Hide Article Text (OCR)
r-Tribute.*.a V? e S * n» to-v.ilfesno rulrf ofe tort abob h*.-u»• *4W*** V?'(Continued from Paget 1)rtit' rjWSYR, and in a very, short time*yr I' * - 5i%4‘ lt;*he had a weekly, 15-minute program of h!s ow;h. FromtherC he^ went to WFBL, with a programfeaturing an original VanHeusencomposition every btokdcasf^ Jimmy’s college * career eluded Cazenovia Junior College and special instruction 1ft Syrathe veiyv*ighest. - He was alSci elected a meipbe r Sf the* Quiet Birdmen, a -pilot’a- organization.v Apother time, five;years:lafet,;. ■Dennis.. Cjlt;;obsby’ s; -;.regimeht: In, 1badly ;in need of an official ton«; Jinwvtook the:troops !by storni»«-S'ftcuse University in piano under Professor Colburn,sand the study: ‘ of voice under Dr! Rdward Lymanin 1930, 1931 amd 1932* ;- \ % * ~mHis. home town nextdoor neigh bor, Jerry Arleri, often- collaborated with him on songsJ. :ONE DAY in 1933, he%dJerryreceived an offer'from Harold ArLen, Jerry Arlen’s brother, to work in New York.With a pocket Ml of tunes, (he had 700), and one flop to his credit, he started the rounds. To eat, he waited tables, but soon found that too many people saw him. Realizing the necessity fora “front,” he got a job operating-a freight elevator in the back of the Park Central Hotel. By cribbing food from room service, he was able to rent a room at the Wellington for $14 a week.While workingfor Remick Publishing, Inc., in 1938, he met Jimmy Dorsey. They got to-ther, and Jimmy wrote lyrics for some Dorsey music. The result was the first Van Heusen “hit, “It’s the Dreamer h\Me.”It was at this time that Jimmy was admitted to A.S.C.A.P. membership.He obtained a pilot’s license in 1939, and, by 1940, he was the proud owner of a monoplane — the first of many.In October, 1942, Jimmy abandoned his music career for flying. This time not for pleasure. He had spent the summer touring West Coast Army Camps with Bing Crosby in a 200 horsepowerStinson Reliant, and had gatheredenough flying time and ratings to qualify as a test pilot for Lock-head Aircraft Corporation!Thus, he took on one of the most dangerous civilian tasks available during the war; taking up brand new planes on their maiden trips.EVERY TUNE Jimmy touched turned to gold in 1944, even one he did as a favor to his friend, Frank Sinatra. He collaborated with Phil Silvers on “Nancy, With* the Laughing Face” for Frank’s daughter, and scored another success.Jimmy’s home base since 1940 has been a toss up between Palm Springs and Hollywood. He would always fly his own plane, and by now held a airline transport pilot’s rating, which is consideredwith ^The 86th, The 86th !NUMEROUS charitable organizations -iiaye- also been, recipro-cants of-Jimmy’s services. In 1951 jhe^rotea special numbe.r • • -for the Christopher film, “You _ ~ Can Change the World,” and thenappeared in the film.With all his extracurricularactivites, Jimmy never, neglect-ed his professional work. By 1952, after completion of the last road pix, “ Road to Bali,” he had written 18 out of 20 of Bing’ Crpoy’s musical since 1940. Alsb, he has as many-hit songs to his credit as his number of years (he was 39), as well as numerous ' other commercially successful movie tunes.In 1955, Jimmy tried another field, and scored a magnificent triumph. He got together with Sammy Cahn and wrote one of the most memorable television scores for -NBC that any netr work had ever seen,THE SHOW, “Our Town,” thefamous dramatic classic, was considered unsuitable for musical interpretation..Many thought it would be disasterous, but Jimmy and Sammy believed otherwise. They proved their point brilliantly oh September 19 on NBC’s Producer* s Showcase.The score of “Our Town* notonly enhanced the original script, but greatly broadened the scope of Its entertainment value.THE FIRST SHOW, starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, and Mitzi Gaynor, received the Sylvania Television Award for the outstanding variety program of the year, and the fourth and final show of the season in May of 1960 received the highest rating (67-^7 per cent share of the audience) of anytelevision spectacular that had been seen since Mary Martin in “Peter Pan” in the year 1955.Later the same year he purchased a Hughes 300, which he uses to commute between Los Angeles and his new mountain-top ranch in YucCa Valley, California.Jimmy will fly to Rio dp Janeiro, following his Cazenovia College award dinner, to participate as a guest of honor of the Brazilian government in the Second International Popular Song Festival.
Newspaper Details
Cazenovia Republican
Cazenovia, New York, US
Wed, Oct 11, 1967
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Sarah K.
NA, 29 Apr 2021
Other Publications Near Cazenovia, New York
Cazenovia Republican
