Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

Early life and career

Livingston was born in

McDonald, Pennsylvania McDonald is a borough in Allegheny and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 2,056 at the 2020 census. Of this, 1,661 were in Washington County, and 395 were in A ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents. He had an older sister, Vera, and a younger brother,

Alan W. Livingston Alan Wendell Livingston (born Alan Wendell Levison; October 15, 1917 – March 13, 2009) was an American businessman best known for his tenures at Capitol Records, first as a writer/producer best known for creating Bozo the Clown for a series ...

, who became an executive with Capitol Records, and later with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television. Livingston studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

with Harry Archer in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, where he organized a dance band and met Evans, a fellow student in the band. Their professional collaboration began in 1937. Livingston and Evans won the Academy Award for Best Original Song three times, in 1948 for the song "

Buttons and Bows "Buttons and Bows" is a popular song with music written by Jay Livingston and lyrics by Ray Evans. The song was published on by Famous Music Corp., New York. The song was written for and appeared in the Bob Hope and Jane Russell film '' The P ...

", written for the movie '' The Paleface''; in 1950 for the song "

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...

", written for the movie '' Captain Carey, U.S.A.''; and in 1956 for the song "

Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" is a song written by the team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans that was first published in 1955. Doris Day introduced it in the Alfred Hitchcock film '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956), singing it as ...

," featured in the movie '' The Man Who Knew Too Much''. They also wrote "Tammy" for the movie ''

Tammy and the Bachelor ''Tammy and the Bachelor'' is a 1957 romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Debbie Reynolds as Tambrey "Tammy" Tyree, Walter Brennan as Grandpa Dinwitty and Leslie Nielsen as Peter Brent. It is the first of the four Tammy fil ...

'' in 1957. Livingston and Evans wrote popular TV themes for shows including '' Bonanza'' and ''

Mister Ed ''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...

'', which Livingston sang. They also wrote the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

song " Silver Bells" in 1951, for the film ''

The Lemon Drop Kid ''The Lemon Drop Kid'' is a 1951 American comedy film based on the short story of the same name by Damon Runyon, starring Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell. Although Sidney Lanfield is credited as the director, Frank Tashlin reportedly was hired, u ...

'', initially calling it "Tinkle Bells" but changed it to "Silver" because of a common connotation of "tinkle", as well as "Never Let Me Go" for the 1956 film ''

The Scarlet Hour ''The Scarlet Hour'' is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed and produced by Michael Curtiz, previously director of such noted films as ''Casablanca'', ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' and '' White Christmas''. The film stars Carol Ohmart, Tom ...

''. Johnny Mathis sang Livingston's song " All The Time," among others. Livingston appeared as himself with Evans in the New Year's Eve party scene of the 1950 film ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...

''.

Honors

Livingston is an inductee in 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 2004, the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares fo ...

installed a

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

, commemorating his achievements.

Death

Livingston died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and was interred there in Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery, his tombstone reading, "Que Será, Será".Sam Staggs,
Born to be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life
' (2009), p. 216. His wife, actress

Shirley Mitchell Shirley J. Mitchell (November 4, 1919 – November 11, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress. Early life Mitchell was born in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of Sam Mitchell & Mary Ann Daniels, Jews who emigrated to America to esc ...

, died on November 11, 2013, at 94.

Work on Broadway

*''

Oh, Captain! ''Oh, Captain!'' is a musical comedy based on the 1953 film ''The Captain's Paradise'' with music and lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and the book by Al Morgan and José Ferrer. The basis of the musical was the 1953 film ''The Captain's ...

'' (1958) – musical – co- composer and co-

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 incom ...

with Ray Evans –

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

nomination for Best Musical *'' Let It Ride'' (1961) – musical – co-composer and co-lyricist with Ray Evans *'' Sugar Babies'' (1979) –

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

– featured

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes 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 ...

with Ray Evans for "The Sugar Baby Bounce"

References

External links

Jay Livingston obituary from ''The New York Times''

* * (begins at 41:32) appearance with Chuck Schaden and members of the Gildersleeve cast: Willard Waterman, Mary Lee Robb and Shirley Mitchell. Songwriter Jay Livingston (Shirley's husband) entertains with a mini- concert featuring his many hit songs. Recorded at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, Chicago. (113 minutes).
Jay Livingston Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (1995) {{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Jay 1915 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians American film score composers American male film score composers American musical theatre composers Broadway composers and lyricists Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Jewish American film score composers Jewish American songwriters Male musical theatre composers Pennsylvania state historical marker significations People from McDonald, Pennsylvania Songwriters from Pennsylvania Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni 20th-century American Jews American male songwriters