Buddy DeSylva

George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27 1895 - July 11 1950) was an American songwriter and film producer. He was born in New York City, but grew up in California and attended the University of Southern California. His father, Aloysius J. De Sylva, was better known to American audiences as the Portuguese-born actor, Hal De Forrest.cite web| title = Composers-Lyricists Database, Biography: Buddy DeSylva| url= http://www.nfo.net/cal/td3.html|accessdate = 2008-01-10]

DeSylva's first successful songs were those used by Al Jolson on Broadway in the 1918 +Sinbad production, which included "I'll Say She Does." Soon thereafter he met Jolson and in 1918, the pair went to New York and De Sylva began working as a songwriter at Tin Pan Alley. In 1925, he became one third of the songwriting team with lyricist Lew Brown and composer Ray Henderson, one of the top Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the era. The writing and publishing partnership continued until 1930. The 1956 Hollywood film "The Best Things in Life Are Free", starring Gordon MacRae, depicted the life of the DeSylva, Brown and Henderson team.

De Sylva joined ASCAP in 1920 and served on the ASCAP board of directors between 1922 and 1930. He became a producer of stage and screen musicals. DeSylva relocated to Hollywood and went under contract to Fox Studios. During this tenure, he produced movies such as "The Little Colonel", "The Littlest Rebel", "Captain January", "Poor Little Rich Girl" and "Stowaway". In 1941, he became the Executive Producer at Paramount Pictures, a position he would hold until 1944. At Paramount, he was also an uncredited executive producer for "Double Indemnity" and "The Glass Key".

The Paramount all-star extravaganza "Star Spangled Rhythm", which takes place at the Paramount film studio in Hollywood, features a fictional movie executive named "B.G. DeSoto" (played by Walter Abel) who is a parody of DeSylva.

In 1942, Johnny Mercer, Glenn Wallichs and De Sylva together founded Capitol Records, which continues to this day. He also founded the Cowboy label

He is sometimes credited as: Buddy De Sylva, Buddy DeSylva, Bud De Sylva, Buddy G. DeSylva and B.G. DeSylva.

Buddy De Sylva died in Hollywood, aged 55, and was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Broadway credits

*1919 - "La La Lucille" (music by George Gershwin)
*1922 - "George White's Scandals of 1922" (music by George Gershwin)
*1922 - "Orange Blossoms" (music by Victor Herbert)
*1922 - "The Yankee Princess" (music by Emmerich Kalman)
*1923 - "George White's Scandals of 1923" (music by George Gershwin
*1924 - "Sweet Little Devil" (music by George Gershwin)
*1924 - "George White's Scandals of 1924" (music by George Gershwin
*1925 - "Big Boy" (music by Joseph Meyer and James F. Hanley)
*1925 - "Tell Me More!" (co-lyricist with Ira Gershwin music by George Gershwin)
*1925 - "George White's Scandals of 1925" (DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
*1925 - "Captain Jinks" (music by Lewis Gensler)
*1926 - "George White's Scandals of 1926" (DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
*1926 - "Queen High" (music by Lewis Gensler)
*1927 - "Good News" (DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
*1927 - "Manhattan Mary" (DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
*1928 - "George White's Scandals of 1928" (DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
*1928 - "Hold Everything!" (DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
*1929 - "Follow Thru" (DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
*1930 - "Flying High" (DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
*1932 - "Take A Chance" (music by Nacio Herb Brown, Richard A. Whiting and Vincent Youmans)

Notes

External links

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