "AOI ...

Musical career

Janice Torre collaborated with the composer Fred Spielman. Torre wrote song lyrics for the films ''

All Shook Up "All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley, published by Elvis Presley Music, and composed by Otis Blackwell. The single topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 100 on April 13, 1957, staying there for eight weeks. It also topped the ''Bil ...

'' with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, '' Tom Thumb'', '' Luxury Liner'' with Lauritz Melchior, ''

In the Good Old Summertime ''In the Good Old Summertime'' is a 1949 American Technicolor musical film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It stars Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S.Z. Sakall, Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, and Buster Keaton in his first featured film role at M ...

'' with

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, '' Big City'', and '' Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962) with Elvis Presley. Torre and Spielman wrote the television musical adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'', titled '' The Stingiest Man In Town'' (1956).

Personal and later years

Janice Torre was married to Gregory Manning Perky, a science teacher at the

Isidore Newman School Isidore Newman School is a private, nondenominational, co-educational college preparatory school located on an campus in the uptown section of New Orleans, Louisiana. Jeré Longman of ''The New York Times'' described Isidore Newman as "one of ...

in New Orleans. She composed her last film score in 1962. She died in New York City and is interred in Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torre, Janice 1914 births 1985 deaths American film score composers American women film score composers American musical theatre composers Women musical theatre composers Songwriters from Louisiana American musical theatre librettists American musical theatre lyricists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Writers from New Orleans Musicians from New Orleans H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College alumni Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni Yale School of Drama alumni American women composers American writers of Italian descent 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century women composers Burials at Metairie Cemetery