Frank Loesser facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frank Loesser
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Frank Loesser in a 1936 Paramount studio headshot.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Frank Henry Loesser |
| Born | June 29, 1910 Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States |
| Died | July 28, 1969 (aged 59) East Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Musical theatre |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, lyricist, librettist |
| Years active | 1931–1968 |
Frank Henry Loesser (born June 29, 1910 – died July 28, 1969) was a talented American songwriter. He wrote both the music and words for famous Broadway musicals like Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He won a Tony Award for Guys and Dolls and shared the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for How to Succeed. Frank Loesser also wrote songs for over 60 Hollywood movies. Many of his songs became very popular and are still loved today. He was nominated for five Academy Awards for best song, winning one for "Baby, It's Cold Outside".
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Early Life
Frank Henry Loesser was born in New York City. His father, Henry Loesser, was a pianist. Frank grew up in Manhattan. His parents valued learning and music, teaching him about European composers. However, Frank's father never taught him piano. Even so, at age four, Frank could play any tune he heard by ear.
Frank didn't like his father's serious music taste. He preferred to write his own songs and play the harmonica. He struggled in school and was expelled from both Townsend Harris High School and City College of New York.
After his father passed away in 1926, Frank had to find work to help his family. He had many different jobs. He worked as a restaurant reviewer, a salesman, a cartoonist, and even an editor for a newspaper. But he always found his way back to music.
Starting His Music Career
Frank Loesser's first song that was officially published was "In Love with the Memory of You" in 1931. He also wrote lyrics for popular songs like "Junk Man" and "I Wish I Were Twins" in 1934. "Junk Man" was first recorded by the famous musician Benny Goodman.
In the mid-1930s, Frank performed at a nightclub called The Back Drop. He also worked for a music company, writing song lyrics. He said his early days of learning to write music felt like "a rendezvous with failure." But he kept trying and always returned to the music business.
His work at The Back Drop led to his first Broadway musical, The Illustrator's Show, in 1936. It only ran for four nights. While performing there, he met a singer named Lynn Garland. They got married and moved to Los Angeles. Frank then got a job writing songs for Paramount Pictures. His first song for a movie was "Moon of Manakoora" for the film The Hurricane. He wrote lyrics for many other popular songs during this time, including "Two Sleepy People" and "Heart and Soul".
One of his well-known songs from this period was "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have", sung by Marlene Dietrich in the movie Destry Rides Again. In 1941, he wrote "I Don't Want to Walk Without You", which was featured in the 1942 film Sweater Girl. Even the famous songwriter Irving Berlin loved this song.
In 1942, Frank Loesser wrote the lyrics for "Jingle Jangle Jingle". This song was chosen as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. He stayed in Hollywood until World War II began.
Music During World War II
During World War II, Frank Loesser joined the United States Army Air Forces. He continued to write songs for films and for the military. He wrote the famous war song "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" in 1942. This song was inspired by a navy chaplain. Frank also wrote other songs for the armed forces, such as "What Do You Do in the Infantry?" and "The Ballad of Rodger Young". He also wrote "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" for the 1943 film Thank Your Lucky Stars.
In 1944, Loesser worked on a musical called Hi Yank!. This show was performed by and for U.S. soldiers overseas. The U.S. Army created Hi Yank! to help boost the spirits of soldiers in places where other shows couldn't reach. It was a "blueprint special," meaning it came with instructions for soldiers to stage the show using materials they could find. This musical was mostly forgotten until 2008, when a TV show called History Detectives researched it.
Broadway Musicals and Film Songs
In 1948, Broadway producers asked Frank Loesser to write music and lyrics for a musical called Where's Charley?. The show was a big success, running for 792 performances. A movie version was also made in 1952.
Also in 1948, Loesser sold the rights to his song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to MGM. He had written this song in 1944 and often sang it with his wife Lynn at parties. The studio used it in the 1949 movie Neptune's Daughter, and it became a huge hit. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
His next musical, Guys and Dolls (1950), was based on stories by Damon Runyon. It was a massive hit and earned Loesser a Tony Award. Many people, including choreographer Bob Fosse, called Guys and Dolls "the greatest American musical of all time." A movie version was released in 1955, starring famous actors like Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.
In 1950, Loesser started his own company, Frank Music Corporation. This company helped him control and publish his own work. It also supported other writers. He also started a company called Music Theatre International in 1952, which helps license musicals for performances.
In 1952, Loesser wrote the songs for the film Hans Christian Andersen. The movie included popular songs like "Wonderful Copenhagen", "Thumbelina", and "Inchworm".
He wrote the story, music, and lyrics for his next two musicals, The Most Happy Fella (1956) and Greenwillow (1960). He then wrote the music and lyrics for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961). This musical ran for a very long time, won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, another Tony Award, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
His last musical produced during his lifetime was Pleasures and Palaces (1965), but it closed before reaching Broadway.
Later Years and Legacy
From 1965 to 1968, Frank Loesser was working on a musical called Señor Discretion Himself. A completed version of this musical was performed in 2004.
When asked why he didn't write more shows, Loesser said he didn't write slowly, but he threw out ideas very quickly. He was known for working very hard and sleeping only a few hours a night.
Frank Loesser passed away on July 28, 1969, at the age of 59, from lung cancer.
Loesser is remembered as one of the most talented songwriters of his time. He was known for writing clever lyrics and smart musical ideas. He also brought a complex artistic style to Broadway musicals. He used classical music techniques, like in the song "Fugue for Tinhorns" from Guys and Dolls.
He won the 1951 Tony Award for Best Musical for Guys and Dolls. He also won a Grammy Award in 1962 for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
Frank Loesser won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Baby, It's Cold Outside." He was nominated four more times for other songs:
- "Dolores" from Las Vegas Nights (1941)
- "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" from Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
- "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" from The Perils of Pauline (1947)
- "Thumbelina" from the movie musical Hans Christian Andersen (1953)
A TV documentary called Heart & Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser was released in 2006, telling his life story.
Personal Life
Frank Loesser and his first wife, Lynn Garland, divorced in 1957 after 21 years of marriage. They had two children: John Loesser, who works in theater, and Susan Loesser, an author. Susan wrote a book about her father called A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life.
He married his second wife, Jo Sullivan, on April 29, 1959. Jo Sullivan had acted in his musical The Most Happy Fella. They had two daughters, Hannah and Emily. Emily is a performer, and Hannah was an artist. Jo Sullivan passed away in 2019.
Famous Songs
Frank Loesser wrote over 700 songs! Here are some of his most famous ones:
- War songs
- "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" (1942)
- "The Ballad of Rodger Young" (1943)
- Broadway musicals
- "A Bushel and a Peck"
- "Fugue for Tinhorns"
- "If I Were A Bell"
- "Luck Be a Lady Tonight"
- "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat"
- "I'll Know"
All these are from Guys and Dolls.
- "Standing on the Corner" and "Joey, Joey, Joey" from The Most Happy Fella
- "Never Will I Marry" from Greenwillow
- Films and other popular songs
- "Baby, It's Cold Outside" from the movie Neptune's Daughter (1949). Frank and his first wife Lynn used to sing this song for fun at parties.
- "Heart and Soul" (1938) – he wrote the lyrics.
- "I Don't Want to Walk Without You" from the movie Sweater Girl (1942).
- "Let's Get Lost" from Happy Go Lucky (1943).
- "On a Slow Boat to China" (1948)
- "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year" from the movie Christmas Holiday (1944)
- "Inch Worm", "Thumbelina", "The Ugly Duckling" and "Wonderful Copenhagen" from the movie Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
- "Two Sleepy People" (music by Hoagy Carmichael) from the movie Thanks for the Memory (1938)
- "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" (written in 1947)
Images for kids
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A robot for kids.
See also
In Spanish: Frank Henry Loesser para niños
