THE HARRY WARREN COLLECTION, 1909-2000
#750

(32 Cubic Feet; DB 14, F/O 26, ShB 7, ADB (12) 10, ADB (45) 1, ADB (10) 10)

OF = Original Film, RV = Reference Video, MV = Master Video

by: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., October 2003

Biography  

With the possible exception of Irving Berlin, no one has contributed as much material to the canon of American popular song in the 20^th century as Harry Warren (1893-1981). Warren was born in Brooklyn , New York , December 24, 1893 , to Italian immigrant parents.  His birth name was Salvatore Anthony Guaragna but by the time he graduated from grade school, he was known as “Harry Warren”. (He legally changed his name in 1938.)  He was educated in the public schools of New York and had no formal musical training but taught himself to play the organ and piano.  He also sang in the church choir.  Warren had a sister and brother on the stage so the theatrical world was not unknown to him.  He worked as an actor and assistant director for the Vitagraph film company in New York and played mood music for actress Corinne Griffith.  During World War I, Warren served in the United States Navy at Montauk Point , New York For a few weeks after the war, he worked as an insurance examiner for the Travellers Agency. 

In December, 1918, Warren married Josephine Wensler (1897-1993).  Their first child, a son named Harry Warren, Jr. (1920-1937), was born soon thereafter.  In 1920, Warren Sr., became a song plugger for the music publishing firm of Stark & Cowan.  Warren continued writing and in 1922, along with lyricist Edgar Leslie, produced his first song hit, “Rose of the Rio Grande .”  From that point on, Warren composed a continuous stream of hits introduced by such artists as Paul Whiteman.  By 1925, a second child, Joan “Cookie” Warren (1924-1991), had been born and Warren continued his success with such songs as “I Love My Baby (My Baby Loves Me),” “In My Gondola” and the very popular 1928 hit “ Nagasaki.”  By 1929, Warren was the director of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).  He held that position until 1933.  At various times, he also served on the ASCAP Board of Directors.  During this time Warren worked with various musicians including Gus Kahn, Bert Kalmer and Harry Ruby.  In 1930, he wrote his first movie score for the film Spring is Here (1930).  Al Jolson asked him to compose one song for his show, Wonder Bar (1931).  Warren composed three other Broadway shows in the 1930s, Sweet and Low (1930), Crazy Quilt (1931) featuring Fanny Brice and Laugh Parade (1931) starring Ed Wynn.

In 1932, Hollywood called and Warren was hired by Warner Brothers Studios to help write songs for the Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler film 42^nd Street (1933).  Along with lyricist, Al Dubin, Warren wrote such hits as “We’re in the Money” and “The Shadow Waltz”.  Warren continued composing memorable songs for motion pictures such as Gold Diggers of 1933, The Singing Marine (1937) and Footlight Parade (1933).  Gold Diggers of 1935 included Warren’s first Academy Award winning song, “Lullaby of Broadway." Warren also appeared in a few films during his stay at Warner Brothers in cameo performances.  He can be seen, along with lyricist Dubin in 42^nd Street, Go Into Your Dance (1935) and A Very Honorable Guy (1934).  He also appeared in a Vitaphone short entitled Harry Warren: America’s Foremost Composer.

In 1940, Warren left Warner Brothers for 20^th Century Fox where he helped compose the scores for such motion pictures as, Sun Valley Serenade (1941), Orchestra Wives (1942), and The Gangs All Here (1943) that included the Carmen Miranda standard, “The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat”.  During this period, he worked with lyricists Ralph Rainger, Mack Gordon and Leo Robin and others.  While at Fox, Warren composed the songs for Hello Frisco, Hello (1943) including, “You’ll Never Know,” garnering him his second Academy Award.  While Warren was at Fox, he composed “Chattanooga Choo Choo” a song that became the first gold record in the history of the recording industry.

In 1945, legendary producer Arthur Freed at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer courted Warren for his production unit at MGM.  Freed quipped that Warren would have the office right next door to his – and he did.  The offer to write music at the studio that practically invented the movie musical was irresistible.  Warren left 20^th Century Fox for MGM.  He joined Arthur Freed in writing the songs for Yolanda and the Thief (1945) starring Fred Astaire and Freed’s protégée Lucille Bremer.  The film was directed by the incomparable Vincent Minnelli.  His next high profile score was for The Harvey Girls (1946) composed with renowned lyricist Johnny Mercer.  The picture starred Judy Garland and John Hodiak.  Directed by George Sidney, it was a major success, due in part to Warren’s tuneful “On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe."  This song brought Warren his third and final Academy Award.  While at MGM, Warren worked with lyricists Mack Gordon, Ralph Blane and even Arthur Freed himself, and others.  In 1948, he and Ralph Blane composed the song score for Freed and director Rouben Mamoulian’s ambitious film adaptation of Eugene O’Neills stage play “Ah Wilderness” entitled Summer Holiday (1948) starring Mickey Rooney and Gloria DeHaven.  This is reported to have been Warren ’s favorite film assignment, but for many reasons the film was not an unqualified success.  Warren remained at MGM until the 1950s composing for such films as The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), starring Astaire and Rogers, Summer Stock (1950), starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly and his final film for MGM, Skirts Ahoy! (1952), starring Esther Williams and Vivian Blane.  After leaving MGM, Warren wrote the score for the Bing Crosby film, Just for You at Paramount.  At times, Warren also served on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Warren did not retire from film, but went on to write the music for two Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin films, The Caddy (1953) for which he composed “That’s Amore,”, Artists and Models (1955) and for three Jerry Lewis films, Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958), Cinderfella (1960), and The Ladies Man (1961).  Warren also composed instrumental pieces and a “Mass in Honor of St. Anthony."  Warren returned to Broadway in 1956 with the musical Shangri-La, based on the novel Lost Horizon.  The show was not a success and closed after fewer than thirty performances.  He composed the title song for the Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr film, An Affair to Remember (1957); this song brought him his last nomination for an Academy Award.  The song was later used in the motion picture Sleepless in Seattle (1993) starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

During the 1950s, Warren started his own music publishing company, Four Jays Music Corporation.  After writing the songs for The Ladies Man, Warren retired from films but continued to write for piano, even composing the song for the Miss Oklahoma Pageant in 1964.  His last film effort was to compose one song for the motion-picture Rosie (1968).  During the last years of his life Warren composed and ran his music publishing business, but remained largely forgotten as the man who had composed a great deal of America’s musical heritage. 

With the resurgence in the appreciation of the movie musical in the early 1970s, the tunes composed during Warren’s heyday were back in vogue, brought on in a large part by the phenomenal success of MGM’s That’s Entertainment! (1974). In 1980, he was asked to compose the musical numbers for an upcoming movie musical entitled, Manhattan Melody that was never produced.  Even so, 1980 brought the Warren name back to the marquees of Broadway with the David Merrick production of 42^nd St.  The full budgeted big Broadway musical used the basic storyline from the 1933 film and drew upon the whole of the Warren and Dubin catalogue for the score.  The production proved to be wildly popular, running in excess of five years on Broadway.  Unfortunately, Warren did not long enjoy this final success.  He died on September 22, 1981 in California .  He was interred in the Sanctuary of Tenderness at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles beside his wife and son.  After Warren ’s death, his daughter Joan “Cookie” Warren Jones administered the music publishing company until her death in 1991.  

Scope and Content  

The Harry Warren Collection consists of original music manuscripts, scores, song sheets, commercial sheet music, bound scores, scripts, business records, correspondence (business, personal and fan), clippings, magazines, photographs, cassette tapes, LP records, posters and programs and personal memorabilia.  The material documents the personal life and professional career of composer, songwriter and lyricist Harry Warren from 1909 to 1981 and to a lesser extent the operation of his Four Jays Music Corporation, ca. 1954-2000.  The collection is organized into nine series.  

SERIES 1: MUSIC MANUSCRIPTS, 1928-1987

The music in Series 1 is arranged into five sub-series: Sub-series 1a: Original Holographic Show/Motion Picture Music Manuscripts, 1930-1960, Sub-series 1b: Bound Presentation Scores, 1931-1982, Sub-series 1c: Original Individual Song Manuscripts, 1938-1965, Sub-series 1d: Published Sheet Music, 1930-1980 and Sub-series 1e: Published Songs, Instrumentals and Song Collections, 1928-1987.  All material is arranged alphabetically by show, film or song title.

Sub-series 1a contain Warren’s original holographic music manuscripts for each show or motion picture.  Folders will not necessarily contain a complete score for each production.  It is possible that some material was retained by the motion picture studios where Warren worked.  Of particular interest are a number of folders containing untitled music sketches where it is possible to identify tune fragments that may have been used in later compositions.

Sub-series 1b contains bound presentation scores.  There are four complete scores, from main titles to end credits, for Yolanda and the Thief, The Harvey Girls and two copies of the score for Summer Holiday.  As well as the work of Warren, these scores include the work of the studio arrangers and orchestrators who worked on the picture, in the case of these three MGM productions, Conrad Salinger.  Other scores are gifts from other fellow composers or for two of Warren ’s Broadway shows and one un-produced film.  Some of the scores include the libretto as well as the music.

Sub-series 1c contains original music manuscripts for individual songs.  These manuscripts include vellum and paper song sheets.  Files are listed according to song title and retain the original order as found when the material was transferred from Four Jays Music Corporation.

Sub-series 1d contains published sheet music for songs from the shows/motion pictures listed.  Not every folder will contain a full compliment of the songs from that particular project.  These were collected by Warren.  These publications are incomplete in their scope.  They are arranged alphabetically according to the original project title.

Sub-series 1e contains published versions of individual songs and song collections. The songs are arranged alphabetically by title.  

SERIES 2: CORRESPONDENCE, 1930-1994  

Series 2 is arranged alphabetically by topic of correspondence, (e.g., ASCAP, business, celebrity, fan letter) and then chronologically.  Of particular interest is the celebrity correspondence and the many letters from fans all over the world that illustrate Warren’s musical influence and reach.  There is extensive correspondence concerning the royalties and rights for the 1980 production of 42^nd St., particularly after Warren’s death when his heir questioned the calculation and amount of payments.  

SERIES 3: BUSINESS RECORDS, 1894, 1924-1996  

Series 3 contains advertising, royalty ledgers, honorary proclamations, biographical sketches, legal agreements, both personal and public, recording lists, reviews, publicity items, royalty sheets and ASCAP documents. The early material in this series is an extraction of Warren’s baptismal record that was used when he legally changed his name in 1938.  

SERIES 4: SCRIPTS, 1946-1958  

Series 4 contains original scripts from three motion picture productions, one television production and a catalogue of song lyrics listed alphabetically by song title.  Unlike the bound presentation scores, these scripts do not contain music.  Of particular interest is the lyric treatment of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah Wilderness that eventually became the movie musical, Summer Holiday.  Also of interest is a complete shooting script for Summer Holiday, a working document that was rarely permitted beyond the confines of the studio.  

SERIES 5: THEATRE PROGRAMS AND POSTERS, 1915-1999

Series 5 contains theatre programs and posters from productions utilizing Warren ’s music, shows composed by Warren and shows that Warren attended that may, or may not, have included his music.  There also are corresponding posters from some of these productions.  

SERIES 6: NEWS CLIPPINGS AND MAGAZINES, 1934-2000  

Series 6 contains news clippings and magazines articles about Warren, his work, and news of various productions featuring Warren’s music.  Some clippings are reviews of shows that utilized his music.  Some magazines appear to have been kept by Warren out of personal interest, and do not directly relate to his musical career.  There are also clippings featuring personal information about Warren or members of his family or friends.  

SERIES 7: AUDIO-VISUAL, 1926-1977  

Series 7 is divided into six sub-series: Sub-series 7a: Recordings, Sub-series 7b: Cassette Tapes, Sub-series C: Photographs, ca. 1930s-1977 & n.d., Sub-series 7d: Reference Video Tapes, Sub-series 7e: CD’s and Sub-series 7f: Film.

Sub-series 7a contain Warren’s collection of LP records, playback discs, copy pressings and commercial recordings and one studio audio reel.  Playback discs are arranged alphabetically by project title.  Commercial recordings are arranged alphabetically by recording company.  The original records currently are unavailable to researchers for listening until reference copies can be made.

Sub-series 7b contains cassette tapes of LPs, 45s, and various interviews with Warren.  These original tapes currently are unavailable to researchers for listening until reference copies can be made.  The play lists from each tape are copied at the back of this finding aid.

Sub-series 7c contains photographs of a wide range of subjects, mostly personal photographs and a few studio portraits of Warren and members of his family.  Many of the images are unidentified.  Photographs are arranged chronologically when a date was available.  Two photographic images are unavailable for viewing due to their current condition and the need for conservation work.

Sub-series 7d contains commercially produced video-tapes for some of the motion-pictures utilizing Warren’s music.  The tapes are arranged alphabetically by title.

Sub-series 7e contains CD’s storing digital images of some of the original music manuscripts and original documents in the collection.  There are also many photographic images scanned onto CD by the donor that are currently unavailable to researchers.  There are also images of covers of commercially sold sheet music scanned onto CD by the donor that are currently unavailable to researchers. There also is one commercially produced soundtrack for the MGM movie musical, Ziegfeld Follies of 1946, which used some Warren tunes.

Sub-series 7f contains home movies made by Warren and a few commercial films which were his personal copies.  

SERIES 8: MEMORABILIA, 1918-1990  

Series 8 includes Warren’s elementary school diploma, his 1918 USN Blue Jacket Manuel and various “proofs” for Warren sheet music artwork and a Warren song catalogue.  This series also includes a copy of the oral history interview done for the American Film Institute’s Louis B. Mayer Foundation by Irene Kahn Atkins in 1972.  

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