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Tom Adair | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Thomas Montgomery Adair (1913-06-15)June 15, 1913 Newton, Kansas, United States |
| Died | May 24, 1988(1988-05-24) (aged 74) |
| Occupations | Songwriter,composer, andscreenwriter |
Thomas Montgomery Adair (June 15, 1913 – May 24, 1988) was an Americansongwriter,composer, andscreenwriter.
Adair was born on 15 June 1913, inNewton, Kansas, where his father owned a clothing store; he was the only child of William Adair and Madge Cochran.
Around 1923, the family moved toLos Angeles, where Tom Adair attended Los Angeles Junior College (nowLos Angeles City College). In his early career he worked as a complaints clerk at the local power company, while writing poetry and song lyrics in his spare time.[1]
In 1941, Adair metMatt Dennis in a club and the duo began writing songs together. Adair's songwriting career took him to New York during the 1940s where he penned severalBroadway hits, and worked withTommy Dorsey andFrank Sinatra. He later returned to Los Angeles and worked with writerJames B. Allardice on scripts for sitcoms.
In 1949, Adair married Frances Adelle Jeffords; in later life, they worked together on songs and teleplays forDisney.[1] They had four children.
After meeting Matt Dennis in 1940, Adair started working with him, moving to New York when the duo were hired by Tommy Dorsey. Adair and Dennis wrote numerous songs for Dorsey,Bing Crosby, andDinah Shore, and pennedFrank Sinatra's hit "Let's Get Away from It All." In 1942, Matt Dennis joined theArmy Air Corps. Adair moved on to work withDick Uhl and hit song "In the Blue of the Evening" withAlfonso d'Artega. About the collaboration among Adair, Dennis, and Sinatra,Vanity Fair magazine said "Sinatra's first recording away from Dorsey took place at RCA’s Los Angeles studios on the afternoon of Monday, January 19, 1942. He had chosen the song for his attempt as a soloist, a ballad, naturally, all dripping with romance: it was 'The Night We Called It a Day', by these new kids Matt Dennis and Tom Adair, who’d written 'Let’s Get Away from It All' and 'Violets for Your Furs.' "[2]
From June 1944, Adair worked with composerGordon Jenkins in writing a complete score every week for the Auto-Lite radio show, which featured singerDick Haymes.
He wrote many hit songs, including "Let's Get Away From It All", "Everything Happens to Me", "In the Blue of the Evening", "Will You Still Be Mine?", "Violets for Your Furs", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Skyscraper Blues", "A Home-Sweet-Home in the Army", "How Will I Know My Love?", "Sing a Smiling Song", "Paul Bunyan", "There's No You", and "Weep No More".
In 1949, Adair wrote the lyrics for the Broadway production ofAlong Fifth Avenue.[3] It ran for 180 performances at theBroadhurst Theatre, with the original cast includingCarol Bruce,Jackie Gleason,George S. Irving,Hank Ladd,Donald Richards andNancy Walker.[4]
After the show closed, Adair returned to Los Angeles, working for Disney in the 1950s. Penning songs and skits for both the 1950s and 1970s Mickey Mouse Club. As well as helped shaped the Disneyland amusement park brand with his contributions toThe Country Bear Jamboree, Miss Teddi Beara, and The Golden Horseshoe Review.[5][6]
In 1958, Adair first metJames B. Allardice while working onThe Ann Sothern Show (1958); he wrote the music while Allardice was a writer on the show. Adair went on to have a successful partnership working on the sitcom,Hazel (1961); however, they also collaborated in the writing on two episodes ofHazel: "A Replacement for Phoebe" (which aired on 1961-10-02) and "Harold's Good Fortune" (which aired on 1961-11-30). Later the two collaborated on many other shows, includingMy Three Sons,F Troop,Hogan's Heroes,I Dream of Jeannie, andGomer Pyle – USMC. The partnership lasted until Allardice's death in 1966.
A late triumph was the lyrics for anNBC cartoon special, "Babar Comes to America" (1971) withJohn Scott Trotter.
The Adairs retired toHonolulu, Hawaii, in 1984. On 24 May 1988, Tom died at the age of 74.
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Academy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music | Julie (Shared withLeith Stevens) |
| 1969 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music | The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant (Shared with John Scott Trotter) | |
| 2010 | 41st AnnualSongwriters Hall of Fame | Awarded and inducted | Songwriting team of Tom Adair & Matt Dennis, contributions to the worldwide landscape of music through an extraordinary expression of lyrics and composition. |
