Ted Fetter
Encyclopedia
Theodore "Ted" Fetter was a Broadway lyricist who contributed material to such revues as "The Show Is On" (1936) and "Billy Rose's Aquacade" (1939), but is best remembered for co-writing the song "Taking a Chance on Love
," introduced in the 1940 musical comedy Cabin in the Sky
.
Fetter started as an actor, appearing in the 1928 revival of Peter Pan
and in Cole Porter
's 1935 musical comedy, Jubilee
. Fetter was Porter's first cousin and later wrote additional lyrics for some of Porter's songs. Beginning in 1936, he wrote lyrics for a number of revues, melodramas and burlesques in collaboration with composers, Richard Lewine
, Hoagy Carmichael
and Vernon Duke
. In 1940, Duke was working on Cabin in the Sky
with lyricist John Latouche and needed a new number for star Ethel Waters
. He pulled out an old "trunk song" that he had written years earlier with Fetter called "Fooling Around With Love." With Fetter's permission, Latouche revised the lyric as "Taking a Chance on Love
" and the song was added to the show three days before the opening. According to Duke's autobiography, Passport to Paris, "If ever a song stopped the show, but cold, it was 'Taking a Chance on Love.'"
Fetter entered the television industry in the early 1950s as a television producer for Your Hit Parade
and later worked for Jack Paar
. He moved to ABC in 1956 where he worked as national director of programs until 1968, after which he became an independent producer. From 1974 to 1979 he served as the curator of the Theater and Music Collection at the Museum of the City of New York
.
Copies of the songs and shows Fetter wrote with Richard Lewine are available for research in the Billy Rose Collection of the New York Public Library
.
Taking a Chance on Love
"Taking a Chance on Love" is a popular song by Vernon Duke with lyrics by John Latouche and Ted Fetter, published in 1940 , which has become a standard recorded by many artists. It was introduced in the 1940 show Cabin in the Sky, a ground-breaking Broadway musical with an all black cast, where it...
," introduced in the 1940 musical comedy Cabin in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky is a 1943 American musical film with music by Vernon Duke, lyrics by John La Touche, and a musical book by Lynn Root. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 25, 1940. It closed on March 8, 1941 after a total of 156 performances...
.
Fetter started as an actor, appearing in the 1928 revival of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
and in 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...
's 1935 musical comedy, Jubilee
Jubilee (musical)
Jubilee is a musical comedy with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It premiered on Broadway in 1935 to rapturous reviews. Inspired by the recent silver jubilee of King George V of Great Britain, the story is of the royal family of a fictional European country...
. Fetter was Porter's first cousin and later wrote additional lyrics for some of Porter's songs. Beginning in 1936, he wrote lyrics for a number of revues, melodramas and burlesques in collaboration with composers, Richard Lewine
Richard Lewine
Richard Lewine was an American composer and songwriter on Broadway as well as television producer.-Career:Born in New York City, Lewine attended Columbia College before beginning his career as a composer and songwriter. In 1934, he wrote songs for the Broadway revue Fools Rush In. During World War...
, Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
and Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
. In 1940, Duke was working on Cabin in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky is a 1943 American musical film with music by Vernon Duke, lyrics by John La Touche, and a musical book by Lynn Root. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 25, 1940. It closed on March 8, 1941 after a total of 156 performances...
with lyricist John Latouche and needed a new number for star Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
. He pulled out an old "trunk song" that he had written years earlier with Fetter called "Fooling Around With Love." With Fetter's permission, Latouche revised the lyric as "Taking a Chance on Love
Taking a Chance on Love
"Taking a Chance on Love" is a popular song by Vernon Duke with lyrics by John Latouche and Ted Fetter, published in 1940 , which has become a standard recorded by many artists. It was introduced in the 1940 show Cabin in the Sky, a ground-breaking Broadway musical with an all black cast, where it...
" and the song was added to the show three days before the opening. According to Duke's autobiography, Passport to Paris, "If ever a song stopped the show, but cold, it was 'Taking a Chance on Love.'"
Fetter entered the television industry in the early 1950s as a television producer for Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
and later worked for Jack Paar
Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962...
. He moved to ABC in 1956 where he worked as national director of programs until 1968, after which he became an independent producer. From 1974 to 1979 he served as the curator of the Theater and Music Collection at the Museum of the City of New York
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is an art gallery and history museum founded in 1923 to present the history of New York City, USA and its people...
.
Copies of the songs and shows Fetter wrote with Richard Lewine are available for research in the Billy Rose Collection of the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
Selected list of works
- 1936 The Show is On (music by Vernon DukeVernon DukeVernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
and Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
) - 1937 Naughty Naught '00 (music by Richard LewineRichard LewineRichard Lewine was an American composer and songwriter on Broadway as well as television producer.-Career:Born in New York City, Lewine attended Columbia College before beginning his career as a composer and songwriter. In 1934, he wrote songs for the Broadway revue Fools Rush In. During World War...
) - 1937 The Fireman's Flame (music by Richard LewineRichard LewineRichard Lewine was an American composer and songwriter on Broadway as well as television producer.-Career:Born in New York City, Lewine attended Columbia College before beginning his career as a composer and songwriter. In 1934, he wrote songs for the Broadway revue Fools Rush In. During World War...
) - 1938 The Girl from Wyoming (music by Richard LewineRichard LewineRichard Lewine was an American composer and songwriter on Broadway as well as television producer.-Career:Born in New York City, Lewine attended Columbia College before beginning his career as a composer and songwriter. In 1934, he wrote songs for the Broadway revue Fools Rush In. During World War...
) - 1939 Billy Rose's Aquacade (music by Dana SuesseDana SuesseDana Suesse , full name Nadine Dana Suesse, was an American musician, composer and lyricist.-Biography:While still a child, Suesse toured the Midwest vaudeville circuits with an act centered on dancing and piano playing. During the recital, she would ask the audience for a theme, and then proceed...
) - 1939 "After Tonight" (music by Glenn MillerGlenn MillerAlton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
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