Edward Eliscu

Edward Eliscu
Born(1902-04-02)April 2, 1902
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
DiedJune 18, 1998(1998-06-18) (aged 96)
Newtown, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupations
  • Lyricist
  • playwright
  • producer
  • stage actor

Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was an American lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films.[1]

Life

Eliscu was born in Manhattan, New York City.[2] He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in Manhattan as a classmate of director George Cukor. He then attended City College of New York and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. His older brother Millton D'Eliscu was a military officer, multi-sport coach, and athletic director.[3]

He then began acting in Broadway plays. Eliscu's first film score was with Vincent Youmans and Billy Rose for the film Great Day. Two well-known songs from that show include "More Than You Know," and "Without a Song."

He married the dancer and journalist Stella Bloch in 1931. They both worked in the film industry until the House Committee on Un-American Activities named her husband in the 1950s. This ended his career in the film and later in the television industry.[4] Eliscu together with his wife's cousin Mortimer Offner moved away from Hollywood and returned to New York.[5]

Eliscu was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.[2]

He died on June 18, 1998, aged 96, in Newtown, Connecticut.[1]

Eliscu is the grandfather of music journalist and broadcaster Jenny Eliscu.[6][non-primary source needed]

Works

Selected film and theatre scores

Selected hits

  • "Happy Because I'm in Love"
  • "Ankle Up the Altar"
  • "Music Makes Me"
  • "Orchids in the Moonlight"
  • "Meet the People"
  • "A Fellow and a Girl"
  • "You Forgot Your Gloves"
  • "Without a Song"
  • "More Than You Know"
  • "I'll Still Belong To You (Eliscu and Brown song)"

Selected collaborators

References

  1. ^ a b "Edward Eliscu, 96, Songwriter and Playwright". The New York Times. June 22, 1998.
  2. ^ a b Songwriters Hall of Fame Archived October 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 19, 2015
  3. ^ Kiger, Patrick J. (September 8, 2020). "Killer Instinct: How One Man Taught U.S. Rangers to Fight Dirty in WWII". HistoryNet. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Stella Bloch papers, New York Public Library. Retrieved October 19, 2015
  5. ^ Larry Ceplair; Steven Englund (January 1983). The Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community, 1930–1960. University of California Press. pp. 399–400. ISBN 978-0-520-04886-7.
  6. ^ https://twitter.com/jennylsq/status/1156252912177299459. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via Twitter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)