Bob Merrill

Bob Merrill (May 17 1921 - February 17 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer and lyricist, and screenwriter.

Merrill was born Henry Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a dialogue director for Columbia Pictures. He began his songwriting career writing tunes for Dorothy Shay. One of his first major hits was the 1950 novelty song "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake", co-written with Al Hoffman and Clem Watts and recorded by Eileen Barton.

Merrill wrote a string of chart hits including "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania", "Love Makes the World Go 'Round", "Honeycomb", "Tina Marie", and "Sparrow in the Tree Top". Many of the songs he wrote were recorded by Guy Mitchell.

Malvina Reynolds's song Little Boxes may have been inspired by Bob Merrill's 1952 song, "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania". "Little Boxes", recorded by Reynolds in 1962, features a melody nearly identical to Merrill's 1952 song. A Guy Mitchell recording of "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" is available on YouTube.

Merrill's two most famous songs were "Mambo Italiano" and "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?", the latter a huge hit for Patti Page. His composition, "All the Time and Everywhere" was a top-ten hit for Dickie Valentine in 1953 in the United Kingdom, though the recording by Mindy Carson failed to chart in the United States. He also wrote "I've Written a Letter to Daddy," sung by Bette Davis in the film "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?". He sometimes penned works under the pseudonym Paul Stryker.

Merrill's made his Broadway debut in 1957 with " New Girl in Town", a musical adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie". His greatest theatrical success was the Barbra Streisand vehicle "Funny Girl", which introduced the standard "People". When the stage show was adapted for the screen, he and songwriting partner Jule Styne were asked to write a title tune, which eventually garnered them both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Song.

Merrill's other Broadway credits include "Take Me Along" (1959), "Carnival!" (1961), "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1966), "Henry, Sweet Henry" (1967), "Sugar" (1972), and "The Red Shoes" (1993). He also wrote the book and lyrics for the Angela Lansbury vehicle "Prettybelle" (1971), which closed during its Boston tryout. He was nominated for the Tony Award eight times, but never won.

Merrill's screenwriting credits include "Mahogany" (1975), "W.C. Fields and Me" (1976), and the television movies "Portrait of a Showgirl" (1982) and "The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1998).

Among Merrill's television credits were two holiday specials, the classic "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" and "The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood", written specifically for Liza Minnelli.

Merrill became progressively ill in the mid-1990s and took his own life on February 17, 1998 at the age of 74.

Compositions recorded by Guy Mitchell

*Chicka Boom
*Feet Up (Pat Him on the Po-Po)
*Look At That Girl
*My Truly, Truly Fair
*Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*She Wears Red Feathers
*Sparrow in the Treetop

External links

* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=12139 Bob Merrill at the Internet Broadway Database]
* [http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_home_page.asp?exhibitId=170 Bob Merrill at the Songwriters Hall of Fame]
* [http://slate.com/id/2898/ A critique of Merrill's work by Mark Steyn]
* [http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2004/08/bob-merrill-on-broadway.html A thoughtful rebuttal to Mark Steyn's piece and a review of Merrill's work on Broadway]
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