Edward Eliscu

Edward Eliscu
Born	April 2, 1902 New York City, New York
Died	June 18, 1998 (aged 96) Newtown, Connecticut
Occupation	Stage actor, songwriter

Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was a lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films.

Life

Eliscu was born in New York City.^[1] He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City (as a classmate of director George Cukor), and the City College of New York where he attained a Bachelor of Science degree. He then began acting in Broadway plays. Eliscu's first film score was with Vincent Youmans and Billy Rose for the film Great Day.

He married the dancer and journalist Stella Bloch in 1931 after she divorced Ananda Coomaraswamy.^[2] They both worked in the film industry until the House Committee on Un-American Activities named her husband in the 1950s. This ended his career in the film and later in the television industry.^[2] Eliscu together with his wife's cousin Mortimer Offner moved away from Hollywood and returned to New York.^[3]

Elscu was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. He died, aged 96, in Newtown, Connecticut.^[1]

Works

Selected film and theatre scores

• "Lady Fingers"
• "The Street Singer"
• "A Little Racketeer"
• "Frederica (musical)" (also librettist)
• "Meet the People" (also producer)
• "The Banker’s Daughter"
• "9:15 Revue"
• "The Garrick Gaieties (1930)"
• "The Little Show"
• "Flying Down to Rio"

Selected hits

• "Happy Because I’m in Love"
• "Ankle Up the Altar"
• "Music Makes Me"
• "Orchids in the Moonlight"
• "Meet the People"
• "A Fellow and A Girl"
• "You Forgot Your Gloves"
• "They Cut Down the Old Pine Tree"
• "More Than You Know"

Selected collaborators

• Vincent Youmans
• Billy Rose
• Jay Gorney
• Henry Myers (composer)
• John Green
• Gus Kahn
• Vernon Duke
• Manning Sherwin
• Richard Myers
• Ned Lehac
• Billy Hill

References

1. Songwriters Hall of Fame, Retrieved 19 October 2015
2. Stella Bloch papers, New York Public Library, Retrieved 19 October 2015
3. Larry Ceplair; Steven Englund (January 1983). The Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community, 1930-1960. University of California Press. pp. 399–400. ISBN 978-0-520-04886-7.

External links

• Edward Eliscu at the Internet Broadway Database
  
• Edward Eliscu at the Internet Movie Database