Bernie Wayne (March 6, 1919 – April 18, 1993) was an American composer who wrote over 1,000 songs and music for commercial jingles. He was best known for " Blue Velvet", which was recorded as a hit by numerous artists, and " There She Is", the song long associated with the Miss America pageant, as well as songs written for

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 ...

, Broadway musicals and Hollywood productions. He also wrote the tune featured in commercials for

Chock full o'Nuts Chock full o'Nuts is an American brand of coffee that originated from a chain of New York City coffee shops. Its unusual name derives from the 18 nut shops that founder William Black (c. 1902 – 1983) established under that banner in the city ...

which portrayed it as the "heavenly coffee".

Personal life

Wayne was born Bernard Weitzner in 1919 in Paterson, New Jersey.Vosburgh, Dick
"Obituary: Bernie Wayne"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', April 30, 1993. Accessed December 16, 2012. He was married to Phyllis Michelle, and died at the age of 74 of heart failure in Marina del Rey, California on April 18, 1993.

Career

Wayne worked with

Ben Raleigh Ben Raleigh (June 16, 1913, New York – February 26, 1997, Hollywood) was an American lyricist and composer responsible for a number of major hits, including "Dungaree Doll", "Wonderful! Wonderful!", "Hold on Girl", "She's a Fool", " I Don't Wanna ...

, writing songs for

Cass Daley Cass Daley (born Catherine Dailey; July 17, 1915 – March 22, 1975) was an American actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at night clubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in ...

, as well as the 1946 hit "

Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside) "Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)" is a popular song. The music was written by Bernie Wayne, the lyrics by Ben Raleigh. The song was published in 1946. Three versions were popular in 1946: by Dinah Shore, by Andy Russell, and by S ...

," which was first popularized by bandleader

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

and his orchestra and was featured in the 1950 film noir ''

Gun Crazy ''Gun Crazy'' (also known as ''Deadly Is the Female'') is a 1950 American crime film noir starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. It was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced ...

.'' Working with Lee Morris, Wayne co-wrote ''Blue Velvet,'' which was performed by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

in the 1950s, was a number one hit for

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

in the 1960s and has been recorded over the years by such artists as

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...

. David Lynch's 1986 film '' Blue Velvet'' featured the song. On

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 ...

, he wrote music for ''Listen to Liz'', ''Skits-oh-Frantics'' and ''Torero!'' He produced the soundtracks for '' Zorba the Greek'' in 1964 and for the 1965 film ''

A Patch of Blue ''A Patch of Blue'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Guy Green about the friendship between an educated black man (played by Sidney Poitier) and an illiterate, blind, white 18-year-old girl (played by Elizabeth Hartman), and the proble ...

'' as director of

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire ( colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumental ...

at 20th Century Fox Records. He also created some of the more memorable instrumental novelty melodies in the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

genre. Examples include "The Magic Touch" from the film ''More About Love'', "Port-au-Prince" (a Nelson Riddle single), and "Vanessa" (recorded by Hugo Winterhalter and his Orchestra, and used as a theme song for several 1950s TV series.) The song " There She Is" became the theme song of the Miss America pageant starting in 1955.Staff
"Bernie Wayne; Composer, 74"
''

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 d ...

'', April 20, 1983. Accessed December 16, 2012. The pageant had stopped playing the song in 1981 after an argument over royalties for the song and had tried to bring back

Bert Parks Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979. Early life Parks was bor ...

to sing his trademark song at the 1986 pageant, but he declined.via

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

"THE REGION; PAGEANT RESTORES 'THERE SHE IS'"
''

'', August 2, 1985. Accessed December 16, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayne, Bernie 1919 births 1993 deaths American male composers Musicians from Paterson, New Jersey ABC Records artists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians