Van Heusen, Jimmy, 1913-1990

Van Heusen was born in Syracuse, NY on Jan. 26, 1913 as Edward Chester Babcock; adopted his professional name Van Heusen (taken from the name of the shirt company) at the age of 16 when he became a radio pianist, singer, and announcer; wrote college shows at Syracuse Univ. and studied singing with Howard Lyman; replaced Harold Arlen as composer at the Cotton Club in Harlem in 1933 and worked as a pianist and song plugger for Tin Pan Alley; met Jimmy Dorsey in 1938 while working for Remick Publishing, Inc. and wrote his first hit, It's the dreamer in me; teamed with lyricist Johnny Burke in 1939 and moved to Hollywood, CA, in 1940, and together they wrote songs for many of Bing Crosby's best known films; from 1955-69 Van Heusen collaborated with lyricist Sammy Cahn on songs for movies and television, many of them for Frank Sinatra; won Oscars for Swinging on a star, High hopes, and Call me irresponsible; won an Emmy for Love and marriage; died on Feb. 7, 1990 in Rancho Mirage, CA.

From the description of Collection of musical works and papers, 1920-1991. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 39623153

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