Vic Mizzy facts for kids

Victor Mizzy was a talented American composer and musician. He lived from 1916 to 2009. He is most famous for creating the catchy theme songs for two popular 1960s TV shows: Green Acres and The Addams Family. He also wrote many hit songs in the 1930s and 1940s.

Growing Up

Victor Mizzy was born in Brooklyn, New York. He went to New York University. As a child, he loved music and taught himself to play the accordion and piano. He also taught himself how to compose music. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. While in the Navy, he wrote some of his most popular songs.

Writing Hit Songs

In the late 1930s, Victor Mizzy started writing many popular songs. He was living in New York City at the time.

Famous Songs

One of his big hits was "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time". This song became very popular in 1945 when Doris Day sang it.

He also wrote "There's a Faraway Look in Your Eye" and "Three Little Sisters". He wrote these songs with a lyricist named Irving Taylor. The famous singing group The Andrews Sisters recorded "Three Little Sisters". They also sang it in the 1942 Universal movie Private Buckaroo.

Other popular songs by Mizzy include "Take It Easy" and "Pretty Kitty Blue Eyes". He also wrote "The Whole World Is Singing My Song" and "Choo'n Gum". "Choo'n Gum" was sung by The Andrews Sisters and Teresa Brewer. "The Jones Boy" was a hit for The Mills Brothers in 1953.

Music for TV and Movies

Around 1959, Victor Mizzy started writing music for television. He composed music for shows like Shirley Temple's Storybook. He also wrote theme songs for Moment of Fear, Klondike, and Kentucky Jones.

Iconic TV Themes

In the 1960s, Mizzy became very well-known for his TV themes. He wrote the famous music for Green Acres and The Addams Family. He also composed themes for other sitcoms. These included The Pruitts of Southampton and The Double Life of Henry Phyfe.

In 1965, an album called Original Music From The Addams Family was released. It had all of his music from the show. He even updated The Addams Family Theme for a 1977 TV special. This special was called Halloween with the New Addams Family.

Movie Scores

Victor Mizzy also wrote music for many movies. He composed the scores for five films starring Don Knotts. These movies include The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) and The Reluctant Astronaut (1967).

He also wrote music for films by William Castle. These were The Night Walker (1964) and The Busy Body (1967). Later in his career, he even composed music for the funny outtakes (gag reels) on the DVD releases of Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3.

Family Life

Victor Mizzy had two daughters with his first wife, Mary Small. Mary was a famous child singer in the 1930s. She was known as "The Little Girl With The Big Voice." One of their daughters, Patty Keeler, became a singer and songwriter too.

Later Years

Victor Mizzy passed away at his home in Bel Air, California, on October 17, 2009. He was 93 years old. He is buried at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills, California.

Songs by Vic Mizzy

Here are some of the songs Victor Mizzy wrote:

• "I'll Never Fail You" (1938) with Irving Taylor
• "Igloo" (1939) with Irving Taylor
• "Three Little Sisters" (1942) with Irving Taylor
• "Take It Easy" (1943) with Albert De Bru and Irving Taylor
• "I Had a Little Talk with the Lord" (1943) with Manny Curtis (a World War II song)
• "Pretty Kitty Blue Eyes" (1944) with Manny Curtis
• "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" (1945) with Manny Curtis
• "Oh How She Lied to Me" (1945) with Manny Curtis
• "With a Hey and a Hi and a Ho-Ho-Ho" (1947) with Manny Curtis
• "In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle" (early 1960s). This was a public service announcement for New York City about not jaywalking. Mizzy's daughter, Patty Keeler, sang it. The band They Might Be Giants later covered this song.