Gene Buck

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Gene Buck
Buck in 1938
Born
Edward Eugene Buck

(1885-08-07)August 7, 1885
Detroit, Michigan U.S.
DiedFebruary 24, 1957(1957-02-24) (aged 71)
Manhasset, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Author, playwright, lyricist
Spouse
Helen Falconer
​
(m. 1919)​
Children2

Edward Eugene Buck (August 7, 1885 – February 24, 1957) was an American illustrator of

musical theater lyricist, and president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).[1]

Early career

Buck's 1911 sheet music cover for "Everybody's Doin' It Now" by Irving Berlin.

Buck was born in

art nouveau elements.[1][3][5] Dean Cornwell called him "the first artist I ever copied".[6] By 1910 Buck was writing lyrics for composer Dave Stamper; his first hit was "Daddy has a Sweetheart, and Mother is her Name".[7] He wrote about 500 songs, including "In the Cool of the Evening", "No Foolin'", "Garden of My Dreams", "Someone, Someday, Somewhere", and "Hello, 'Frisco".[8] After 1914 he gave up illustration due to his failing eyesight.[1]

Ziegfeld

Buck collaborated with

Frank W. Stearns of the Ziegfeld Administration".[13]

Later career

Buck became wealthy and had a luxurious lifestyle. He was a neighbor of

Huey P. Long
(Huey Long, T. Harry Williams, 1969).

In 1927 Buck bought the Waldorf Theatre, renaming it the Gene Buck Waldorf, and producing and directing his own musical Take the Air there.[17] He collaborated with Mischa Elman and Augustus Thomas on an operetta.[16]

ASCAP

Buck was president of ASCAP from 1925 to 1942,

WC Handy, Johnny Mercer - and many more of America's top songwriting talents performing their own compositions. The recording was added to the National Recording Registry in 2016. Before this, Buck appointed an ASCAP committee which in 1943 produced a revised schedule of songwriter payment levels; the schedule was dubbed the "Ahlert Plan" after Buck's successor as ASCAP president.[22] He became president of the Catholic Actors' Guild of America in 1944.[23][24]

Personal life

Buck married actress Helen Falconer (d.1968[25]) in a Catholic ceremony in New York City on 2 October 1919.[26] He died after emergency surgery at North Shore Hospital, Manhasset.[8] At his death, he was president of the Catholic Actors Guild. His son Gene Buck, Jr was an assistant in 1947 on A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.[27] Gene and Helen also had a second son George W. Buck.

References

  • Rogers, Will (2010). James M. Smallwood; Steven K. Gragert (eds.). "Volume 2 The Coolidge Years 1925-1927" (PDF). Will Rogers’ Weekly Articles. Will Rogers Memorial Museums. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2011.

Footnotes

  1. ^
    AllMusic
    . Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  2. ^ Driscoll, Charles (July 13, 1943). "New York Day by Day". Reading Eagle. p. 4. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8015-5500-8
    . Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  4. ISBN 978-0-403-02172-7
    . Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8264-6321-0
    . Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  6. St. Petersburg Times
    . p. 23. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  7. ^
    Palm Beach Post
    . Associated Press. February 25, 1957. p. 10. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Gene Buck, author of 500 songs, dies". St. Joseph Gazette. February 25, 1957. p. 11. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  9. ^ Rogers 2010, p.301 (fn.6 to No.166)
  10. ISBN 978-0-8061-9950-4
    . Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  11. ISBN 978-0-8061-3704-9
    . Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  12. ^ Barnes, Cynthia (September–October 2004). "Urban Sensibilities; A New Approach to Stage Design". Humanities. 25 (5).
  13. ^ Rogers 2010, p.141
  14. ISBN 978-1-57003-799-3
    . Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  15. ISBN 978-0-7425-1160-6
    . Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  16. ^ a b Driscoll, Charles (November 21, 1947). "New York Day by Day". Reading Eagle. p. 4. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  17. ^ "Will Mahoney Shine in "Take the Air"; Gene Buck's Musical Comedy of Tried Ingredients Pleases at Waldorf Theatre". New York Times. November 23, 1927. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  18. ^ "Music: Passing of Buck". Time. May 4, 1942. Archived from the original on October 14, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  19. ^ White, Lee C. (1950–1951). "Musical Copyrights v. The Anti-Trust Laws". Nebraska Law Review. 30: 50.
  20. ^ Salter, Leonard M. (1941). "Battle of Music - ASCAP v. BMI". Commercial Law Journal. 46: 112.
  21. JSTOR 939364
    .
  22. ^ "ASCAP-ers may try BMI / He Really Sat In!". Billboard. Vol. 54, no. 46. November 14, 1942. p. 20.
  23. ^ "Buck Elected President of Catholic Actors' Guild". Motion Picture Herald: 78. 1944.
  24. ^ "Buck Heads Catholic Actors". New York Times. June 17, 1944. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  25. ^ "Mrs. Gene Buck, Actress, Widow of ASCAP Leader". New York Times. June 1, 1968. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  26. ^ "Gene Buck Marries Helen Falconer" (PDF). New York Times. October 3, 1919. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  27. Chicago Daily Tribune
    . p. 39.

Further reading

External links

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Gene Buck
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