Arthur Schwartz

Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer, Broadway book writer, and film producer born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family. As a child he taught himself harmonica and piano, and by age 14 he was playing for silent films. He earned a B.A. in English from New York University and an M.A. in Architecture from Columbia University before completing a Juris Doctor at NYU Law School, where he was admitted to the bar in 1924. During his law studies he supported himself by teaching English in New York City schools and simultaneously pursued songwriting, publishing his first song, "Baltimore, Md., You're the Only Doctor for Me," with lyrics by Eli Dawson, by 1923. Lorenz Hart and George Gershwin were among those who encouraged him to commit to composing.

Schwartz placed his first songs on Broadway in The New Yorkers, which opened on March 10, 1927. By 1928 he had closed his law office and persuaded Howard Dietz — an MGM publicist who had previously worked with Jerome Kern and had initially declined Schwartz's overtures — to collaborate with him. Their first joint effort appeared in the revue The Little Show, which opened April 30, 1929, and included "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," introduced by Clifton Webb; the song became a hit three years later when Rudy Vallée recorded it. In 1930 Schwartz contributed songs to six productions, three in London and three in New York. The most successful of these was Three's a Crowd, which opened October 15, 1930, featured the same cast as The Little Show, and introduced "Something to Remember You By." That same year Schwartz also began writing for motion pictures, contributing "I'm Afraid of You," with lyrics by Ralph Rainger and Edward Eliscu, to the film Queen High.

The Broadway revue The Band Wagon followed in 1931, featuring songs written with Dietz that included "Dancing in the Dark," introduced by John Barker; "Hoops" and "I Love Louisa," both introduced by Fred and Adele Astaire; and "High and Low," performed by John Barker and Roberta Robinson. The revue Flying Colors in 1932 added further Schwartz-Dietz standards to the canon, among them "Alone Together," introduced by Jean Sargent, and "Louisiana Hayride," introduced by Tamara Geva, Clifton Webb, and ensemble. Subsequent collaborations with Dietz produced "You and the Night and the Music" from Revenge with Music (1934) and multiple songs for At Home Abroad (1935), including "Got a Bran' New Suit," introduced by Ethel Waters. The musical Between the Devil in 1937 introduced "I See Your Face Before Me," performed by Jack Buchanan, Evelyn Laye, and Adele Dixon, a song later recorded by Frank Sinatra on In the Wee Small Hours (1955) and by Doris Day on Day by Night (1957). Inside U.S.A. (1948) introduced "Haunted Heart," subsequently recorded by Susannah McCorkle.

Beyond his work with Dietz, Schwartz collaborated with lyricists including Dorothy Fields, Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein II, Edward Heyman, Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Leo Robin, and Al Stillman. With Fields he contributed songs to Stars in Your Eyes (1939), where Ethel Merman performed "A Lady Needs a Change" and, alongside Jimmy Durante, "It's All Yours." With Loesser he wrote songs for the 1943 film Thank Your Lucky Stars, including "They're Either Too Young or Too Old," performed by Bette Davis, which earned Schwartz his first Academy Award nomination for Best Song in 1944. A second nomination followed in 1948 for "A Gal in Calico," with lyrics by Leo Robin, from The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946).

Schwartz's Broadway book-writing and composing credits extend across several decades. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn opened in 1951, followed by By the Beautiful Sea in 1954, which introduced "Alone Too Long," with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, performed by Shirley Booth and Wilbur Evans. The Gay Life opened in 1961, and Jennie in 1963 featured "Waitin' for the Evening Train." The revue Flying Colors also stands among his Broadway credits. In 1972, Schwartz and Dietz's catalog was celebrated in the Broadway revue That's Entertainment.

As a film producer Schwartz worked for Columbia Pictures, producing the musical Cover Girl in 1944 and the Cole Porter biographical film Night and Day in 1946. He also composed for the MGM musical The Band Wagon (1953), with lyrics by Dietz, which included "That's Entertainment!"; that song received the ASCAP Award for Most Performed Feature Film Standard in 1990.

Schwartz was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1981. He was married to 1930s Broadway ingénue Kay Carrington until her death; their son Jonathan Schwartz, born in 1938, became a radio personality who announced his retirement from radio in 2023. Schwartz's younger son, Paul Schwartz, born in 1956 with actress and dancer Mary Schwartz, is a composer, conductor, pianist, and producer. Arthur Schwartz died on September 3, 1984, in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania.