About

History:

Frank Henry Loesser, who lived here in 1940, was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and music to the Broadway hits “Guys and Dolls” and “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying,” among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the latter. He also wrote numerous songs for films and Tin Pan Alley, many of which have become standards, and was nominated for five Academy Awards for best song, winning once, for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”.

Loesser was born in New York City to Henry Loesser, a pianist and Julia Ehrlich. His parents both prized high intellect and culture and thus Loesser was taught musically in the vein of European composers. His father wrote when Loesser was four, that Frank could play by ear “any tune he’s heard and can spend an enormous amount of time at the piano.” Loesser did not like his father’s posh taste of music and resisted when he wrote his own music and took up the harmonica. He was expelled from Townsend Harris High School, and from there went to City College of New York, even though he had no high school diploma. He was expelled from the CCNY in 1925 after one year for failing every subject except English and gym.

After his father died suddenly in 1926, Loesser went into the workforce to earn money for his family. After trying various jobs, he decided that he wanted to write in Tin Pan Alley and signed several contracts with music publishers before his contracts were eventually terminated. His first song credit is listed as “In Love with the Memory of You,” published in 1931. Loesser’s early lyrics included two hit songs of 1934, “Junk Man” and “I Wish I Were Twins.” Eventually, he was able to secure his first Broadway musical, “The Illustrator’s Show,” a 1936 revue that lasted only four nights. Loesser was subsequently offered a contract by Paramount Pictures.

His first song credit with Paramount was “Moon of Manakoora” written for Dorothy Lamour in the film “The Hurricane.” He wrote the lyrics for many songs during this period, including “Two Sleepy People,” “Heart and Soul” and “I Hear Music.” One of his notable songs from this tenure was from the film “Destry Rides Again” (1939) sung by Marlene Dietrich. He stayed in Hollywood until World War II, when he joined the Army Air Force.

During World War II while in the Army Air Force he continued to write lyrics for films and single songs. Loesser wrote the popular war song “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” (1942) inspired by words spoken by Navy chaplain William Maguire. Members of the Western Writers of America chose his 1942 composition “Jingle Jangle Jingle” as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. In 1948, Broadway producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin asked Loesser to write both music and lyrics to George Abbott’s book for an adaptation of the Brandon Thomas play Charley’s Aunt. That musical, “Where’s Charley?” (1948), starred Ray Bolger, and ran for a successful 792 performances, with a film version being released in 1952.

In 1948, he sold the rights to a song he wrote in 1944 and performed informally at par- ties with his then wife Lynn Garland to MGM. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” became a huge hit. He ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song. His next musical, “Guys and Dolls” (1950), based on the stories of Damon Runyon, was again a hit and earned Loesser two Tony Awards. Bob Fosse called “Guys and Dolls,” the “greatest American musical of all time.” A film version was released in 1955, and starred Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, and Vivian Blaine.

In 1952, Loesser wrote the music and lyrics for the film Hans Christian Andersen. The movie had notable songs such as “Wonderful Copenhagen,” “Anywhere I Wander,” “Thumbelina” and “Inchworm”.

Loesser wrote the book, music and lyrics for his next two musicals, “The Most Happy Fella” (1956) and “Greenwillow” (1960). He wrote the music and lyrics for “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (1961), which ran for 1,417 performances and won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and for which he received two more Tonys. (Source: Wikipedia, 2016)

T.J. Scott, architect.

1930 census:
5432 Red Oak Drive (Value: $40,000): 1) Maurice B. Korman, owner and head of household; 52 year old white married male; married at age 24; born in Russia; parents born in Russia; speaks Russian; to US in 1885, a naturalized citizen; a building contractor. 2) Dora Korman, wife; 48 year old white married female; married at age 20; born in Germany; parents born in Germany; speaks German; to US in 1882, a naturalized citizen; not working.

1930 census:
5432 Red Oak Drive: 2nd Entry (Value: $15,000): 1) Theodore H. Blair, owner and head of household; 42 year old white married male; married at age 28; born in Pennsylvania; parents born in Pennsylvania; an asbestos contractor. 2) Laura C. Blair, wife; 41 year old white married female; married at age 27; born in New York; parents born in Northern Ireland; not working.

1940 Census:
5432 Red Oak Drive (Rents for $110): 1) Frank H. Loesser, head of household; white married male 29 years of age; born in New York; lyric composer; earns more than $5,000. 2) Mary Alice Loesser, wife; white married female 24 years of age; born in Indiana; singer; radio broadcasting. 3) William Gold, lodger; white single male 34 years of age; born in Pennsylvania; pianist; music; earns $900. 4) Walter L. Crego, servant; white married male 47 years of age; born in Wisconsin; butler, private family; earns $400. 5) Dorothy B. Crego, servant; white married female 43 years of age; born in California; maid; private house; earns $400.