Editing Frank Loesser

{{Short description|American songwriter (1910–1969)}}
{{redirect|Loesser|other people|Loesser (surname)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Frank Loesser
| image            = Frank Loesser studio photo, 1936.jpg
| caption          = Frank Loesser in a 1936 Paramount studio headshot.
| background       = non_performing_personnel
| birth_name       = Frank Henry Loesser
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1910|6|29}}
| birth_place      = [[Manhattan]], New York City, New York, U.S.
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1969|7|28|1910|6|29}}
| death_place      = [[East Harlem]], New York, U.S.
| genre            = [[Musical theatre]]
| occupation       = [[Composer]], [[lyricist]], [[librettist]]
| years_active     = 1931–1968
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Lynn Garland|1936|1957|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Jo Sullivan]]|1959}}
}}
| website          = {{URL|frankloesser.com}}
}}

'''Frank Henry Loesser''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɛ|s|ər}} "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musicals ''[[Guys and Dolls (musical)|Guys and Dolls]]'' and ''[[How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical)|How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying]]'', among others. He won a [[Tony Award]] for ''Guys and Dolls'' and shared the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] for ''How to Succeed''. He also wrote songs for over 60 Hollywood films and [[Tin Pan Alley]], many of which have become standards, and was nominated for five [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Academy Awards for best song]], winning once for "[[Baby, It's Cold Outside]]".

== Early years ==
Frank Henry Loesser was born to a Jewish family<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bloom|first=Nate|title=All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!|publisher=[[Jewish World Review]]|date=December 22, 2014|url=http://jewishworldreview.com/1214/jewz_xmas.php3}}</ref> in New York City, the son of Henry Loesser, a [[pianist]],<ref name=pbs>[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/loesser_f.html Frank Loesser biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318163738/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/loesser_f.html |date=March 18, 2012 }}, pbs.org, accessed December 5, 2008</ref> and Julia Ehrlich.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life|last = Loesser|first = Susan|publisher = Donald I Fine, Inc.|year = 1993|isbn = 1-55611-364-1|location = New York|pages = 1}}</ref><ref name="Garraty 1988 385">{{harvnb|Garraty|1988|p=385}}</ref> He grew up in a house on West 107th Street in Manhattan.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Loesser|first=Susan|title=A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in his Life|publisher=ISBN|year=1993|location=United States|pages=4–7}}</ref>

His father had moved to America to avoid [[German Reich|German]] military service and work in his family's banking business. He married Bertha Ehrlich; their son, [[Arthur Loesser]], was born on August 26, 1894. Bertha's younger sister Julia arrived in America in 1898, marrying Henry in 1907 after Bertha died in childbirth. Grace, their first child, was born in December of that year. Their son Frank was born on June 29, 1910.<ref name=Lasser >{{Cite book|last=Lasser|first=Michael|title= "Francis Henry Loesser" American Song Lyricists, 1920-1960|publisher=Gale|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7876-6009-3}}</ref>

Loesser's parents, secular German Jews, prized high intellect and culture, and educated him musically in the vein of European composers.<ref name="Garraty 1988 385"/> But although Henry was a full-time piano teacher, he never taught his son. In a 1914 letter to Arthur, Henry wrote that the four-year-old Frank could play by ear "any tune he's heard and can spend an enormous amount of time at the piano."<ref>Loesser 1993, p. 8-10</ref> (Frank Loesser later collaborated with musical secretaries to ensure that his written scores reflected the music as he conceived it.)<ref>Loesser 1993, p. 154-156</ref>

Loesser disliked his father's refined taste in music and resisted by writing his own music and taking up the harmonica. He was expelled from [[Townsend Harris High School]], and from there went to City College of New York.<ref name="Lasser" /> He was expelled from the CCNY in 1925 after one year for failing every subject except English and gym.<ref name="Garraty 1988 385" />

After his father died suddenly on July 20, 1926, Loesser was forced to seek work to support his family.<ref name="Maiers 2009 1–3">{{harvnb|Maiers|2009|pp=1–3}}</ref> His jobs included restaurant reviewer, process server, classified ad salesman for the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'', political cartoonist for ''The Tuckahoe Record'', sketch writer for [[Keith-Albee-Orpheum|Keith Vaudeville Circuit]], knit-goods editor for ''[[Women's Wear Daily]]'', press representative for a small movie company, and city editor for a short-lived newspaper in New Rochelle, New York, titled ''New Rochelle News''.<ref name="Garraty 1988 385"/><ref name="Lasser"/>

== Early career as lyricist ==
Loesser's first song credit was "In Love with the Memory of You," with music by [[William Schuman]], published in 1931.<ref name="Maiers 2009 1–3"/> Other early lyrical credits included two hit songs of 1934, "Junk Man" and "I Wish I Were Twins", both with music by [[Joseph Meyer (songwriter)|Joe Meyer]] and the latter with co-lyric credit to [[Eddie DeLange]]. "Junk Man" was first recorded that year by [[Benny Goodman]] with singer [[Mildred Bailey]] on vocals.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Junk Man 1934|isbn=978-0300110517|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/297548294|oclc=297548294|last1=Riis|first1=Thomas Laurence|date=January 2008|publisher=Yale University Press }}</ref>

In the mid-1930s, he performed at The Back Drop, a night spot on east [[52nd Street (Manhattan)|52nd Street]], along with composer Irving Actman, while by day working on the staff of [[Leo Feist|Leo Feist Inc.]] writing lyrics to Joseph Brandfon's music at $100 per week. After a year, Feist had not published any of them. Loesser fared only slightly better collaborating with the future classical composer Schuman, selling their 1931 song to Feist that would flop. Loesser described his early days of learning the craft as having "a rendezvous with failure." While he dabbled in other trades, he inevitably returned to the music business.<ref name="Garraty 1988 385" /><ref>Loesser 1993, p. 13-15</ref>

Loesser's work at the Back Drop led to his first Broadway musical, ''The Illustrator's Show'', a 1936 revue written with Back Drop collaborator Irving Actman, which lasted only four nights. The year before while performing at the Back Drop, Loesser met an aspiring singer, Lynn Garland (born Mary Alice Blankenbaker). He proposed in a September 1936 letter that included funds for a railroad ticket to Los Angeles where Loesser's contract to [[Universal Pictures]] had just ended. The couple married in a judge's office.<ref>Loesser 1993, p. 24-25</ref> Loesser was offered a contract by [[Paramount Pictures]]. His first song credit there was "[[Manakoora|Moon of Manakoora]]", written with [[Alfred Newman (composer)|Alfred Newman]] for [[Dorothy Lamour]] in the film ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]''.<ref name="Garraty 1988 385" /> He wrote the lyrics for many popular songs during this period, including "[[Two Sleepy People]]" and "[[Heart and Soul (1938 song)|Heart and Soul]]" with [[Hoagy Carmichael]] and "[[I Hear Music]]" with [[Burton Lane]]. He also collaborated with composers [[Arthur Schwartz]] and [[Joseph J. Lilley]].

One of his notable efforts was "[[See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have]]", with music by [[Friedrich Hollaender]] and sung by [[Marlene Dietrich]] in ''[[Destry Rides Again]].'' In 1941, Loesser wrote "[[I Don't Want to Walk Without You]]" with [[Jule Styne]], included in the 1942 film ''[[Sweater Girl (film)|Sweater Girl]]'' and sung by [[Betty Jane Rhodes]].<ref name="Garraty 1988 385"/> [[Irving Berlin]] was a huge fan of the song and once played it repeatedly, telling Loesser why he believed it was the greatest song he wished he'd written.<ref name=independent>{{cite news|first=Tom|last=Vallance|title=Betty Jane Rhodes: Actress and singer who charmed the US as a wartime sweetheart |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/betty-jane-rhodes-actress-and-singer-who-charmed-the-us-as-a-wartime-sweetheart-6296408.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=January 30, 2012 |access-date=January 30, 2012}}</ref>

Members of the [[Western Writers of America]] chose the 1942 song "[[Jingle Jangle Jingle]]", for which Loesser wrote the lyrics, as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.<ref name="Top100">{{Cite web|title=The Top 100 Western Songs |author=Western Writers of America |year=2010 |author-link=Western Writers of America |publisher=American Cowboy |url=http://www.americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019002745/http://americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs |archive-date=October 19, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He stayed in Hollywood until World War II, when he joined the Army Air Force.<ref name=pbs/>

== World War II era ==
During [[World War II]], he enlisted in the [[United States Army Air Forces]] and continued to write lyrics for films and single songs.<ref name=pbs/> Loesser created the popular war song "[[Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition]]" (1942) inspired by words of navy chaplain Howell Forgy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191843730.001.0001/q-oro-ed5-00004516|title=Howell Forgy - Oxford Reference|website=www.oxfordreference.com|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780191843730.013.q-oro-ed5-00004516 |doi-broken-date=November 1, 2024|access-date=August 31, 2019}}</ref> Loesser wrote other songs at the request of the armed forces, including "What Do You Do in the Infantry?" and "[[The Ballad of Rodger Young]]" (1943).<ref name=pbs/> He also wrote "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" for the 1943 film ''[[Thank Your Lucky Stars (film)|Thank Your Lucky Stars]]''.<ref name="Garraty 1988 385"/>

In 1944, Loesser worked as the lyricist on the little-known musical ''Hi Yank!'', performed by and for U.S. soldiers abroad, with music by [[Alex North]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wertheim |first=Albert |title=Staging the War: American Drama and World War II |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2004 |pages=146 |language=English}}</ref> ''Hi Yank!'' was produced by the U.S. Army Office of Special Services as a "blueprint special" to boost the morale of soldiers located where USO shows could not visit. The "blueprint" was a book containing a musical script with instructions for staging the show using materials locally available to deployed soldiers. According to a document at the U.S. Army Centre for Military History, a touring company formed in Italy was slated to produce the musical.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/pdf/610_blueprint.pdf PBS History Detectives; "Blueprint Special", 2008, show transcript, PDF] pbs.org</ref> ''Hi Yank!'' was generally forgotten until 2008 when the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] ''[[History Detectives]]''  researched the case of a long-saved radio [[transcription disc]].<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigations/610_blueprintspecial.html PBS History Detectives; "Blueprint Special" Aired: Season 6, Episode 10; 2008] pbs.org</ref> The disc has two songs and a promotional announcement for the show's [[Fort Dix]] premiere in August 1944, when the disc was broadcast there.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigations/610_blueprintspecial.html Click on player at the bottom to listen to the recording of the Hi Yank soldier musical. (7m37s)] pbs.org</ref>

==Broadway and later film career==
[[File:Guys and Dolls, Libretto and Vocal book, published 1978.jpg|thumb|right|Guys and Dolls, Libretto and Vocal book, printed by Music Theatre International, 1978]]
In 1948, Broadway producers [[Cy Feuer]] and [[Ernest H. Martin]] asked Loesser to write music and lyrics to [[George Abbott]]'s book for an adaptation of the [[Brandon Thomas (playwright)|Brandon Thomas]] play ''[[Charley's Aunt]]''. The musical, ''[[Where's Charley?]]'' (1948), starred [[Ray Bolger]] and ran for 792 performances. A [[Where's Charley? (film)|film version]] released in 1952.

Also in 1948, Loesser sold to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] the rights to "[[Baby, It's Cold Outside]]", a song he wrote in 1944 and performed informally at parties with his then wife Lynn Garland. The studio included it in the 1949 movie ''[[Neptune's Daughter (1949 film)|Neptune's Daughter]]'', and the song became a huge hit. While Garland was mad at Loesser for selling what she considered "their song",<ref name="Loesser">{{cite book|last=Loesser|first=Susan|year=1993|title=A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life; A Portrait by His Daughter|pages=8–10|publisher=Hal Leonard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Ajnf0SdatsC |isbn=1-55611-364-1}}</ref> it won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]].

His next musical, ''[[Guys and Dolls (musical)|Guys and Dolls]]'' (1950), based on the stories of [[Damon Runyon]], was again produced by Feuer and Martin. ''Guys and Dolls'' became a hit and earned Loesser a [[Tony Awards|Tony Award]].<ref name=mti>[http://www.mtishows.com/biography.asp?writerid=3286 Loesser biography], mtishows.com, accessed August 4, 2009</ref> [[Bob Fosse]] called ''Guys and Dolls'' "the greatest American musical of all time".<ref name="Garraty 1988 385"/> A [[Guys and Dolls (film)|film version]] was released in 1955, starring [[Marlon Brando]], [[Jean Simmons]], [[Frank Sinatra]], and [[Vivian Blaine]].

In 1950, Loesser started Frank Music Corporation. Initially created as a means of controlling and publishing his work, the company eventually supported other writers, including [[Richard Adler]], [[Jerry Ross (composer)|Jerry Ross]], and [[Meredith Willson]].<ref name="Maiers 2009 1–3"/> Loesser also started the theatrical licensing company [[Music Theatre International]] in 1952. Frank Music and MTI were sold to [[Sony Music|CBS Music]] in 1976.<ref>{{Cite news| pages = 4| title = CBS Buys Show Tuner Frank Music| magazine = Billboard| date = September 11, 1976}}</ref> CBS in turn sold Frank Music to [[Paul McCartney]]'s [[MPL Communications]] holding company in 1979.<ref>{{Cite news| title = Inside Track| magazine = Billboard| date = February 17, 1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSUEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22frank%20music%22%20mpl&pg=PT125|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Also in 1952, Loesser wrote the score for the film ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]''. The movie's songs included  "[[Wonderful Copenhagen]]", "Anywhere I Wander", "[[Thumbelina (Frank Loesser song)|Thumbelina]]", and "[[Inchworm (song)|Inchworm]]".<ref name="Maiers 2009 1–3"/>

He wrote the book, music, and lyrics for his next two musicals, ''[[The Most Happy Fella]]'' (1956) and ''[[Greenwillow]]'' (1960). Around the beginning of 1957, Garland and Loesser divorced, and Loesser began a relationship with [[Jo Sullivan]], who had played the character of Rosabella in ''Fella''. He wrote the music and lyrics for ''[[How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical)|How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying]]'' (1961), which ran for 1,417 performances, won the 1962 [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]], and received another Tony and a [[Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album]].<ref name=grammy1961>{{cite web|title=Best Original Cast Album |url= https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/4th-annual-grammy-awards-1961#category-224|work=grammy.com|access-date=April 21, 2020| date= May 29, 1962}}</ref>

''[[Pleasures and Palaces]]'' (1965), the last Loesser musical produced during his lifetime, closed during out-of-town tryouts.

==Later life and death==
From 1965 until 1968, Loesser was composing the book, music and lyrics for ''[[Señor Discretion Himself]]'', a musical version of a [[Budd Schulberg]] short story. A version was presented in 1985 at the New York Musical Theatre Works. With the support of his widow Jo Loesser, a completed version was presented at the [[Arena Stage]], Washington, D.C., in 2004, reworked by the group [[Culture Clash (performance troupe)|Culture Clash]] and director [[Charles Randolph-Wright]].<ref>Riis, Thomas Laurence. ''Frank Loesser'' (2008), Yale University Press, {{ISBN|0-300-11051-0}}, p,219-223</ref>

When he was asked why he did not write more shows, Loesser responded that "I don't write slowly. It's just that I throw out fast." ''[[The New York Times]]'' confirmed his hard working habits and wrote that Loesser "was consumed by nervous energy and as a result slept only four hours a night, spending the rest of the time working."<ref name="Garraty 1988 385"/>

Loesser, a heavy cigarette smoker, died on July 28, 1969, of lung cancer at age 59 at [[Mount Sinai Hospital (Manhattan)|the Mount Sinai Hospital]] in Manhattan's [[East Harlem]] neighborhood.<ref>Krebs, Alvin, "Frank Loesser, Composer, Dead," ''The New York Times'', July 29, 1969, p. 1</ref>

==Personal life==
Lynn Garland and Frank Loesser divorced around the beginning of 1957 after 21 years of marriage.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=115467&apid=53682 Frank Loesser biography]{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} tcm.com, accessed December 5, 2008</ref> They had two children together: John Loesser, who works in theatre administration,<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.veronews.com/32963_features/arts/how-to-succeed-playright-s-son-now-lives-in-castaway/article_1fc1408e-c5af-11e3-99c8-0017a43b2370.html|archive-url = https://archive.today/20141207143439/http://www.veronews.com/32963_features/arts/how-to-succeed-playright-s-son-now-lives-in-castaway/article_1fc1408e-c5af-11e3-99c8-0017a43b2370.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = December 7, 2014|title = 'How to Succeed' playright's [sic] son now lives in Castaway Cove|last = Genz|first = Michelle|date = April 17, 2014|work = VeroNews.com}}</ref> and Susan Loesser, an author who wrote her father's biography ''A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life: A Portrait by His Daughter'' (1993, 2000, {{ISBN|0634009273}}).

He married his second wife [[Jo Sullivan Loesser|Jo Sullivan]] (born Elizabeth Josephine Sullivan) on April 29, 1959<ref>NPR Weekend Saturday Edition interview by Scott Simon with Jo Loesser on May 1, 2010</ref> after being introduced to her by Lynn. Jo Sullivan had played a lead in ''The Most Happy Fella''.<ref name=pbs/> They had two children, Hannah and Emily. Emily is a performer who is married to actor [[Don Stephenson]].<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CEED8113FF936A35756C0A967958260 "Emily Loesser, Actress, Marries"], ''The New York Times'', May 5, 1991</ref> Hannah was an artist in oils, pastels and mixed media; she died of cancer on January 25, 2007.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.playbill.com/news/article/105199-Hannah-Loesser-Daughter-of-Frank-Loesser-Is-Dead-at-44|archive-url = https://archive.today/20140702104728/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/105199-Hannah-Loesser-Daughter-of-Frank-Loesser-Is-Dead-at-44|url-status = dead|archive-date = July 2, 2014|title = Hannah Loesser, Daughter of Frank Loesser, Is Dead at 44|last = Simonson|first = Robert|author-link1=Robert Simonson|date = January 26, 2007|work = Playbill}}</ref> Jo died on April 28, 2019, at age 91.<ref>Evans, Greg. [https://deadline.com/2019/04/jo-sullivan-loesser-dead-broadway-frank-loesser-actress-most-happy-fella-guys-and-dolls-obituary-1202603717/ "Jo Sullivan Loesser Obituary"] deadline.com, April 29, 2019</ref>

==Notable songs==
'''{{category see also|Musicals by Frank Loesser}}'''
{{listen |filename=The Ballad of Rodger Young (West Point Cadet Glee Club 1959).ogg |title=The Ballad of Rodger Young |description=Performed by the West Point Cadet Glee Club, 1959.}}

Loesser was the lyricist of over 700 songs.<ref>[http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=0300110510 Review of book "Frank Loesser", Thomas L. Riis, Dec 17, 2007], yalepress.yale.edu, accessed December 5, 2008</ref>

;War songs:
* "[[Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition]]" (1942)
* "[[The Ballad of Rodger Young]]" (1943)
* "What Do You Do in the Infantry" (1943)

;Broadway musicals:
* "[[A Bushel and a Peck]]", "[[Fugue for Tinhorns]]", "[[If I Were A Bell]]" (a favorite of [[Miles Davis]], featured in recordings with [[John Coltrane]]), "[[Luck Be a Lady Tonight]]", "[[Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat]]" and "I'll Know" from ''[[Guys and Dolls (musical)|Guys and Dolls]]''
* "[[Standing on the Corner (show tune)|Standing on the Corner]]" and "Joey, Joey, Joey" from ''[[The Most Happy Fella]]''
* "[[Never Will I Marry]]" from ''[[Greenwillow]]''

;Films and [[Tin Pan Alley]]:
* "[[Baby, It's Cold Outside]]" from the M-G-M picture ''[[Neptune's Daughter (1949 film)|Neptune's Daughter]]'' (1949). This was originally a song which Loesser and his wife Lynn performed at parties for the private entertainment of friends. They also recorded the song for [[Mercury Records]]. Under contract to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] to supply a full score for ''Neptune's Daughter'', Loesser included this song which he had created in 1944, originally for their housewarming party.
* "[[Heart and Soul (1938 song)|Heart and Soul]]" (from the Paramount short subject ''A Song is Born'') – lyrics
* "[[I Don't Want to Walk Without You]]" from the Paramount picture ''[[Sweater Girl (film)|Sweater Girl]]'' (1942), performed on screen by [[Betty Jane Rhodes]]
* "[[Let's Get Lost (song)|Let's Get Lost]]" from ''[[Happy Go Lucky (1943 film)|Happy Go Lucky]]'' (1943) This song inspired the title to the 1988 documentary film [[Let's Get Lost (1988 film)|with the same title]] about jazz trumpeter and singer [[Chet Baker]], who recorded it several times.
* "[[On a Slow Boat to China]]" (1948)
* "[[Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year]]" from the Universal picture ''[[Christmas Holiday]]'' (1944)
* "[[Inchworm (song)|Inch Worm]]", "[[Thumbelina (Frank Loesser song)|Thumbelina]]", "The Ugly Duckling" and "[[Wonderful Copenhagen]]" from the Samuel Goldwyn picture ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]'' (1952)
* "[[Two Sleepy People]]" (music by [[Hoagy Carmichael]]) from the Paramount picture ''[[Thanks for the Memory (film)|Thanks for the Memory]]'' (1938)
* "[[What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?]]" (written in 1947)

==Awards and legacy==
Loesser received the 1951 [[Tony Award|Tony Award for Best Musical]] for his ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'' music and lyrics. He was nominated for the Tony Award for book, music and lyrics for ''[[The Most Happy Fella]]'' and as Best Composer for ''[[How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical)|How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Loesser Tony Awards Info |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/tonyawardspersoninfo.php?nomname=Frank%20Loesser |access-date=August 6, 2022 |website=www.broadwayworld.com}}</ref> Loesser was awarded a [[Grammy Award]] in 1962<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/frank-loesser/11848 |title=Frank Loesser - Wins* 1 Nominations* 1 |access-date=August 6, 2022 |website=www.grammy.com}}</ref> for [[Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album|Best Original Cast Show Album]] for ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying''.

Loesser is regarded as one of the more talented writers of his era, noted for writing witty lyrics and clever musical devices. He also introduced a complex artistic style that challenged shaped the compositional approach of Broadway musicals. He was also noted for using classical forms, such as [[imitative counterpoint]] ([[Fugue for Tinhorns]] in ''Guys and Dolls'').<ref name="Maiers 2009 1–3"/>

Loesser won the 1950 [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]] for "[[Baby, It's Cold Outside]]." He was nominated four more times:
: "Dolores" from ''[[Las Vegas Nights]]'' (1941)
: "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" from ''[[Thank Your Lucky Stars (film)|Thank Your Lucky Stars]]'' (1943)
: "[[I Wish I Didn't Love You So]]" from ''[[The Perils of Pauline (1947 film)|The Perils of Pauline]]'' (1947) (a hit that year for both [[Vaughn Monroe]] and the film's star [[Betty Hutton]])
: "[[Thumbelina (Frank Loesser song)|Thumbelina]]" from the movie musical ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]'' (1953)

The PBS documentary ''[[Heart & Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser]]'' was released in 2006.<ref>[http://www.loessermovie.com/ "Heart & Soul, The Life and Music of Frank Loesser"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130110040705/http://loessermovie.com/ |date=January 10, 2013 }} www.loessermovie.com, accessed January 11, 2013</ref>

[[42nd Street Moon]] artistic director Greg MacKellan developed ''Once in Love with Loesser'' in 2013 as one of his musical tributes dedicated to exploring and celebrating the work of some of Broadway's great songwriters. The performance was built around the three stages of Loesser's career: Tin Pan Alley, Hollywood, and Broadway. [[Jason Graae]] performed "Once in Love with Amy" and ''The King's New Clothes;'' [[Emily Skinner (actress, born 1970)|Emily Skinner]] sang Cleo's "Ooh! My Feet", and Rosabella's "[[Somebody Somewhere (1956 song)|Somebody, Somewhere]]" (from ''[[The Most Happy Fella]]''); Ashley Jarrett performed "[[If I Were a Bell]]"; and Ian Leonard provided a tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Sing a Tropical Song".<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/some-like-it-shot_b_3498021|title = Some Like It Shot|date = June 26, 2013|access-date = September 30, 2016|first = George|last = Heymont|newspaper = [[Huffington Post]]}}</ref>

{{anchor |The evil of two Loessers}}Loesser, contrasted to his brother [[Arthur Loesser|Arthur]] (1894-1969) in a humorous wordplay on the principle of "[[Lesser of two evils principle|the lesser of two evils]]", was reportedly once referred to as "[[The evil of two lessers|the evil of two Loessers]]".  The two half-brothers died less than seven months apart in 1969.<ref name="DillonMalone2007">{{cite journal | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/20633039| title = Obiter dicta| date =Summer 2007 |access-date=September 12, 2020 | journal = Books Ireland | publisher= Wordwell Ltd.| issue = 295 | pages = 141–143 | last = Dillon-Malone | first = Aubrey | jstor = 20633039|quote=My favourite, though, has to be Michael McDowell's comment on Gay Mitchell: 'He is the evil of two lessers' even if this witticism is culled from a comment once made even more piquantly about Frank Loesser and his brother.}} Note: [[Michael McDowell (politician)|Michael McDowell]] was comparing [[Gay Mitchell]] to his brother [[Jim Mitchell (politician)|Jim]].</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last=Garraty |first=John A. |year=1988 |title=Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement Eight: 1966-1970}}
*{{cite book |last=Maiers |first=Claire D. |year=2009 |title=Musicians and Composers of the Twentieth Century}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{IMSLP|Loesser, Frank}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070529042757/http://www.frankloesser.net/ frankloesser.net]}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|4230}}
*[http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?display=day&todayDate=12/29/2003 Interview with daughter Susan Loesser]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612195959/http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C230 Frank Loesser entry] at the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]]
*[http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/FrankLoesserCentennial.htm A Centennial Tribute to Frank Loesser] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322014742/http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/FrankLoesserCentennial.htm |date=March 22, 2012 }}
*[https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/27/resources/4719 Harold Fielding, Ltd. contracts and correspondence for productions of Frank Loesser's Hans Andersen, 1974-1978] at [https://library.harvard.edu/collections/isham-memorial-library Isham Memorial Library, Harvard University]
* {{Discogs artist}}

{{Frank Loesser}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Frank Loesser
| list =
{{AcademyAwardBestOriginalSong 1941–1950}}
{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 1951-1975}}
}}
{{Guys and Dolls}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loesser, Frank}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American composers]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:American musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:American male musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:American musical theatre librettists]]
[[Category:American musical theatre lyricists]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters]]
[[Category:Broadway composers and lyricists]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Jewish American military personnel]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners]]
[[Category:Songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:Townsend Harris High School alumni]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II]]