Buddy G. DeSylva
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George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he founded Capitol Records. DeSylva was born in New York City, but grew up in California and attended the University of Southern California, where he joined the Theta Xi Fraternity. His father, Aloysius J. De Sylva, was better known to American audiences as the Portuguese-born actor, Hal De Forrest. His mother, Georgetta Miles Gard, was the daughter of Los Angeles police chief George E. Gard.
DeSylva's first successful songs were those used by Al Jolson on Broadway in the 1918 Sinbad production, which included "I'll Say She Does". Soon thereafter he met Jolson and in 1918 the pair went to New York and DeSylva began working as a songwriter in Tin Pan Alley.
In the early 1920s, DeSylva frequently worked with composer George Gershwin. Together they created the experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday set in Harlem, which is widely regarded as a forerunner to Porgy and Bess ten years later.
In April 1924, DeSylva married Marie Wallace, a Ziegfeld Follies dancer.
In 1925, DeSylva became one third of the songwriting team with lyricist Lew Brown and composer Ray Henderson, one of the top Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the era. The team was responsible for the song Magnolia (1927) which was popularized by Lou Gold's orchestra. The writing and publishing partnership continued until 1930, producing a string of hits and the perennial Broadway favorite Good News. The popularity of this team was so great that Gershwin's mother supposedly chided her sons for not being able to write the sort of hits turned out by the trio.
DeSylva joined ASCAP in 1920 and served on the ASCAP board of directors between 1922 and 1930. He became a producer of stage and screen musicals. DeSylva relocated to Hollywood and went under contract to Fox Studios. During this tenure, he produced movies such as The Little Colonel, The Littlest Rebel, Captain January, Poor Little Rich Girl and Stowaway. In 1941, he became the Executive Producer at Paramount Pictures, a position he would hold until 1944. At Paramount, he was also an uncredited executive producer for Double Indemnity, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Story of Dr. Wassell and The Glass Key.
The Paramount all-star extravaganza Star Spangled Rhythm, which takes place at the Paramount film studio in Hollywood, features a fictional movie executive named "B.G. DeSoto" (played by Walter Abel) who is a parody of DeSylva.
In 1942, Johnny Mercer, Glenn Wallichs and DeSylva together founded Capitol Records, which continues to this day. He also founded the Cowboy label.
George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he founded Capitol Records. DeSylva was born in New York City, but grew up in California and attended the University of Southern California, where he joined the Theta Xi Fraternity. His father, Aloysius J. De Sylva, was better known to American audiences as the Portuguese-born actor, Hal De Forrest. His mother, Georgetta Miles Gard, was the daughter of Los Angeles police chief George E. Gard.
DeSylva's first successful songs were those used by Al Jolson on Broadway in the 1918 Sinbad production, which included "I'll Say She Does". Soon thereafter he met Jolson and in 1918 the pair went to New York and DeSylva began working as a songwriter in Tin Pan Alley.
In the early 1920s, DeSylva frequently worked with composer George Gershwin. Together they created the experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday set in Harlem, which is widely regarded as a forerunner to Porgy and Bess ten years later.
In April 1924, DeSylva married Marie Wallace, a Ziegfeld Follies dancer.
In 1925, DeSylva became one third of the songwriting team with lyricist Lew Brown and composer Ray Henderson, one of the top Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the era. The team was responsible for the song Magnolia (1927) which was popularized by Lou Gold's orchestra. The writing and publishing partnership continued until 1930, producing a string of hits and the perennial Broadway favorite Good News. The popularity of this team was so great that Gershwin's mother supposedly chided her sons for not being able to write the sort of hits turned out by the trio.
DeSylva joined ASCAP in 1920 and served on the ASCAP board of directors between 1922 and 1930. He became a producer of stage and screen musicals. DeSylva relocated to Hollywood and went under contract to Fox Studios. During this tenure, he produced movies such as The Little Colonel, The Littlest Rebel, Captain January, Poor Little Rich Girl and Stowaway. In 1941, he became the Executive Producer at Paramount Pictures, a position he would hold until 1944. At Paramount, he was also an uncredited executive producer for Double Indemnity, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Story of Dr. Wassell and The Glass Key.
The Paramount all-star extravaganza Star Spangled Rhythm, which takes place at the Paramount film studio in Hollywood, features a fictional movie executive named "B.G. DeSoto" (played by Walter Abel) who is a parody of DeSylva.
In 1942, Johnny Mercer, Glenn Wallichs and DeSylva together founded Capitol Records, which continues to this day. He also founded the Cowboy label.
Known for
A Matter of Time
Love Me or Leave Me
Good News
Two Years Before the Mast
Road to Utopia
The Stork Club
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay
The Great Moment
Double Indemnity
The Story of Dr. Wassell
Ministry of Fear
The Hitler Gang
The Uninvited
True to Life
Riding High
So Proudly We Hail
Du Barry was a Lady
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Five Graves to Cairo
The Crystal Ball
Road to Morocco
I Married a Witch
The Glass Key
Wake Island
This Gun for Hire
My Favorite Blonde
Reap the Wild Wind
Louisiana Purchase
Birth of the Blues
Nothing But the Truth
Aloma of the South Seas
Caught in the Draft
The Lady Eve
Christmas in July
The Great McGinty
The Great Victor Herbert
Bachelor Mother
Love Affair
The Rage of Paris
You're a Sweetheart
Merry Go Round of 1938
Born to Dance
Ladies In Love
The Littlest Rebel
Welcome Home
Doubting Thomas
Have a Heart
Bottoms Up
My Weakness
Flying High
Indiscreet
Just Imagine
Follow Thru
Queen High
Good News
Hold Everything
Sunny Side Up