Jay Livingston

Jay Livingston
Born	Jacob Harold Levison March 28, 1915 McDonald, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 17, 2001 (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active	1937–2001
Spouse(s)	Lynne Gordon (1947–1991; her death; 1 child)Travilyn Shirley Mitchell (1992–2001; his death)

Jay Livingston (March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and words along with Evans the lyrics.

Livingston was born Jacob Harold Levison in McDonald, Pennsylvania; he was born to a Jewish mother and father. Livingston studied piano with Harry Archer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he organized a dance band and met Evans, a fellow student in the band. Their professional collaboration began in 1937. Livingston and Evans won the Academy Award for Best Original Song three times, in 1948 for the song "Buttons and Bows", written for the movie The Paleface; in 1950 for the song "Mona Lisa", written for the movie Captain Carey, U.S.A.; and in 1956 for the song "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)," featured in the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much. They also wrote "Tammy" for the movie Tammy and the Bachelor in 1957. Livingston and Evans wrote popular TV themes for shows including Bonanza and Mister Ed. They also wrote the Christmas song "Silver Bells" in 1951, for the film The Lemon Drop Kid, initially calling it "Tinkle Bells" but changed it to "Silver" because of the common connotation of "tinkle", as well as "Never Let Me Go" for the 1956 film The Scarlet Hour. Fans of Johnny Mathis can thank Mr. Livingston for All The Time among others.

...
Wikipedia