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John Treville Latouche (La Touche) (November 13, 1914,[1]Baltimore, Maryland – August 7, 1956,Calais, Vermont) was alyricist andbookwriter in Americanmusical theater.
John Treville Latouche was born inBaltimore,Maryland. His family moved toRichmond,Virginia, when he was four months old. There he attendedJohn Marshall High School[2] before going north toColumbia University. He became involved in music and theater, writing for theVarsity Show and joining thePhilolexian Society. He did not graduate.
In 1937 Latouche contributed two songs in the revuePins and Needles. For the showSing For Your Supper (1939), he wrote the lyrics for "Ballad for Uncle Sam", later retitled "Ballad for Americans", with music byEarl Robinson. It was featured at both the 1940Republican Convention and the convention of theAmerican Communist Party, and was extremely popular in 1940s America.
This 13-minutecantata to American democracy was written for a soloist and as well a full orchestra. When performed on the CBS Radio network by singerPaul Robeson, it became a national success. Subsequently, both Robeson andBing Crosby[3] regularly performed it. Actor and singerBrock Peters also made a notable recording of the cantata.
Latouche provided the lyrics forVernon Duke's songs (including, withTed Fetter, "Taking A Chance On Love") for the musicalCabin in the Sky (1940). He also wrote lyrics for Duke's musicalBanjo Eyes (1941), which starredEddie Cantor. He appeared as The Gangster in theexperimental filmDreams That Money Can Buy (1947). He returned to music, writing the lyrics for the song "The Girl With the Pre-Fabricated Heart" (music byLouis Applebaum), which accompanies a sequence conceived by French artistFernand Léger.
Latouche wrote the book and lyrics forThe Golden Apple (1954) with music byJerome Moross; it won theNew York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical. In 1955 he provided additional lyrics forLeonard Bernstein'sCandide.
Latouche also wrote the libretto toDouglas Moore's operaThe Ballad of Baby Doe, one of the few American operas to join the standard repertoire. In 1955, he collaborated with co-writer Sam Locke and composer James Mundy on theCarol Channing vehicleThe Vamp, which closed after a run of only 60 performances. He had been working withDavid Merrick on setting theEugene O'Neill playAh, Wilderness to music, but died during working on the adaptation. It was later developed asTake Me Along.
Latouche was a protégé ofJames Branch Cabell and friends with writersGore Vidal andJack Woodford. Latouche datedLouella Woodford when they were both teenagers. He also was friends of the architectWilliam Alexander Levy (who designed and builtHangover House for travel writerRichard Halliburton), and writerPaul Mooney, who assisted Halliburton in several of his classic travel works.[4]
Latouche died of a suddenheart attack at his home inCalais, Vermont, aged 41.
The New York Theatre Company producedTaking a Chance on Love - The Lyrics and Life of John LaTouche, A New Musical Revue ("The Bad Boy of Broadway Is Back") in 2000, with notes byNed Rorem (recorded by Original Cast Records).
The John LaTouche Archive, containing journals, family letters, scrapbooks of photographs and newspaper articles, is housed at Columbia University.Out in the World - Selected Letters ofJane Bowles 1935-1970, edited by Millicent Dillon (Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow Press, 1985), contains a number of references to LaTouche, and his circle of friends and acquaintances. Chapter 28 ofThe Autobiography ofJack Woodford (Doubleday, Garden City, 1962) is devoted to La Touche.[5]
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