Arthur Siegel

For the photographer, see Arthur Siegel (photographer).

Arthur Siegel (December 31, 1923 - September 13, 1994) was an American songwriter.

Born on December 31, 1923, in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, he grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Siegel studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied music at the Juilliard School.^[1]

Hits he composed included "Monotonous" (written in collaboration with June Carroll, famously performed by Eartha Kitt), "Penny Candy", "Love is a Simple Thing" and "I Want You to Be the First One to Know".^[2] His work was featured prominently in the Leonard Sillman-produced revues New Faces of 1952, New Faces of 1956 and New Faces of 1962.

In 1962, Siegel collaborated with Kaye Ballard on an LP, Peanuts, on which he played Charlie Brown and she played Lucy Van Pelt from the album's comic strip namesake by Charles M. Schulz, dramatizing a series of vignettes drawn from the strip's archive.^[3][4]

Siegel released several recordings of himself performing his own music, including 1992's Arthur Siegel Sings Arthur Siegel and 1995's Live at the Ballroom.^[5]

Siegel died at the age of 70 on September 13, 1994, at his home in Manhattan due to heart failure.^[1]

References

1. Staff. "Arthur Siegel, Song Composer And Pianist, 70", The New York Times, September 17, 1994. Accessed February 10, 2011. "Mr. Siegel, whose career in show business spanned nearly five decades, was born in Lakewood, N.J., on Dec. 31, 1923, and grew up in Asbury Park, N.J. He came to New York City in the 1930s and studied at the Juilliard School and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he met the entertainer Eddie Cantor's daughter and got his first big break as Cantor's accompanist."
2. The Arthur Siegel Web Site Archived July 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
3. Kaye Ballard & Arthur Siegel - Introducing Charlie Brown & Lucy (from "Peanuts"), YouTube
4. Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Peanuts (1962 album), YouTube
5. allmusic ((( Arthur Siegel > Discography > Main Albums )))

External links

• The Arthur Siegel Website
• Arthur Siegel papers, 1938-1994 Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
• Arthur Siegel on Allmusic
• Arthur Siegel at the Internet Broadway Database
• Article in the New York Times: "Arthur Siegel's Surprising Songs"