Herbert A. "Herb" Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular

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...

 lyricist

Lyricist

A 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:...

. His work was used in over 23 films and four 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...

 reviews. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song

Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

 in 1934.

Magidson was born and raised in Braddock, Pennsylvania

Braddock, Pennsylvania

Braddock is a borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 10 miles upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 2,159 at the 2010 census...

. He attended the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

 and then worked briefly for a music publisher in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Magidson then moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...

 in 1929 while under contract to Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 to write music for films. In 1934, he won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song

Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

 along with Con Conrad

Con Conrad

Con Conrad was an American songwriter and producer.-Biography:Con Conrad was born Conrad K. Dober in New York City. He published his first song, "Down in Dear Old New Orleans", in 1912. Conrad produced the Broadway show The Honeymoon Express, starring Al Jolson, in 1913...

 for his lyrics to "The Continental

The Continental (song)

"The Continental" is a song written by Con Conrad with lyrics by Herb Magidson, and was introduced by Ginger Rogers in the 1934 film, The Gay Divorcee. "The Continental" won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song to be awarded. Major record hits at the time of introduction included Jolly...

", used in The Gay Divorcee

The Gay Divorcee

The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American film based on the musical play Gay Divorce written by Dwight Taylor, Kenneth S. Webb, Samuel Hoffenstein, with screenplay by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost and Edward Kaufman, from an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners...

(1934) starring Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...

 and Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....

. Magidson also co-wrote the lyrics to "Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind (song)

"Gone with the Wind" is a popular song. The music was written by Allie Wrubel, the lyrics by Herb Magidson. The song was published in 1937. A version recorded by Horace Heidt was a #1 song in 1937.Diane E...

", although they were not used in the theme for the film.

Magidson received Oscar nominations for the songs, "Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There" from the film Hers to Hold (1943), and "I'll Buy That Dream" from the film Sing Your Way Home

Sing Your Way Home

Sing Your Way Home is a 1945 film directed by Anthony Mann. It stars Jack Haley and Marcy McGuire. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1946.-Cast:*Jack Haley as Steve Kimball*Marcy McGuire as Bridget Forrester*Glen Vernon as Jimmy McCue...

(1945). He first wrote lyrics for The Show of Shows

The Show of Shows (film)

The Show of Shows is a lavish all talking Vitaphone musical revue film which cost $850,000 to make. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros. fifth color movie, the first four were The Desert Song , On With the Show , Gold Diggers of Broadway and Paris . This movie featured most of the contemporary...

(1929), and many more films, including: No, No, Nanette

No, No, Nanette

No, No, Nanette is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play My Lady Friends...

(1930), Gift of Gab

Gift of Gab (film)

Gift of Gab is a 1934 black-and-white film released by Universal Pictures. Edmund Lowe stars as a man with the "Gift of Gab" — he can sell anyone anything. The film costars Ruth Etting, Ethel Waters, Victor Moore, and Gloria Stuart, and features Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi.Ruth Etting sings...

(1934), The Gay Divorcee

The Gay Divorcee

The Gay Divorcee is a 1934 American film based on the musical play Gay Divorce written by Dwight Taylor, Kenneth S. Webb, Samuel Hoffenstein, with screenplay by George Marion Jr., Dorothy Yost and Edward Kaufman, from an unproduced play by J. Hartley Manners...

(1934), Here's to Romance (1935), George White's 1935 Scandals

George White's 1935 Scandals

George White's 1935 Scandals is an American musical film, written by Jack Yellen and produced in 1935 by Fox Film Corporation . It was a follow-up to the 1934 release, George White's Scandals.-Plot:The film centers on real-life stage and screen producer George White as he gathers acts for his new...

(1935), King Solomon of Broadway (1935), Miss Pacific Fleet (1935), The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld is a 1936 musical film produced by MGM. A fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, it showcases a series of spectacular musical productions. The film includes original music by Walter Donaldson and Irving Berlin...

(1936), Hats Off

Hats Off (1936 film)

Hats Off is an American film directed by Boris Petroff, and originally released by Grand National Pictures. The film is now in the public domain.- Cast :*Mae Clarke as Jo Allen*John Payne as Jimmy Maxwell*Helen Lynd as Ginger Connolly...

(1936), I'd Give My Life (1936), Radio City Revels (1938), and Sing Your Way Home

Sing Your Way Home

Sing Your Way Home is a 1945 film directed by Anthony Mann. It stars Jack Haley and Marcy McGuire. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1946.-Cast:*Jack Haley as Steve Kimball*Marcy McGuire as Bridget Forrester*Glen Vernon as Jimmy McCue...

(1945). Magidson had his last hits in 1951, including the song "Happiness".

Magidson collaborated with many songwriters, including Con Conrad, Allie Wrubel

Allie Wrubel

Allie Wrubel was an American composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Wrubel attended Wesleyan University and Columbia University before working in dance bands. He began his musical career in Greenwich Village, New York where he roomed with his close friend James Cagney...

, Carl Sigman

Carl Sigman

Carl Sigman was an American songwriter.-Biography:Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his Bar exams to practice in the state of New York...

, Sam H. Stept

Sam H. Stept

Samuel Howard Stept was an American songwriter who wrote for Broadway, Hollywood and the big bands. He became known simply as Sam Stept or Sam H. Stept — he almost never used his full middle name.-Family:Born in Odessa, Russia, Stept came to the U.S. at the age of three and grew up in...

, and Sammy Fain

Sammy Fain

Sammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. 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...

. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Songwriters Hall of Fame

The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...

 in 1980.

He died at the UCLA Medical Hospital in Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...

 at the age of 79, survived by his wife, Elsie.

Published songs

• "Black-Eyed Susan Brown"
• "Conchita Lopez"
• "The Continental
  The Continental (song)
  "The Continental" is a song written by Con Conrad with lyrics by Herb Magidson, and was introduced by Ginger Rogers in the 1934 film, The Gay Divorcee. "The Continental" won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song to be awarded. Major record hits at the time of introduction included Jolly...
  
  " (1934)
• "Enjoy Yourself"
• "Gone with the Wind
  Gone with the Wind (song)
  "Gone with the Wind" is a popular song. The music was written by Allie Wrubel, the lyrics by Herb Magidson. The song was published in 1937. A version recorded by Horace Heidt was a #1 song in 1937.Diane E...
  
  " (1937)
• "Good Night Angel"
• "H'lo, Baby"
• "How Long Has This Been Going On?
  How Long Has This Been Going On?
  "How Long Has This Been Going On?" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin for the musical "Funny Face" in 1928.Replaced by "He Loves and She Loves" in Funny Face, it was eventually introduced in the musical Rosalie by Bobbe Arnst.-Notable recordings:*Audrey Hepburn in...
  
  " (1939)
• "Hummin' to Myself"
• "I Can't Love You Any More"
• "I'll Buy That Dream" (1945)
• "I'll Dance at Your Wedding" (1947)
• "I'm Stepping Out With a Memory Tonight"
• "Linger in My Arms a Little Longer, Baby"
• "The Masquerade Is Over"
• "Midnight in Paris
  Midnight in Paris
  Midnight in Paris is a 2011 romantic comedy-fantasy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The plot centers on a small group of Americans visiting the French capital for business and pleasure...
  
  "
• "Music, Maestro, Please" (1938)
• "My Impression of You"
• "A Pink Cocktail for a Blue Lady"
• "Roses in December"
• "Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There"
• "Something I Dreamed Last Night"
• "Singin' in the Bathtub
  Singin' in the Bathtub
  Singing in the Bathtub is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and Ned Washington for the film The Show of Shows. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's The Hollywood Revue of 1929, and "Singing in the Bathtub" spoofs Hollywood Revue's song...
  
  " (1929)
• "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" [not the nursery tune] (1936)
• "Violins from Nowhere"

External links