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'''Jay Gorney''' (1894 - [[June 14]], 1990) was an [[United States|American]] theater and film song writer. He was born Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky in [[Bialystock]], [[Russia]] (now part of [[Poland]]) on [[December 12]], [[1894]]. In [[1906]], he witnessed the Bialystock [[pogrom]] which forced his family into hiding for nearly two weeks, after which they fled to the United States. His family settled in [[Detroit, Michigan]] where his father became an engineer at the newly formed [[Ford Motor Company]]. His mother bought a piano for her children. After two years of lessons, at age 13, Gorney was offered a job as a pianist at a local [[Nickelodeon movie theater|nickelodeon]].
He worked his way through the [[University of Michigan]] and later law school, as a pianist. His studies were interrupted by [[World War I]], during which he enlisted in the [[US Navy|Navy]]. After graduating, he practice law only briefly, but turned instead to his love of music, relocating with his wife to [[New York City]], where he began his song writing career on [[Tin Pan Alley]]. He contributed numerous songs to musicals by the [[Shubert brothers]]. Later, [[Ira Gershwin]] introduced him to lyricist [[Yip Harburg]], who became a frequent collaborator. The pair's most famous song, "[[Brother Can You Spare A Dime]]" first appeared in the 1932 Shubert production of ''[[New Americana]].''
Gorney's daughter [[Karen Lynn Gorney]] is an actress and dancer, was part of the original cast of [[All My Children]] and played opposite [[John Travolta]] in [[Saturday Night Fever]].
Gorney's 2005 biography, ''Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? The Life of Composer Jay Gorney'', was written by his wife Sondra.
==External links==
* {{imdb|0331185|Jay Gorney}}
* [http://www.sondragorney.com/ SondraGorney.com] - Website of Jay Gorney's widow, Sondra, featuring information on her late husband
* [http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/music/musgorne Jay Gorney's of scores] are housed in the [http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/mus/mus.html Music Division] of [http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html The New York Public Library for the Peforming Arts]
* [http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/rose/thegorne/ Jay Gorney's papers] are housed in the [http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/the/the.html Billy Rose Theatre Collection] of [http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html The New York Public Library for the Peforming Arts]
[[Category:1894 births|Gorney, Jay]]
[[Category:1990 deaths|Gorney, Jay]]
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