Roger Edens

Roger Edens (November 9, 1905 – July 13, 1970) was a composer, arranger, lyricist, and associate producer born in Hillsboro, Texas, to parents of Scots-Irish ancestry. He began his professional life as a piano accompanist for ballroom dancers before transitioning to work as a musical conductor on Broadway. His Broadway lyricist credits include Judy Garland and Judy Garland "At Home at the Palace."

Edens traveled to Hollywood in 1932 accompanying his protégée Ethel Merman, for whom he wrote and arranged material during her time making films at Paramount. In 1935 he joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a musical supervisor, composer, and arranger, with Judy Garland among his primary collaborators. That same period saw him make a brief on-screen appearance in a cameo opposite Eleanor Powell in Broadway Melody of 1936.

At MGM, Edens became a central figure in producer Arthur Freed's musical film unit, which Freed assembled from many of the era's leading talents. In the early 1940s, Freed elevated Edens to the role of associate producer. The unit was responsible for a succession of major musical films across the 1940s and into the 1950s, among them Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949), Show Boat (1951), An American in Paris (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952), and The Band Wagon (1953).

Edens's relationship with Judy Garland was both professional and personal; he served as her original trainer and musical overseer and remained a lifelong friend. The special material he created for her spans more than two decades. In 1937 he wrote "Dear Mr. Gable – You Made Me Love You" for her. In 1940 he composed "Our Love Affair" for Strike Up the Band, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, and wrote "It's a Great Day for the Irish," which Garland performed in Little Nellie Kelly and which became a widely performed Irish-American anthem. He also composed the music for the "Born in a Trunk" sequence in A Star Is Born (1954), and wrote special material for Garland's 1951 Palace Theatre debut and her London Palladium concerts that same year.

Edens and Freed were the principal creative forces behind MGM's 1951 film version of Show Boat. Edens led the search for a performer to play Joe, the supporting character who sings "Ol' Man River," and identified William Warfield after reading a review of Warfield's New York song recital. Edens also oversaw the film's reediting after the producer and director determined the original cut moved too slowly.

Beginning in 1942 and continuing through 1957, Edens and Kay Thompson — who shared a birthday on November 9 — hosted annual joint birthday parties at which each presented a surprise production number featuring special material. Their guests over the years included Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Dandridge, Maureen O'Hara, Ray Bolger, Ann Sothern, Phil Silvers, Danny Kaye, Charles Walters, Cole Porter, Hugh Martin, and Ralph Blane.

When the popularity of musical films declined in the mid-1950s, Edens departed MGM and established his own office. He subsequently worked on Funny Face (1957) at Paramount, a production featuring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Kay Thompson.

Before relocating to California, Edens had been married to Martha LaPrelle; the two spent considerable time apart and eventually divorced. He lived as a gay man by the time of his years at MGM.

His Academy Award nominations include Best Scoring for Babes in Arms (1939, with Georgie Stoll), Strike Up the Band (1940, with Georgie Stoll), and For Me and My Gal (1942, with Georgie Stoll); Best Song for "Our Love Affair" from Strike Up the Band (1940) and "Pass That Peace Pipe" from Good News (1947, with Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin). He won Academy Awards for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture for Easter Parade (1948, with Johnny Green), On the Town (1949, with Lennie Hayton), and Annie Get Your Gun (1950, with Adolph Deutsch).