Edward Eliscu

Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was an American lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films.^[1]

Edward Eliscu
Born	(1902-04-02)April 2, 1902 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	June 18, 1998(1998-06-18) (aged 96) Newtown, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupations	Lyricist playwright producer stage actor

Life

Eliscu was born in Manhattan, New York City.^[2] He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in Manhattan as a classmate of director George Cukor. He then attended City College of New York and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. His older brother Millton D'Eliscu was a military officer, multi-sport coach, and athletic director.^[3]

He then began acting in Broadway plays. Eliscu's first film score was with Vincent Youmans and Billy Rose for the film Great Day. Two well-known songs from that show include "More Than You Know," and "Without a Song."

He married the dancer and journalist Stella Bloch in 1931. 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.^[4] Eliscu together with his wife's cousin Mortimer Offner moved away from Hollywood and returned to New York.^[5]

Eliscu was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.^[2]

He died on June 18, 1998, aged 96, in Newtown, Connecticut.^[1]

Eliscu is the grandfather of music journalist and broadcaster Jenny Eliscu.^{[6][non-primary source needed]}

Works

Selected film and theatre scores

• Lady Fingers
• The Street Singer
• A Little Racketeer
• Frederica (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 (1933)
• The Gay Senorita (1945)

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"
• "Without a Song"
• "More Than You Know"
• "I'll Still Belong To You (Eliscu and Brown song)"

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
• Nacio Herb Brown (songwriter)

References

1. "Edward Eliscu, 96, Songwriter and Playwright". The New York Times. June 22, 1998.
2. Songwriters Hall of Fame Archived October 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 19, 2015
3. Kiger, Patrick J. (September 8, 2020). "Killer Instinct: How One Man Taught U.S. Rangers to Fight Dirty in WWII". HistoryNet. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
4. Stella Bloch papers, New York Public Library. Retrieved October 19, 2015
5. 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.
6. https://twitter.com/jennylsq/status/1156252912177299459. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via Twitter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

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