Meredith Willson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Meredith Willson
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Willson in 1961
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| Born |
Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson
May 18, 1902 Mason City, Iowa, U.S.
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| Died | June 15, 1984 (aged 82) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
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| Years active | 1921−1982 |
Meredith Willson (born Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson on May 18, 1902 – died June 15, 1984) was a talented American musician. He was a flautist, composer, and conductor. He also wrote plays, led bands, and was an author.
Willson is most famous for creating the hit Broadway musical The Music Man in 1957. He wrote the story, music, and lyrics for it. He also wrote the popular Christmas song "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (1951). Willson created three other musicals and composed many symphonies and songs. He was even nominated for Academy Awards twice for his film music.
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Early Life and Musical Start
Meredith Willson was born in Mason City, Iowa. His parents were Rosalie Reiniger Willson and John David Willson. He had an older brother, John Cedrick, and an older sister, Dixie Willson, who became a children's writer.
Willson studied music in New York City. He attended the Institute of Musical Art, which is now called The Juilliard School. In 1920, he married his high-school sweetheart, Elizabeth "Peggy" Wilson. They were married for 26 years.
When he was a child, Willson played the bass drum in a Salvation Army band. He became very good at playing the flute and piccolo. He was so skilled that he joined John Philip Sousa's famous band from 1921 to 1924. Later, he played in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1924 to 1929.
After that, Willson moved to San Francisco, California. He became the concert director for a radio station called KFRC. Then, he became a musical director for the NBC radio network in Hollywood. His first time on the radio was in 1928 on a show called Blue Monday Jamboree.
Hollywood Career
Meredith Willson also worked on music for movies. He wrote the score for Charlie Chaplin's film The Great Dictator (1940). This earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score. He also arranged music for the film The Little Foxes (1941), which also got an Academy Award nomination.
During World War II, Willson worked for the United States' Armed Forces Radio Service. This service provided entertainment to soldiers. He worked with famous comedians like George Burns and Gracie Allen. He was their bandleader and played a shy character on their radio show.
In 1942, Willson had his own radio program on NBC. It was called Meredith Willson's Music. Later, he had a full-season radio show called Sparkle Time on CBS in 1946–47.
After the war, Willson created a group called the Talking People. This choir spoke commercials in unison on the radio. In 1950, he became the musical director for The Big Show. This was a long comedy and variety program hosted by actress Tallulah Bankhead. Willson wrote the song "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You" for this show. He also worked on Jack Benny's radio program.
In 1950, Willson was the musical director for The California Story. This was a big show at the Hollywood Bowl. While working on it, he met writer Franklin Lacey. Lacey helped Willson develop the story for a musical he was working on, which became The Music Man.
Broadway Success
Willson's most famous work is The Music Man. It first opened on Broadway in 1957. This musical was later made into a film twice, in 1962 and 2003. Willson said he wrote it to honor his home state of Iowa.
It took Willson eight years to finish The Music Man. He wrote over 40 songs for the show. The musical was a huge success. It ran for 1,375 performances on Broadway. The cast recording won the first Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Album. The show also toured across the country and was performed internationally.
In 1959, Willson and his second wife, Ralina "Rini" Zarova, recorded an album. It was called ... and Then I Wrote The Music Man. On this album, they talked about the show's history and sang its songs.
Willson's second musical was The Unsinkable Molly Brown. It ran on Broadway for 532 performances from 1960 to 1962. It was also made into a movie in 1964.
His third Broadway musical was Here's Love. It was based on the film Miracle on 34th Street. This show ran for eight months on Broadway in 1963-64. Willson's last musical was 1491. It was about Christopher Columbus. This musical was performed in Los Angeles in 1969 but did not make it to Broadway.
Other Musical Works
Classical Compositions
Meredith Willson wrote two symphonies. They are called A Symphony of San Francisco and Missions of California. These were recorded in 1999. He also wrote other orchestral pieces. One piece, Ask Not, used words from John F. Kennedy's speech.
Television Shows
In 1958, Willson appeared on a TV game show called I've Got a Secret. His secret was that he wrote a new theme song for The Salvation Army. The song was called "With Banners and Bonnets They Come". Willson conducted the New York Staff Band for the show.
In 1964, Willson produced three TV specials for CBS. They were called Texaco Star Parade. The first one featured Willson and his wife Rini. It also had a performance with Willson leading 500 high school band members.
Popular Songs
Willson wrote many well-known songs. "You and I" was a No. 1 hit for Glenn Miller in 1941. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra also recorded it.
Three songs from The Music Man became American classics: "Seventy-Six Trombones", "Gary, Indiana", and "Till There Was You".
Other famous songs by Willson include "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" and "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You". He also wrote fight songs for universities. These include the "Iowa Fight Song" for the University of Iowa. He also wrote "For I for S Forever" for Iowa State University.
An interesting song Willson wrote was "Chicken Fat" in 1962. This song was used in schools across the country. It was the theme song for President John F. Kennedy's youth fitness program. The song encouraged kids to do exercises like push-ups and jumping jacks. Robert Preston, who starred in The Music Man, sang the lead vocal.
Autobiographies
Willson wrote three books about his life. They are And There I Stood With My Piccolo (1948), Eggs I Have Laid (1955), and But He Doesn't Know the Territory (1959).
Personal Life
Meredith Willson was married three times. His first marriage was to Elizabeth. He later married Ralina "Rini" Zarova, an opera singer, in 1948. She passed away in 1966. In 1968, Willson married Rosemary Sullivan.
For many years, he lived in Brentwood, California. Friends remembered him as a kind host who loved to play the piano and sing at parties. He often gave guests signed copies of his album.
Willson often returned to his hometown of Mason City, Iowa. He visited for the North Iowa Band Festival, which celebrates marching bands. In 1962, the movie The Music Man premiered in Mason City. Willson led a "Big Parade" through the town, just like a character in his musical. The film's stars, Shirley Jones and Robert Preston, also attended.
Meredith Willson passed away from heart failure in 1984 at age 82. His funeral in Mason City included people dressed in Music Man costumes. He is buried in Mason City.
Legacy
- In 1987, Willson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan. This is a very high honor.
- In 1999, the United States Postal Service released a postage stamp featuring Willson.
- Willson's childhood home in Mason City, Iowa, is now part of "The Music Man Square". This opened in 2002.
- His music school, the Juilliard School, named its first residence hall after Willson in 2005.
- The song "Till There Was You" from The Music Man was a favorite of the Beatles. They recorded it and performed it on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
- Willson's writings and music are kept at the Great American Songbook Foundation.
