Editing Vernon Duke (section)

{{Short description|Russian-American composer and songwriter (1903–1969)}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2015}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Vernon Duke
| image               = Vernon Duke.jpg
| caption             = Duke in 1937
| image_size          = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| background          = non_performing_personnel
| birth_name          = Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dukelsky 
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1903|10|10|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Pskov Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]] 
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1969|01|16|1903|10|27|df=yes}}
| death_place         = [[Santa Monica, California]], United States
| genre               = [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] [[Musical theatre|musicals]], [[Classical music|Classical]]
| occupation          = [[Songwriter]], [[composer]]
| years_active        =
}}

'''Vernon Duke''' ({{OldStyleDate|10 October|1903|27 September}}{{spaced ndash}} 16 January 1969)<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=743}}</ref> was a Russian-born American [[composer]] and [[songwriter]] who also wrote under his birth name, '''Vladimir Dukelsky'''. He is best known for "[[Taking a Chance on Love]]," with lyrics by [[Ted Fetter]] and [[John La Touche (musician)|John Latouche]] (1940), "[[I Can't Get Started]]," with lyrics by [[Ira Gershwin]] (1936), "[[April in Paris (song)|April in Paris]]," with lyrics by [[Yip Harburg|E. Y. ("Yip") Harburg]] (1932), and "What Is There To Say," for the ''[[Ziegfeld Follies]]'' of 1934, also with Harburg. He wrote the words and music for "[[Autumn in New York (song)|Autumn in New York]]" (1934) for the revue ''[[Thumbs Up! (musical)|Thumbs Up!]]'' In his book, ''American Popular Song, The Great Innovators 1900-1950'', composer [[Alec Wilder]] praises this song, writing, “The verse may be the most ambitious I’ve ever seen."  Duke also collaborated with lyricists [[Johnny Mercer]], [[Ogden Nash]], and [[Sammy Cahn]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=3244&|title=Vernon Duke Snapshot|publisher=Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.|access-date=13 August 2008}}</ref>