Roger Edens
Encyclopedia
Roger Edens was a Hollywood composer, arranger and associate producer, and is considered one of the major creative figures in Arthur Freed
's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
during the "golden era of Hollywood".
. His parents were of Scots-Irish
ancestry. He worked as a piano accompanist for ballroom dancers before going to work as a musical conductor on Broadway
. He went to Hollywood in 1932 along with his protege Ethel Merman
, writing and arranging her material for her films at Paramount
. In 1935, he joined MGM as a musical supervisor and occasional composer and arranger, notably of music for Judy Garland
. He also appeared on screen opposite Eleanor Powell
in a cameo in Broadway Melody of 1936
.
Arthur Freed, producer of musicals at MGM, was impressed by Edens and soon made him integral to his production team, which was rapidly growing and featured many of the greatest talents, recruited by Freed himself. Freed built a cabinet around himself, and in the early 1940s made Edens associate producer. The unit made dozens of popular and extremely successful musical films in the 1940s and into the 1950s, including Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944), Easter Parade (1948), On the Town
(1949), Show Boat
(1951), An American in Paris
(1951), Singin' in the Rain
(1952), and The Band Wagon
(1953).
Edens eventually separated from the MGM unit in the mid-fifties, when the musical film's days of glory were coming to an end. He had his own office, and worked on such projects as Funny Face
(1957) with Audrey Hepburn
, Fred Astaire
, and Kay Thompson
at Paramount.
Edens is considered to be an important creative musical figure from the end of the 1930s until the beginning of the 1960s. His career at MGM allowed him to work with the top musical performers including the young Judy Garland, of whom he was the original trainer and overseer, and a lifelong friend.
He wrote special material for Garland, including the famous Dear Mr Gable - You Made Me Love You (1937) and the music for the "Born in a Trunk" sequence in A Star Is Born
(1954). Edens was responsible for writing It's A Great Day for the Irish
to showcase Garland's powerhouse voice in 1940. This became one of Garland's biggest hits and an Irish-American anthem played by military and marching bands every St. Patrick's Day world over. He continued to compose, score, and arrange MGM musicals throughout the 1940s. He also produced a number of films after the mid-1950s and wrote special material for Garland's Palace Theatre debut in 1951 and for her London Palladium
concerts the same year.
, Gene Kelly
, Dorothy Dandridge
, Maureen O'Hara
, Ray Bolger
, Ann Sothern
, Danny Kaye
, Charles Walters
, Cole Porter
, Hugh Martin
and Ralph Blane
among others—each never telling the other while rehearsing what the other was planning to present.
", and he discovered William Warfield
after reading a rave review of his performance in a New York song recital. Edens also supervised cuts to the film after it was felt by the producer and director that the original cut was too slow.
Edens died of cancer in Los Angeles, California
on July 13, 1970.
(8 nominations, 3 Awards)
Arthur Freed
Arthur Freed was born Arthur Grossman in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a Jewish American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer.- Biography :Freed began his career as a song-plugger and pianist in Chicago...
's musical film production unit at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
during the "golden era of Hollywood".
Early career and work with Judy Garland
Edens was born in Hillsboro, TexasHillsboro, Texas
Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Hill County in Central Texas. The population was 8,232 at the 2000 census.Hillsboro, located on Interstate 35 where I-35E and I-35W meet south of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, is the primary center for trade and commerce in Hill County...
. His parents were of Scots-Irish
Scots-Irish American
Scotch-Irish Americans are an estimated 250,000 Presbyterian and other Protestant dissenters from the Irish province of Ulster who immigrated to North America primarily during the colonial era and their descendants. Some scholars also include the 150,000 Ulster Protestants who immigrated to...
ancestry. He worked as a piano accompanist for ballroom dancers before going to work as a musical conductor on 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...
. He went to Hollywood in 1932 along with his protege Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
, writing and arranging her material for her films at Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. In 1935, he joined MGM as a musical supervisor and occasional composer and arranger, notably of music for Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
. He also appeared on screen opposite Eleanor Powell
Eleanor Powell
Eleanor Torrey Powell was an American film actress and dancer of the 1930s and 1940s, known for her exuberant solo tap dancing.-Early life:...
in a cameo in Broadway Melody of 1936
Broadway Melody of 1936
Broadway Melody of 1936 is a musical released by MGM in 1935. It was a follow up of sorts to the successful The Broadway Melody, which had been released in 1929, although, beyond the title and some music, there is no story connection with the earlier film.The film was written by Harry W. Conn, Moss...
.
Arthur Freed, producer of musicals at MGM, was impressed by Edens and soon made him integral to his production team, which was rapidly growing and featured many of the greatest talents, recruited by Freed himself. Freed built a cabinet around himself, and in the early 1940s made Edens associate producer. The unit made dozens of popular and extremely successful musical films in the 1940s and into the 1950s, including Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
(1944), Easter Parade (1948), On the Town
On the Town (film)
On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage...
(1949), Show Boat
Show Boat (1951 film)
Show Boat is a 1951 Technicolor film based on the musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Edna Ferber....
(1951), An American in Paris
An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a symphonic tone poem by the American composer George Gershwin, written in 1928. Inspired by the time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it evokes the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is one of Gershwin's best-known compositions.Gershwin composed the piece...
(1951), Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
(1952), and The Band Wagon
The Band Wagon
The Band Wagon is a 1953 musical comedy film that many critics rank, along with Singin' in the Rain, as the finest of the MGM musicals, although it was only a modest box-office success. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway play will restart his career...
(1953).
Edens eventually separated from the MGM unit in the mid-fifties, when the musical film's days of glory were coming to an end. He had his own office, and worked on such projects as Funny Face
Funny Face
Funny Face is an American musical film released in 1957 in VistaVision Technicolor, with assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. The film was written by Leonard Gershe and directed by Stanley Donen. It stars Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Kay Thompson...
(1957) with Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
, 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 Kay Thompson
Kay Thompson
Kay Thompson was an American author, composer, musician, actress and singer. She is best known as the creator of the Eloise children's books.-Background:Catherine Louise Fink was born in St...
at Paramount.
Edens is considered to be an important creative musical figure from the end of the 1930s until the beginning of the 1960s. His career at MGM allowed him to work with the top musical performers including the young Judy Garland, of whom he was the original trainer and overseer, and a lifelong friend.
He wrote special material for Garland, including the famous Dear Mr Gable - You Made Me Love You (1937) and the music for the "Born in a Trunk" sequence in A Star Is Born
A Star Is Born (1954 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1954 American musical film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay written by Moss Hart was an adaptation of the original 1937 film, which was based on the original screenplay by Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, and Alan Campbell...
(1954). Edens was responsible for writing It's A Great Day for the Irish
It's A Great Day for the Irish
"It's a Great Day for the Irish" is an Irish-American song that was written in 1940 by Roger Edens, one of the many musical directors at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios under the leadership of Arthur Freed for inclusion in the film version of the George M. Cohan 1922 Broadway show Little Nellie...
to showcase Garland's powerhouse voice in 1940. This became one of Garland's biggest hits and an Irish-American anthem played by military and marching bands every St. Patrick's Day world over. He continued to compose, score, and arrange MGM musicals throughout the 1940s. He also produced a number of films after the mid-1950s and wrote special material for Garland's Palace Theatre debut in 1951 and for her London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
concerts the same year.
Birthday parties
Edens and Kay Thompson shared the same birthday (November 9). From 1942 through 1957 they gave joint birthday parties during which each presented a surprise production number using special material which featured their friends— Garland, Lena HorneLena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
, Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress...
, Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
, Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
, Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern was an American film and television actress whose career spanned six decades.-Early life and career:...
, Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, Charles Walters
Charles Walters
Charles Walters was a Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies in from the 1940s to the 1960s....
, Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St...
and Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane
Ralph Blane was an American composer, lyricist, and performer.-Life and career:Born Ralph Uriah Hunsecker in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Blane was the son of grocery store owners. He attended Tulsa Central High School...
among others—each never telling the other while rehearsing what the other was planning to present.
Show Boat
It was Edens, along with producer Arthur Freed, who was the real guiding force behind M-G-M's 1951 screen version of Show Boat. Edens headed the search for the right singer-actor to play Joe, the key supporting character who sings "Ol' Man RiverOl' Man River
"Ol' Man River" is a song in the 1927 musical Show Boat that expresses the African American hardship and struggles of the time with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River; it is sung from the point-of-view of a dock worker on a showboat, and is the most famous song from the show...
", and he discovered William Warfield
William Warfield
William Caesar Warfield , was an American concert bass-baritone singer and actor.-Early life and career:Warfield was born in West Helena, Arkansas and grew up in Rochester, New York, where his father was called to serve as pastor of Mt. Vernon Church. He gave his recital debut in New York's Town...
after reading a rave review of his performance in a New York song recital. Edens also supervised cuts to the film after it was felt by the producer and director that the original cut was too slow.
Personal life
Before moving to California, Edens had been married to Martha LaPrelle, but they spent much time apart and eventually divorced. By the time he knew Judy Garland, he was living as a gay man.Edens died of cancer in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on July 13, 1970.
Awards and honors
- Academy Award for Best Score (nominated) 1939: Babes in Arms (film)Babes in Arms (film)Babes in Arms is the 1939 film version of the 1937 Broadway musical of the same name. The film version stars Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, Grace Hayes and Betty Jaynes.-Production:...
(w. George Stoll) - Academy Award for Best Score (nominated) 1940: Strike up the BandStrike Up the Band (film)Strike Up the Band is a 1940 American black and white musical film. It is directed by Busby Berkeley and stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.A very famous, memorable quote from the film is "Take that boy on the street...
(w. George Stoll) - Academy Award for Best Song (nominated) 1940:Strike up the BandStrike Up the Band (film)Strike Up the Band is a 1940 American black and white musical film. It is directed by Busby Berkeley and stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.A very famous, memorable quote from the film is "Take that boy on the street...
"Our Love Affair" - Music & Lyrics - Academy Award for Best Score (nominated) 1942: For Me and My Gal (film)For Me and My Gal (film)For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American musical film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly – in his screen debut – and George Murphy, and featuring Martha Eggerth and Ben Blue. The film was written by Richard Sherman, Fred F...
(w. George Stoll) - Academy Award for Best Song (nominated) 1947: Good NewsGood News (films)Good News is the title of two American MGM musical films based on the 1927 stage production of the same name.The first, released in 1930, was directed by Nick Grinde. The cast included Bessie Love, Cliff Edwards and Penny Singleton. The film was shot in black-and-white, although the finale was in...
- "Pass That Peace Pipe" - Music & Lyrics (w. Ralph Blane & Hugh Martin) - Academy Award for Best Score (Won) 1948: Easter Parade (w. Johnny GreenJohnny GreenJohnny Green was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, and conductor. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earliest, "Body and Soul"...
) - Academy Award for Best Score (Won) 1949: On the TownOn the Town (film)On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage...
(w. Lennie HaytonLennie HaytonLeonard George "Lennie" Hayton was an American Jewish composer, conductor and arranger. His trademark was the wearing of a captain’s hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle....
) - Academy Award for Best Score (Won) 1950: Annie Get Your GunAnnie Get Your Gun (film)Annie Get Your Gun is a 1950 American musical comedy film loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The Metro Goldwyn Mayer release, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon based on the 1946 stage musical of the same name, was directed by George Sidney...
(w. Adolph DeutschAdolph DeutschAdolph Deutsch was a composer, conductor and arranger. He won Oscars for his background music for Oklahoma! , and for conducting the music for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Annie Get Your Gun...
)
(8 nominations, 3 Awards)