Irving Taylor (songwriter)

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Irving Taylor (8 April[1] 1914 in Brooklyn, NY - 3 December 1983 in Westlake Village, Los Angeles, CA), was an American composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He enlisted in the US Navy the day after Pearl Harbor. While in uniform, he and Vic Mizzy wrote entertainments for personnel stationed at the Staten Island Navy Yard, and he later served as a quartermaster on an LST involved in African and European invasions during World War II. He married Katharine Snell, an American dancer, model and actress, on 20 September 1942 and they had two children. He had changed his name by 1936 from Irving Goldberg to Irving Taylor.

Irving formed Kiss Music Co. in the late 1950's. "Kiss" is an anagram made from the first letters of Taylor's wife and children's first names.

His wife Katharine died 21 August 2001. Irving's son and grandchildren live in Wilmington, NC, where Kiss Music Co. continues to operate.

Irving is buried at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, in Los Angeles, CA.

Contents

[edit] Songs (Lyrics unless otherwise noted)

  • Swing, Mr. Charlie (1936) with Harry Brooks and J. Russel Robinson;
  • "My Heart Is A Violin" with Emery Deutsch and J. Russel Robinson;
  • "Three Little Sisters" (1942) with Vic Mizzy;
  • "Take It Easy" (1943) with Albert De Bru and Vic Mizzy;
  • "One-zy Two-zy" (1946) with Dave Franklin;
  • "Everybody Loves Somebody" (1947) with music by Ken Lane;
  • "Caramba! It's The Samba " (1947) with Edward Pola and George Wyle;
  • "So Dear To My Heart" (1947) with music by Ticker Freeman;
  • "Quicksilver" (1949) with George Wyle and Eddie Pola;
  • "Wandering Swallow" (1951) with Harold Stevens;
  • "Am I A Toy Or A Treasure?" (1954) with Arthur Altman and Louis C. Singer;
  • "Give Me Your Word" (1955) with George Wyle;
  • "Pachalafaka" (1958);
  • "Kookie, Kookie" (1959) words and music;
  • "A Christmas Toast" with Ken Lane;

[edit] Movies

  • "Three Little Sisters" (1944) lyricist; eponymous song also appeared in "Memoirs of a Geisha (2005);
  • "So Dear to My Heart" (1948) lyricist;
  • "Sudden Fear " (1952) lyricist;
  • "Walk the Dark Street " (1956) writer;
  • "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (1957) writer;
  • "The Lord Don't Play Favorites" (TV) (1956) writer

[edit] Television

  • "Bob Newhart Show" (1961-1962) writer;
  • "The Dean Martin Show" (1965) composer;
  • "F Troop" (1965) composer;
  • "Jonathan Winters Show" (1967-1969) writer;
  • "The Muppet Show" (1976) composer;

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^  Some sources record his birth as August 4, 1914, but census, passport and family records all confirm April 8 as the correct date. [2]