• Genre: Soundtrack
• Instrument: Arranger, Composer, Lyricist

Biography

The Oscar-winning lyricist behind such classic movie themes as "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," "The Shadow of Your Smile," and "Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme)," Paul Francis Webster was born December 20, 1907, in New York City. After dropping out of NYU, he set sail for Asia as a merchant seaman, and upon returning to the U.S. worked as an Arthur Murray dance instructor; in 1932, Webster teamed with composer John Jacob Loeb to score his first hit, "Masquerade," followed by successful collaborations with William Scotti ("My Moonlight Madonna") and Lew Pollack ("Two Cigarettes in the Dark"). In 1935, Webster was contracted for his first film, the Shirley Temple vehicle Our Little Girl; while in Hollywood, he also worked with Duke Ellington on Jump for Joy, an all-black musical which premiered at Los Angeles' Mayan Theater in 1941 with a cast including Ivie Anderson and Dorothy Dandridge. Webster also worked with Ted Fio Rito ("Lily of Laguna") before launching a successful partnership with Hoagy Carmichael which yielded songs like "Baltimore Oriole," "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief," and "Memphis in June." He won his first Academy Award in 1953 for "Secret Love," written with Sammy Fain for the film Calamity Jane; Webster and Fain later reunited to collaborate on projects including Lucky Me ("I Speak to the Stars"), Marjorie Morningstar ("A Very Precious Love"), and April Love (the title tune). Perhaps the most famous fruits of their partnership was the title theme to 1955's Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, which earned Webster a second Oscar. His other major collaborator of the period was Dimitri Tiomkin, with whom Webster worked on pictures including Rio Bravo, The Alamo, and The Guns of Navarone; he teamed with composer Johnny Mandel to author 1965's Oscar-winning "The Shadow of Your Smile," from The Sandpiper, and that same year also partnered with Maurice Jarre for Dr. Zhivago's "Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme)." Elected into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972, Webster died in Beverly Hills on March 18, 1984. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

• Born: Dec 20, 1907 in New York City, New York
• Died: Mar 22, 1984 in Los Angeles, California
• Occupation: Writer
• Active: '40s-'60s
• Major Genres: Drama, Romance
• Career Highlights: Rio Bravo, Giant, Friendly Persuasion
• First Major Screen Credit: Our Little Girl (1935)

Biography

This brilliant and prolific lyricist led an interesting life before becoming a renown writer of song texts for films and recording artists. Educated at N.Y.U. and Cornell before 1935, he made his living as a seaman onboard a freighter trading between the States and China, and at another extreme he was employed as a dance instructor at the Arthur Murray Dance Studios. Moving to Hollywood, he was a frequent collaborator with Sammy Fain.

His career began in 1935 as an uncredited lyricist for Under the Pampas Moon, Dressed to Thrill, and You Only Live Once (1937); he was credited in Our Little Girl (1935), Rainbow on the River (1936), and Public Cowboy No. 1 (1937). During WWII, he authored "Me for You, Forever" for the patriotic We've Never Been Licked (aka Fighting Command and Texas to Tokyo) (1943), as well as the lighthearted Seven Sweethearts (aka Tulip Time) (1942), It Ain't Hay (aka Money for Jam) (1943), Klondike Kate (1943), and Hit the Ice (aka Oh Doctor) (1943).

His many Oscar-nominated songs included "Remember Me to Carolina" (in Minstrel Man, 1944), "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" (1956), "April Love" (1957), "A Certain Smile" (1958), "A Very Precious Love" (Marjorie Morningstar, 1958), "The Green Leaves of Summer" (The Alamo, 1960), "The Falcon and the Dove (Love Theme From El Cid)" (1961), "Tender Is the Night" (1962), "Follow Me (Love Song From Mutiny on the Bounty)" (1962), "So Little Time" (55 Days at Peking, 1963), "A Time for Love" (An American Dream, 1966), and "A World That Never Was" (Half a House, 1976).

Webster won Oscars for "Secret Love" (from Calamity Jane, 1953), "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" (in the movie of the same name, 1955; also used in the film 20 Dates, 1998), and both the Oscar and a Globe award for Original Song for "The Shadow of Your Smile" (in The Sandpiper, 1965).

Webster also made important contributions to such notable films as Presenting Lily Mars and Thousands Cheer (1943); The Stork Club and Johnny Angel (1945); The Great Caruso (incl. "The Loveliest Night of the Year", 1951); The Merry Widow (1952); Timberjack ("He's Dead But He Won't Lie Down") (1955); Giant, Anastasia, and The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956); A Farewell to Arms (1957); Raintree County (1958); Rio Bravo, The Man Who Understood Women ("A Paris Valentine"), and Imitation of Life (1959); Return to Peyton Place and The Guns of Navarone (1961); Mutiny on the Bounty (1962); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966); Far From the Madding Crowd (1967); The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968); Topaz (1969); Airport (The Winds of Chance, 1970); The Stepmother (1973); The Teacher (1974); and The Specialist and Mr. Sycamore (1975).

His television activity included the words for the Spider-Man series (1967), as well as lyrics for the theme songs of Maverick (1957) and Sugarfoot (aka Tenderfoot) (1957).

Webster also co-wrote the story for Vincent Sherman's film Nora Prentiss (1947). ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Movie Guide

The Sandpiper Buy this Movie	55 Days at Peking Buy this Movie	The Guns of Navarone Buy this Movie	Return to Peyton Place Buy this Movie
The Alamo Buy this Movie	Cimarron Buy this Movie	Imitation of Life Buy this Movie	Rio Bravo Buy this Movie

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