Henry Nemo
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Henry Nemo (July 8, 1907 – November 26, 1999) was a musician, songwriter and actor in Hollywood films who had a reputation as a hipster and was sometimes referred to as the "creator of jive" talk. He showcased some of this "jive talk" in a bit part as "The Neem" in the 1947 movie Song of the Thin Man.
Nemo's rare collection of jazz memorabilia documents 1930s music and his days at the Cotton Club, where he wrote the lyrics for "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart," with Duke Ellington. In Nemo's historical collection are original photographs which he took at the Cotton Club, plus Cotton Club memorabilia and a 1939 telegram from Ellington to Nemo, written in jive talk.
He composed some of the century's biggest standards including "Don't Take Your Love From Me" and "Tis Autumn." Many of his compositions are playing all over the world. He also composed the incidental music and lyrics for the 1959 Broadway production of Saul Levitt's play, The Andersonville Trial, directed by José Ferrer, and starring George C. Scott.
Nemo teamed with numerous music industry music celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Mildred Bailey and Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw, who recorded his song "Don't Take Your Love for Me." Shaw bravely recorded this song in 1941 with a band of mostly African-American musicians accompanying the African-American vocalist, Lena Horne. During his seven decade career, Nemo lived in Los Angeles and New York.
