Everything about Bob Merrill totally explained
» This article is about the American composer and lyricist. For the American baritone known as Bob Merrill, see Robert Merrill.
Bob Merrill (
May 17 1921 -
February 17 1998) was an
American songwriter,
theatrical composer and
lyricist, and
screenwriter.
Merrill was born Henry Levan in
Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the
Army during
World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a dialogue director for
Columbia Pictures. He began his songwriting career writing tunes for
Dorothy Shay. One of his first major hits was the 1950
novelty song "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake", co-written with
Al Hoffman and
Clem Watts and recorded by
Eileen Barton.
Merrill wrote a string of chart hits including
"Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania",
"Love Makes the World Go 'Round",
"Honeycomb",
"Tina Marie", and
"Sparrow in the Tree Top". Many of the songs he wrote were recorded by
Guy Mitchell. His two most famous songs were
"Mambo Italiano" and
"How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?", the latter a huge hit for
Patti Page. His composition, "
All the Time and Everywhere" was a top-ten hit for
Dickie Valentine in
1953 in the
United Kingdom, though the recording by
Mindy Carson failed to chart in the United States. He also wrote "I've Written a Letter to Daddy," sung by
Bette Davis in the film
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?. He sometimes penned works under the
pseudonym Paul Stryker.
Merrill's made his
Broadway debut in 1957 with
New Girl in Town, a musical adaptation of
Eugene O'Neill's
Anna Christie. His greatest theatrical success was the
Barbra Streisand vehicle
Funny Girl, which introduced the
standard "People". When the stage show was adapted for the screen, he and songwriting partner
Jule Styne were asked to write a title tune, which eventually garnered them both
Academy Award and
Golden Globe nominations for Best Song.
Merrill's other Broadway credits include
Take Me Along (1959),
Carnival! (1961),
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1966),
Henry, Sweet Henry (1967),
Sugar (1972), and
The Red Shoes (1993). He also wrote the book and lyrics for the
Angela Lansbury vehicle
Prettybelle (1971), which closed during its
Boston tryout. He was nominated for the
Tony Award eight times, but never won.
Merrill's screenwriting credits include
Mahogany (1975),
W.C. Fields and Me (1976), and the
television movies
Portrait of a Showgirl (1982) and
The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1998).
Among Merrill's
television credits were two holiday specials, the classic
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol and
The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood, written specifically for
Liza Minnelli.
Merrill became progressively ill in the mid-1990s. He finally committed
suicide by shooting himself in his car in Culver City, California.
Compositions recorded by Guy Mitchell
Further Information
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