Four Academy Awards, plus sixteen nominations. More than 1,500 published songs. Johnny Mercer founded a record company and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.
Sometimes singer, sometimes composer, always wordsmith. He had a way with making the simple things sound fantastical and making unlikely phrases roll of the tongue. His smooth Southern drawl and his ability to capture a phrase made him one of the most sought-after songwriters in Hollywood.
Mercer singing a medley of his hits:
To celebrate his 110th birthday, add some of the films featuring his best known songs….
Laura (1944)
“Footsteps that you hear down the hall, the laugh that floats on a summer night, that you can never quite recall.”
The classic noir film starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews and Vincent Price is a suspenseful mystery. Director Otto Preminger needed a dreamy theme song to represent the missing title character. The tune was written by David Raskin and Mercer wrote the lyrics without having even seen the film.
Harvey Girls (1945)
“Do ya hear that whistle down the line? I figure that it’s engine number forty nine.”
Mercer wrote the words for Harry Warren’s songs for the bright, brassy MGM musical starring Judy Garland, Angela Lansbury and Ray Bolger. It’s a rollicking romantic comedy set in the old West. Mercer won his first Oscar for the song “Atchinson, Topeka, and the Santa Fe.”
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
“We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waiting ‘round the bend, my huckleberry friend.”
The song “Moon River” nearly got cut from the final version of the film. The Henry Mancini score with Mercer’s heartfelt lyrics grounded the otherwise ditzy Holly Golightly. Mercer won another Oscar and his hometown of Savannah renamed a portion of the local Back River after the winning song.
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
“The lonely night discloses just a passing breeze, filled with memories.”
In another collaboration with Henry Mancini, Mercer wrote the lyrics for a wistful song to accompany a dark romance directed by Blake Edwards. The movie follows Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick as they meet, fall in love, and then battle their own demons. Mercer and Mancini won the Oscar for best song.
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
“Every time your lips meet mine, darling, down and down I go, round and round, I go.”
Star Spangled Rhythm is a musical light on plot but with an all-star cast including Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dick Powell, Veronica Lake and more. As America was entering World War II, Paramount brought together its biggest musical stars for a patriotic tribute. It features the songs “Hit The Road to Dreamland”, “That Old Black Magic”, “I’m Doing It for the Defense”, and “Sweater, Sarong and Peek-a-boo Gang” by Mercer and Harold Arlen.
Hollywood Hotel (1937)
“Hooray for Hollywood, where you’re terrific, if you’re even good. Where anyone at all from TV’s Lassie to Monroe’s chassis is equally understood.”
In another sort of bonkers mashup of lots of talent but not much plot, Mercer provided the wacky lyrics to “Hooray for Hollywood,” which gently mocks the fickle nature of Tinsel Town. The film is notable for performances from Benny Goodman and lush musical number from Busby Berkeley.
Originally written for DVD Netflix