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{{short description|Polish-American composer and lyricist (1904–1959)}}

'''Mack Gordon''' (born '''Morris Gittler''', [[21 June]] [[1904]] - [[1 March]] [[1959]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[composer]] and [[lyricist]] of songs for [[musical theatre|the stage]] and [[musical film|film]]. He was nominated for the best original song [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nine times, including six consecutive years between 1940 and 1945, and won the award once, for "[[You'll Never Know]]". That song has proved amongst his most enduring and remains popular in films and television commercials to this day. "At Last" is perhaps his most famous song today.

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Mack Gordon

| background = non_performing_personnel

| image = Mack Gordon, 1935.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Gordon in 1935

| birth_name = Morris Gittler

| alias = Mack Gordon

| birth_date = {{birth date|1904|6|24|mf=y}}

| origin = [[Warsaw]], [[Poland]]

| death_date = {{death date and age|1959|2|28|1904|6|21}}

| death_place = [[New York City]]

| genre =

| occupation = [[lyricist]]

| instrument =

| years_active =

| label =

| associated_acts = [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Dean Martin]], [[Sammy Davis, Jr.]], [[The Rat Pack]], [[Etta James]], [[Nat King Cole]], [[Harry Warren]], [[Mel Tormé]], [[Rosemary Clooney]], [[Barbra Streisand]], [[Christina Aguilera]], [[Harry Revel]]

| website =

}}

[[File:At last sheet music mack gordon.jpg|thumb|1942 sheet music cover, "At Last", as recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra from the movie ''[[Orchestra Wives]]'', Leo Feist, New York.]]

Gordon was born in [[Warsaw]] and moved to [[New York City]] as a child. He appeared as [[vaudeville]] actor and singer in the late 20s and early 30s but his songwriting talents were always paramount. He formed a partnership with English [[pianist]] [[Harry Revel]] that lasted throughout the 1930s. In the 1940s he worked with a string of other composers including [[Harry Warren]].

'''Mack Gordon''' (born '''Morris Gittler'''; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959)<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mack Gordon, 54, Lyricist, Is Dead |work=The New York Times |page=86 |date=March 1, 1959|id={{ProQuest| }}}}</ref> was an American [[lyricist]] for [[musical theatre|the stage]] and [[musical film|film]]. He was nominated for the best original song [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years between 1940 and 1944, and won the award once, for "[[You'll Never Know]]".<ref name=Oscar/> That song, along with "[[The More I See You]]", has proved among his most enduring, and remains popular in films and television commercials to this day. "[[At Last]]" is another of his best-known songs.

==Biography==

The Internet Movie Database states that Gordon's songs have been used in the soundtrack of over 100 films, Gordon writing specifically for at least 50 of them. His catalogue includes more than 120 songs and thus is perhaps no surprise that his exhibit in the Songwriter's Hall of Fame say he is "arguably one of the most successful lyricists to write for the screen".

Of [[History of the Jews in Belarus|Jewish]] heritage, Gordon was born in [[Grodno]] (modern-day western [[Belarus]]), then part of the [[Russian Empire]]. He emigrated with his mother and older brother to New York City in May 1907;<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=1st|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1003}}</ref> the ship they sailed on was the S/S ''Bremen''; their destination was to his father in [[Guttenberg, New Jersey]]. Gordon appeared in [[vaudeville]] as an actor and singer in the late 1920s and early 1930s, but his songwriting talents were always paramount.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

He formed a partnership with English [[pianist]] [[Harry Revel]] that lasted throughout the 1930s.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> In the 1940s he worked with a string of other composers including [[Harry Warren]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Gordon was active in the Hollywood chapter of [[ASCAP]] and according to fellow songwriter [[Frank Loesser]], frequently the most passionate and voluble at their meetings.<ref>Loesser, Susan (1993).: ''A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life''. New York: Donald I. Fine. {{ISBN|0-634-00927-3}}, quoting from a contemporary letter of his to Lynn Loesser, August 1937, p. 34, n.12.

</ref>

The [[Internet Movie Database]] gives credit to Gordon for songs used in the soundtrack of over 100 films, with Gordon writing specifically for at least 50 of them. His catalogue includes more than 120 songs sung by some of the world's most famous and talented performers such as [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Nat King Cole]], [[Dean Martin]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], [[Etta James]], [[Glenn Miller]], [[Barbra Streisand]], [[Mel Tormé]], [[Christina Aguilera]] and many more.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> His close friendship with many of his artists (such as [[Frank Sinatra]] and the [[Rat Pack]]) and his ability to write lyrics that were timeless, allowed him to become one of the most famous members of the world of music and a legendary lyricist.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} His exhibit in the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]] says he was "arguably one of the most successful lyricists to write for the screen".

Gordon died in 1959. He is entombed in the Corridor of Immortality at [[Home of Peace Cemetery (East Los Angeles)|Home of Peace Cemetery]] in Los Angeles, California.

==Selected songs==

{{div col|colwidth=16em}} <!-- column width of 10em ; default width is 30em -->

*"A Lady Loves"

* "A Lady Loves"
* "A Star Fell Out of Heaven"

* "A Tree Was a Tree"

* "All About Love"

* "An Old Straw Hat"

* "An Orchid to You"

* "Ain'tcha"

*"[[At Last]]"

* "[[At Last]]"

*"Baby, Won’t You Say You Love Me"

* "Baby, Won't You Say You Love Me"

*"[[Chattanooga Choo-Choo]]"

* "[[Chattanooga Choo-Choo]]" <ref>– nominee for 1941 [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]]</ref><ref name=Oscar>{{cite web|title=Mack Gordon|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1373909583585|work=Academy Awards Database|publisher=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=July 16, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717082810/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1373909583585|archive-date=July 17, 2013}}</ref>

*"Cigaretts, Cigars"

* "Cigarettes, Cigars"

*"Danger, Love at Work"

* "Danger, Love at Work"

*"Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?"

* "[[Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?]]"

*"Doin' the Uptown Lowdown"

* "Doin' the Uptown Lowdown"

*"From the Top of Your Head to the Tip of Your Toes"

* "Down Argentine Way"<ref> – nominee for 1940 Academy Award for Best Original Song</ref>

*"Goodnight, My Love"

* "From the Top of Your Head to the Tip of Your Toes"

*"Help Yourself to Happiness"

* "[[Goodnight My Love (1936 song)|Goodnight My Love]]"

*"I Can't Begin to Tell You"

* "Help Yourself to Happiness"

*"I Feel Like a Feather in the Breeze"

* "[[I Can't Begin to Tell You]]"<ref> – nominee for 1946 Academy Award for Best Original Song</ref>

*"[[I Had the Craziest Dream]]"

* "I PlayedFeel Like a FiddleFeather forin the CzarBreeze"

* "[[I've Got a DateHad Withthe aCraziest Dream]]"

* "I've GotPlayed aFiddle Galfor inthe KalamazooCzar"

* "I Wish I Knew"

*"If You Feel Like Singing, Sing"

* "[[I, Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi (I Like You Very Much)]]"

*"In Old Chicago"

* "[[I'm Making Believe]]"<ref> – nominee for 1944 Academy Award for Best Original Song</ref>

*"[[It Happened In Sun Valley]]"

* "I've Got a Date With a Dream"

*"It Happens Every Spring"

* "[[(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo|I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo]]"<ref> – nominee for 1942 Academy Award for Best Original Song</ref>

*"It Was a Night in June"

* "If You Feel Like Singing, Sing"

*"It's Swell of You"

* "In Old Chicago"

*"Listen to the German Band"

* "[[It Happened In Sun Valley]]"

*"Lookie, Lookie, Lookie, Here Comes Cookie"

* "It Happens Every Spring"

*"Love Thy Neighbor"

* "It Was a Night in June"

*"[[Mam'selle]]"

* "It's Swell of You"

*"May I?"

*"My Heart"Listen isto anthe OpenGerman BookBand"

* {{anchor|Lookie, Lookie, Lookie, Here Comes Cookie}}"Lookie, Lookie, Lookie, Here Comes Cookie"

*"My Heart Tells Me"

* "Love Thy Neighbor"

*"On the Boardwalk at Atlantic City"

* "[[Mam'selle]]"

*"Once in a Blue Moon"

* "OnceMay Too OftenI?"

* "My Heart is an Open Book"

*"Paris in the Spring"

* "[[My Heart Tells Me]]"

*"Serenade in Blue"

* "[[Never in a Million Years (1937 song)|Never in a Million Years]]"

*"She Reminds Me of You"

* "On the Boardwalk at Atlantic City"

*"Somebody Soon"

* "SomewhereOnce in thea Blue NightMoon"

* "SunnyOnce SouthernToo SmileOften"

* "[[Paris in the Spring]]"

*"Takes Two to Make a Bargain"

* "[[Serenade in Blue]]"

*"Thanks for Everything"

* "TheShe MoreReminds IMe Seeof You"

* "Somebody Soon"

*"There Will Never Be Another You"

* "Through a LongSomewhere andin Sleeplessthe Night"

* "Stay As Sweet As You Are"

*"Time on My Hands"

* "Sunny Southern Smile"

*"Underneath the Harlem Moon"

* "Takes Two to Make a Bargain"

*"What Did I Do"

* "Thanks for Everything"

*"When I'm With You"

* "[[The More I See You]]"

*"Wilhelmina"

* "[[There Will Never Be Another You]]"

*"Without a Word of Warning"

* "There's a Lull in My Life"

*"[[With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming]]"

* "Through a Long and Sleepless Night" <ref>– nominee for 1949 Academy Award for Best Original Song</ref>

*"You Do"

* "You Make MeTime Feelon SoMy YoungHands"

* "You SayUnderneath the Sweetest ThingsHarlem BabyMoon"

* "What Did I Do?"

*"[[You'll Never Know]]"

* "When I'm With You"

* "Wilhelmina" <ref>– nominee for 1950 Academy Award for Best Original Song</ref>

* "Without a Word of Warning"

* "[[With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming]]"

* "You Do" <ref>– nominee for 1947 Academy Award for Best Original Song</ref>

* "[[You Make Me Feel So Young]]"

* "You Say the Sweetest Things Baby"

* "[[You'll Never Know]]" – winner for 1943 [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]], from ''[[Hello, Frisco, Hello]]''<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

{{div col end}}

==Original Worksworks for Broadway==

* ''Fast and Furious'' (1931) -– [[revue]] -– primary [[lyricist]]

* ''[[Smiling Faces]]'' (1932) -– [[Musical theater|musical]] -– [[lyricist]]

* ''Strike Me Pink'' (1933) -– [[revue]] -– contributing [[dialogue]]-writer

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* {{Discogs artist}}

*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330418/ Gordon's entry in the IMDb]

* {{IMDb name|0330418}}

*[http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_bio.asp?exhibitId=220 Gordon's entry in the Songwriter's Hall of Fame]

* [http://songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C220 Mack Gordon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225054457/http://songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C220 |date=2013-12-25 }} in the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]]

*[http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=12906 Mack Gordon] at the [[Internet Broadway Database]]

* {{IBDB name|12906}}

* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105071 Mack Gordon recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].

{{AcademyAwardBestOriginalSong 1941–1950}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category{{DEFAULTSORT:1904 births|Gordon, Mack]]}}

[[Category:19591904 deaths|Gordon, Mackbirths]]

[[Category:Best1959 Song Academy Award winning songwriters|Gordon, Mackdeaths]]

[[Category:Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters]]

[[Category:American songwriters|Gordon, Mack]]

[[Category:AmericanJewish composers|Gordon,American Macksongwriters]]

[[Category:Jewish American musicians|Gordon,vaudeville Mackperformers]]

[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States]]

[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]

[[Category:Jews from the Russian Empire]]

[[Category:Burials at Home of Peace Cemetery]]

[[Category:Glenn Miller Orchestra members]]

[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]