Bob Merrill
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- This article is about the American composer and lyricist. For the American baritone known as Bob Merrill, see Robert 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. His 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. He finally committed suicide by shooting himself in his car in Culver City, California.
[edit] 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
[edit] External links
- Bob Merrill at the Internet Broadway Database
- Bob Merrill at the Songwriters Hall of Fame
- A critique of Merrill's work by Mark Steyn
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