Arthur Schwartz

Arthur Schwartz is an American composer and film producer. He taught himself to play the harmonica and piano as a child, and began playing for silent films at age 14. He earned a B.A. in English at New York University and an M.A. in that subject at Columbia. Forced by his father, an attorney, to study law, Schwartz graduated from NYU Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1924. While studying law, he supported himself by teaching English in the New York school system. He also worked on songwriting along with his studies and published his first song ('Baltimore, Md., You're the Only Doctor for Me', with lyrics by Eli Dawson) by 1923. Acquaintances such as Lorenz Hart and George Gershwin encouraged him to stick with composing. By 1928, he had closed his law office and convinced Howard Dietz (an MGM publicist) to write with him. Their first songs together were used in the Broadway revue The Little Show (1929) and included 'I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan', which belatedly became a hit three years later when it was recorded by Rudy Vallee. Schwartz's career was launched, and in 1930 he contributed songs to six shows, three in London and three in New York, the most successful of which was Three's a Crowd (1930), which featured the same cast as The Little Show and featured the hit 'Something to Remember You By'. Schwartz also started contributing songs to motion pictures, beginning with 'I'm Afraid of You' in Queen High (1930). Schwartz also worked as a producer, for Columbia Pictures. His work includes the musical Cover Girl (1944) and the Cole Porter biographical film Night and Day (1946). In 1972, Schwartz was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1981, he was inducted in 1981 into the American Theater Hall of Fame.