Dick Manning

Dick Manning, born Samuel Medoff on June 12, 1912, in Gomel, in the Russian Empire, was a Russian-American songwriter, lyricist, arranger, and vocal coach who worked across Broadway, television, radio, and popular music. He came to the United States with his family at the age of six and went on to study at the Juilliard School of Music. In 1948 he adopted the professional name Dick Manning, though he continued to perform and record in Yiddish under his birth name, Medoff. He died on April 11, 1991, in Marietta, Georgia, from complications related to diabetes, survived by two daughters and a son.

Before establishing himself as a songwriter, Medoff built a career in Yiddish swing music. In the early 1940s he hosted a radio program on WHN in New York under the name Sam Medoff and His Yiddish Swing Orchestra, performing with his ensemble known as the Yiddish Swingtet. The group were also regular participants on Yiddish Melodies in Swing, a fifteen-minute weekly program that had launched on WHN in 1938 and ran until 1955. The show blended traditional Yiddish folk music with swing and jazz, and Medoff and the Swingtet were brought on to reinterpret traditional material as well as introduce new popular songs performed in Yiddish. The Barry Sisters, Claire and Merna, served as vocalists on the program, which was originally performed live at the Loews State Theatre every Sunday at 1 PM. Medoff also played piano and organ for Yiddish crooner Seymour Rexite's radio program during this period.

Manning's television work produced a notable milestone in broadcast history. In 1944 he composed The Boys From Boise, the story of a troupe of showgirls stranded on an Idaho ranch who take jobs as cowgirls to earn enough money to return home. The production aired on the DuMont Television Network that year, sponsored by Esquire magazine, and stands as the first full-length musical broadcast on television. Manning himself had appeared earlier in 1944 on DuMont's Key-Bored Televisual Presentations as a pianist.

As a popular songwriter, Manning collaborated frequently with Al Hoffman, and together they produced a substantial catalog of well-known songs. Among the titles they co-wrote are "Takes Two to Tango" (1952), "Hot Diggity" (1956), "Allegheny Moon" (1956), "Hawaiian Wedding Song" (1958, English version), "Mama, Teach Me to Dance" (1956), "Mi Casa, Su Casa" (1957), and "O Dio Mio" (1960). Manning also co-wrote "Papa Loves Mambo" with Hoffman and Bix Reichner, and contributed lyrics to "Fascination." Songs from his catalog were recorded by artists including Perry Como, Sammy Kaye, and Kate Smith, and his published songs appeared in 27 languages. The recording of "Hot Diggity" by Como came about through a chance encounter in 1956, when Manning shared a late-night subway ride with Como's music publisher, Mickey Glass. Glass mentioned a need for a novelty song, Manning noted he had an unheard demo, and Glass arranged to hear it the following day, leading directly to Como's recording of the song.

Manning also wrote radio jingles in addition to his other compositional work. On Broadway, he served as composer and lyricist for The Fifth Season, a musical that opened in 1975.