Sammy Fain
Encyclopedia
Sammy Fain was an American composer
of popular music
.
. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest
filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm
sound-on-film
process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to music. Fain was a self-taught pianist who played by ear. He began working as a staff pianist and composer for music publisher Jack Mills.
Later, Fain worked extensively in collaboration with Irving Kahal
. Together they wrote classics such as "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella
". Another lyricist who collaborated with Fain was Lew Brown
, with whom he wrote "That Old Feeling
". His Broadway
credits also include Everybody's Welcome, Right This Way, Hellzapoppin', I'll Be Seeing You
, Flahooley
, Ankles Aweigh
, Christine and Something More.
Fain also composed music for more than 30 films in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. He was nominated for the best Original Song Oscar
nine times, winning twice, with "Secret Love" from Calamity Jane in 1954 and with "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
" from the movie of the same title
in 1955. He co-wrote both songs with Paul Francis Webster
, another long-time collaborator. Fain wrote the second theme to the TV series Wagon Train
in 1958, which was called "(Roll Along) Wagon Train". He also contributed to the song scores for the Walt Disney
animated films Alice in Wonderland
, Peter Pan
, and The Rescuers
.
In 1963, he collaborated with Harold Adamson in writing songs for the movie The Incredible Mr. Limpet
, which came out in 1964, and such songs as "I Wish I Were a Fish", "Be Careful How You Wish" and "Deep Rapture" enhanced his fame.
Fain died in Los Angeles, California
, and is interred at Cedar Park Cemetery
, in Emerson, New Jersey
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
.
Biography
Sammy Fain was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to music. Fain was a self-taught pianist who played by ear. He began working as a staff pianist and composer for music publisher Jack Mills.
Later, Fain worked extensively in collaboration with Irving Kahal
Irving Kahal
Irving Kahal was a popular lyricist active in the 1920's and '30's. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in 1926 when Kahal was working in vaudeville sketches written by Gus Edwards...
. Together they wrote classics such as "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella
Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella
"Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" is a popular song.The music was written by Sammy Fain, the lyrics by Irving Kahal and Francis Wheeler. The song was published in 1927...
". Another lyricist who collaborated with Fain was Lew Brown
Lew Brown
Lew Brown was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States.Brown was born as Louis Brownstein in Odessa, Russian Empire...
, with whom he wrote "That Old Feeling
That Old Feeling (song)
"That Old Feeling" is a popular song.The music was written by Sammy Fain, the lyrics by Lew Brown. The song was published in 1937.The song first appeared in the movie Vogues of 1938, actually released in 1937. It was immediately a hit in a version recorded by Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm...
". His Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credits also include Everybody's Welcome, Right This Way, Hellzapoppin', I'll Be Seeing You
I'll Be Seeing You (song)
"I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, the song was inserted into the Broadway musical Right This Way, which closed after fifteen performances. The song is a jazz standard, and has been covered by countless musicians.The...
, Flahooley
Flahooley
Flahooley is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Sammy Fain.The allegorical tale is set in fictional Capsulanti, USA, site of the headquarters for B.G. Bigelow, Incorporated, the largest toy corporation in the world...
, Ankles Aweigh
Ankles Aweigh
Ankles Aweigh is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Eddie Davis, lyrics by Dan Shapiro, and music by Sammy Fain.The plot centers on Hollywood starlet Wynne, who violates a clause in her contract by marrying Navy flyer Bill while filming a movie in Sicily...
, Christine and Something More.
Fain also composed music for more than 30 films in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. He was nominated for the best Original Song Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nine times, winning twice, with "Secret Love" from Calamity Jane in 1954 and with "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (song)
"Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" is a popular song with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The song was publicized first in the movie, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing , winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song...
" from the movie of the same title
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing is a 1955 American drama-romance film. Set in 1949-50 Hong Kong, it tells the story of a married, but separated, American reporter , who falls in love with a Eurasian doctor originally from China , only to encounter prejudice from her family and from Hong Kong...
in 1955. He co-wrote both songs with Paul Francis Webster
Paul Francis Webster
Paul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
, another long-time collaborator. Fain wrote the second theme to the TV series Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
in 1958, which was called "(Roll Along) Wagon Train". He also contributed to the song scores for the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
animated films Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
, Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1953 film)
Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the fourteenth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was originally released on February 5, 1953 by RKO Pictures...
, and The Rescuers
The Rescuers
The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
.
In 1963, he collaborated with Harold Adamson in writing songs for the movie The Incredible Mr. Limpet
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a 1964 American live-action/animated film from Warner Bros. It is about a man named Henry Limpet who turns into a talking fish resembling a tilefish and helps the U.S. Navy locate and destroy Nazi submarines. Don Knotts plays the title character. The live action was...
, which came out in 1964, and such songs as "I Wish I Were a Fish", "Be Careful How You Wish" and "Deep Rapture" enhanced his fame.
Fain died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and is interred at Cedar Park Cemetery
Cedar Park Cemetery, Emerson, New Jersey
Cedar Park Cemetery is a cemetery located in Emerson, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.- Noted interments :*Martin Balsam won an Academy Award in 1965 for best supporting actor in A Thousand Clowns...
, in Emerson, New Jersey
Emerson, New Jersey
Emerson is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,401....
.
Work on Broadway
- Everybody's Welcome (1931) - musical - composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
- Right This WayRight This WayRight This Way is a Broadway production that opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 5, 1938, and ran for fifteen performances. It was categorized as an original musical comedy and was set in Paris and Boston....
(1938) - musical - featured songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for "I'll Be Seeing You" - Hellzapoppin' (1938) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- co-composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and co-lyricistLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:... - George White's Scandals of 1939 (1939) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Boys and Girls Together (1940) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Sons o' Fun (1941) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- co-composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and co-lyricistLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:... - Toplitzky of Notre Dame (1946) - musical - composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
- Alive and Kicking (1950) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- co-composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - FlahooleyFlahooleyFlahooley is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Sammy Fain.The allegorical tale is set in fictional Capsulanti, USA, site of the headquarters for B.G. Bigelow, Incorporated, the largest toy corporation in the world...
(1951) - musical - composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Ankles AweighAnkles AweighAnkles Aweigh is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Eddie Davis, lyrics by Dan Shapiro, and music by Sammy Fain.The plot centers on Hollywood starlet Wynne, who violates a clause in her contract by marrying Navy flyer Bill while filming a movie in Sicily...
(1955) - musical - composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Catch a Star (1955) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- co-composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Ziegfeld FolliesZiegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
of 1957 (1957) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- featured songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for "An Element of Doubt" - Christine (1960) - musical - composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
- Something More!Something More!Something More! is a musical with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman. The book by Nate Monaster is based on the 1962 novel Portofino P.T.A. by Gerald Green...
(1964) - musical - composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media... - Rock 'N Roll! The First 5,000 Years (1982) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- featured songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" - Swing! (1999) - revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
- featured songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for "I'll Be Seeing You"