Carolyn Leigh

Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist, composer, and book writer whose work spanned Broadway, film, and popular song. Born in the Bronx, New York, to a Jewish family, she attended Hunter College High School before going on to earn degrees from Queens College and New York University.

Before establishing herself as a songwriter, Leigh worked as a copywriter for radio stations and advertising agencies, while consistently writing stories and poems on the side. Her professional songwriting career began in 1951, when a music publisher offered her a contract and encouraged her to write songs. Her first effort was "I'm Waiting Just for You," written with Henry Glover. Two years later, in 1953, she collaborated with Johnny Richards on "Young at Heart," which became a million-selling recording for Frank Sinatra in the 1954 film of the same name. Her partnership with composer Cy Coleman produced two enduring pop standards, "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come."

Leigh's Broadway credits as lyricist include Peter Pan, Wildcat, Little Me, and How Now, Dow Jones. Little Me earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score in 1963. How Now, Dow Jones, which originated from Leigh's own concept, brought her two additional Tony Award nominations in 1968, for Best Original Score and Best Musical, though the script was ultimately written by Max Shulman. Her film work includes lyrics for the scores of The Cardinal in 1963 and Father Goose in 1964.

Beyond her produced stage work, Leigh wrote lyrics for several musicals that were never staged. In 1969 she contributed lyrics to Gatsby, with music by Lee Pockriss and a book by Hugh Wheeler. She also wrote lyrics for Caesar's Wife, again with Pockriss, centered on Julius Caesar's third wife, Calpurnia, and for Juliet, based on the Fellini film Juliet of the Spirits, with music by Morton Gould.

Leigh died on November 19, 1983, of a heart attack while collaborating with Marvin Hamlisch on the musical Smile. She had been married twice, divorcing her first husband, Julius Levine, in 1959 and marrying David Cunningham Jr. that same year. In 1985, she was inducted posthumously into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.