Bruce Campbell Adamson P.O. Box 3511, Santa
Cruz, CA, 95063-3511
Photograph of Burt Bacharach who married Angie
Dickinson; I met Angie in 2002 when she helped aunt Gretchen
at age 89 at the Academy in the ladies restroom. Gretchen said
"Bruce, I would like you to meet someone...Angie Dickinson."
Angie shook my hand and was thi
nking to myself
"Angie had been friends of President Kennedy."
I told Angie "that Harold wrote China Gate
for the film she starred in 1957 and Nat King Cole sung the song."
I had just completed a documentary entitled Our Pal Hal.
Angie was very kind assisting Gretchen out of the restroom. Gretchen
was one of the first women as a board member at ASCAP and as
the wife of Harold a voting member of the Academy of Motion Pictures;
I still Miss Gretchen twenty-one years after her passing. Remembering Bacharach at age 94 who wrote 500 songs. Harry Ruby, 500 songs Henry Mancini over 3000 songs, Gretchen Davidson-Adamson one of the first women at ASCAP board member, Harold Adamson 300 songs; BURT BACHARACH and Hoagy Carmichael.300 songs. This group of songwritiers and composers had wrote many more songs than the BEATLES. All you Need is Love!
Our Pal Hal documentary Video 40 min. write to address above for dvd.
Photo taken by Nancy Ely Jan. 1948 on honeymoon
and Douglas standing next to one of the oldest trees "Wawona"
in the world. Douglas had sailed around the world in 1935 and
may have left offspring in Bali that we were not made aware of.
Their marriage was two weeks before Supermoon of Jan. 1948 which
produced a son in November of 1948. Sometime during the 1950s
m
y father
told me that he took Elizabeth Taylor out to an open listing
he had and cooked Liz breakfast. In those days, like any other
a celebrity could not go out and be recognized. Imagine that,
did Douglas cooked them scrambled or sunny side up?
Near the year, 1948 Liz had been in a threesome with future President John F. Kennedy and Robert Stack. Douglas Adamson's brother Harold had written one of Liz's first song for the film A Date With Judy in 1948, the song was It's a Most Unusual Day where others such as Robert Stack also sung it. When Liz was born her mother "Sara" was told that Liz was a mutated baby. Sara asked, "Oh No! How!" and she was told that Liz had two rows of lower eye lashes....Sara said well that is not sos bad and the rest is history. I like to think that it was Liz who talked her husband Michael Todd into having uncle Harold into writing lyrics to the Oscar winning song Around the World in 80 Days. Shortly after Todd's plane crash in the "Liz" Elizabeth Tayler returned to finish her great role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Liz attended the funeral with a special jet supplied by Howard Hughes.
REINCARNATION If I could chain the thoughts that rise in me, that travel through my brain incessantly that rise within me like a maddened sea, I'd rival Solomon.
The ever-flaming scripts of gleaming red, Like messages that come from minds long dead.If I could only hold them in my head I'd solve eternity. -- Hal Adamson
B. Adamson and Wyatt Earp, II great grandnephew of Wyatt Earp. Earp I, did not have children. Earp II, put on a great show, with autographed photos and about his great granduncle which his wife worked on script for his symposium on the original Wyatt Earp. Earp II said there were historians that made mistakes at the OK Corral. Many versions have been produced in Hollywood. James Garner and Kurt Russell were great. Then there was Harold, uncle Harold Adamson wrote the ballad for the TV series in the 1957 The Legend Of Wyatt Earp. Doc Holiday that had too much to drink.
In the 1942 Harold wrote the song "It is a Dog's Life" in 1955 while I was busy being born, the film It's a Dog's Life was released. The dog's voice of Wildfire which delivered by actor Vic Morrow whom I met at the courthouse. I also met actor Dean Jagger who was also in the same film as the adopted owner of Wildfire. When I met Jagger he was living in Santa Monica Canyon as I with Bumper the husky dog whom I lived out doors for two years 1975-78 circa.
For Harold's Dad ---James H. Adamson October, 1929 Stock Market Crash, click here.
Our Pal Hal: An Affair to Remember a documentary on Harold Adamson's life as a song writer was produced in 2003 by Bruce Adamson, nephew for Public Access.
On Feb. 24, 2006, Don Knotts passed. Uncle Harold wrote the songs for The Incredible Mr. Limpet. I Wish I Were
A Fish! Photo of Hal and Don Knotts and Sammy Fain.
For a complete list of Harold Adamson's songs from movies, click here.
For other hit songs, click here.
Harold Adamson--Accepted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972; and through his career had Five Academy Award Nominations 1: Film Suzy 1936; "Did Anyone Ever Tell You" sung by Jean Harlow and Cary Grant (Rare Cary Grant sings Hal's song); 2). Film That Certain Age, sung by Deanna Durbin; "My Own" 3). Film Higher and Higher; "I Couldn't Sleep A Wink Last Night" Sinatra's first Oscar nomination; Victor Borge and Mel Torme make film debute singing Hal's songs 4). Film Hit Parade of 1943; "A Change of Heart." 5). Film An Affair to Reemember song sung by Deborah Kerr and Vic Damone.
Douglas Adamson's wedding on Jan. 11, 1948, to Nancy Kissam Ely, Jimmy McHugh was best man to the groom. One of Mc
Hugh's biggest fan was President John F. Kennedy. For Harold Adamson's longest songwriting partner Jimmy McHugh's song list conduct an internet search. McHugh's letter to JFK on ballad McHugh wrote for Jackie Kennedy "The First Lady Waltz." The flip side to the 45 reco
rd was "City of Angels," by Adamson and McHugh. Photo of Jimmy McHugh standing behind JFK. One may want to read letter from McHugh to Evelyn Lincoln.
Harold Adamson would probably have preferred acting in motion pictures to writing
songs for them. Although he experimented with verse writing while
in prep school, his ambition was to become a thespian. While
a student at the University of Kansas, he gained experience on
the boards by performing in summer stock. 
On transferring to Harvard University,
he landed roles in the Hasty Pudding Club Shows. Harold may have
been inspired a little by his uncle Ernest Martin chief camera
engineer at Vitaphone and Vitagraph. Mr. Martin was the electrical
engineer for many Rudolph Valentino movies. In 1926 Martin set
up the electrical work for the very first sound movie Don Juan
staring John Barrymore.
Ten years later, Harold would write songs for two movies staring Lionel and John Barrymore. Like many artists who trained for other careers, Adamson's plans were changed by the unexpected success of a song.
Adamson clan. Circa 1910,
Minnie and Jim Adamson up front; Minnie sister in backrow; Ernest
Martin is on the right with hand in pocket, his wife Flo Adamson
is holding dog; James Adamson, Sr. is in back and wife on other
side of sister Campbell; Percy inventor of "Lastex"
is backrow with young boy Harold?; in front of Percy is Tom Adamson;
Seth Adamson has hand on man's shoulder who may be Minnie's brother
Herbert Campbell. These were the men behind the first stretchable
clothing "Lastex." Jim was written up in How
To Win Friends and Influence People and the developer
of Larchmont Shores. |
In Adamson's case, the composition was "Time On My Hands" for
which he wrote the lyrics in conjunction with Mack Gordon. Adamson
was barely out of college when the song was introduced in Florenz
Ziegfeld's Broadway production Smiles in 1930. That same year,
his work was heard in Earl Carroll's Vanities. After three more
stage musicals, the 27-year-old lyricist was lured to the cinema
capital by an offer from Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer. Bruce Adamson
has written and produced an 58 minute documentary on Hal's career.
Narratored by Wes Sims of Channel 46 Monterey B
ay.
Photograph of Jimmy McHugh, Frank Sinatra and Harold signed by Sinatra "Bruce, All the Best. Frank Sinatra 1989." Taken at the time Sinatra won his First Academy Award nomination by McHugh and Hal's song I Couldn't Sleep A Wink Last Night. Click Here for Sinatra Letter 1988.
One of the most popular stars under contract to MGM was Joan Crawford. Harold Adamson's first assignment for the studio was Crawford's Dancing Lady (1933) co-starring Clark Gable. The film's score included numbers by other lyricists, but it was Adamson's "Everything I have Is Yours" that audiences remembered. The next year, he worked on Fox's Bottoms Up starring Spencer Tracy; on RKO's Strictly Dynamite, in which Lupe Velez and Jimmy Durante appeared; and, working on loan to United Artists, on the Eddie Cantor vehicle Kid Millions.
The first of Adamson's songs to place on the
new radio program called "Your Hit Parade" was "Everything's
Been Done Before" sung by Jean Harlow in the 1935 movie
Reckless. Harlow also introduced "Did I Remember" which
was nominated for the Academy Award in 1936 in the film Suzy.
In this movie one will catch a very rare glimpse of Cary Grant
singing Harold's song. Just before production started, studio
head Louis B. Mayer gave Jean Harlow a $5,000 bonus, primarily
in recognition of the surprising profits on her previous film,
Suzy (1936), which had brought in three times its cost. Harold
and Walter Donaldson had collaborated on the song "You"
Which was in Harlow's second to last film Libeled Lady.
I believe her last song sung for the film industry "You."
Tidbit Lionel Barrymore was replaced in film. Libeled Lady
was nominated for Best Picture.yet Harold's other film "The
Great Zigfield" won the Oscar for best film.
A Zigfield Girl had also portions of one or two of Harold's
songs.
After a dozen films at MGM, Adamson signed with Universal, where he supplied Alice Faye and Deanna Durbin with two more "Hit Parade" favorites-- "You're a Sweetheart" and "My Own", which brought the lyricist his second bid for the Oscar in 1938.
Marilyn
Monroe worshiped Jean Harlow. Hal wrote
several of Harlow's last songs while she walked this earth. Harlow
was the godmother of the daughter of Bugsy Siegel. Bugsy is noted
as being the founder of Las Vegas. Hal was hired by Howard
Hughes' to write two songs for The Las Vegas Story.
It was Hughes who produced Jean Harlow's Hells Angels.
Clark Gable who was in Hal's first film was the leading man in
Monroe and Harlow's last films. Interesting genealogical note
is that Marilyn Monroe and Bruce Adamson are descended from John
Alden a Mayflower descendant. Harold is not related for it was
on my mother's side of the family Nancy Kissam Ely. Harold's
wife Gretchen lived on the same street in West Los Angeles that
Monroe is buried on Glendon Avenue, a mile or so from each other.
George Eastman and others like Sarah Palin were also related
to John Alden. Eastman was written up with Harold's father James
in Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People
near page 101.
In 1948 Hal wrote the lyrics for the song
"Rock, Rock, Rock" a Michael Todd production for Broadway.
In the 1930s he wrote the lyrics for the song: Hilo Hattie. To
the right we see Elvis Presley in the film Blue Hawaii with
Hilo Hattie. This was a decade
after Hal wrote Hilo Hattie for Hattie and ten years after
Rock, Rock Rock. In Hattie's autobiography she said that this
song made her career.
During
the years of World War II, Adamson's film songs "I
Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night," "A Lovely Way To
Spend an Evening," "Daybreak," "How Blue
the Night," and "I Don't Care Who Knows It" all
made the weekly surveys of America's ten top tunes. Harold wrote
the lyrics to Hilo Hattie in the early 1940s. Hal competed in
the annual Oscar derbys for the third and the fourth times when
"Change of Heart" (from Hit Parade of 1943) and "I
Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" (From Higher and Higher)
were in the running. This song was Frank Sinatra's first Academy
Award nominating song.
In WWII Hal was given awards from the Department of War, for writing patriotic
songs for movies and hits such as "Comin' in on a Wing and
a Prayer" and Bing Crosby's "Buy a Bond".
Hal wrote the song
"There's A New Flag on Ima Jima."
Adamson's success continued after the war and he provided lyrics for Susan Hayward in Smash-Up (1947), Jane Powell, Carmen Miranda and Elizabeth Taylor in A Date with Judy (1948), Hal wrote songs for four films that Carmen Miranda appeared in.
Would you like to hear Marilyn Monroe sing? She sang Hal's song "When Love Goes Wrong, Nothing Goes Right."
Jane Russell in His Kind of Woman
(1951), Jane Russell and Marilyn
Monroe in Gen
tlemen
Prefer Blondes (1953). ** In 1956, he added words to Victor Young's main theme
from Around the World in 80 Days, and it became the eighth of
his inventions to top "Your Hit Parade." Victor Young
had received 22 Oscar nominations before winning an Oscar for
Around the World in 80 Days, six months after Young had died.
Harold could not be nominated because he wrote the lyrics two
weeks before Oscar night.
Doris Day sung the Oscar nominating song "Que Sera Sera"Whatever Will Be Will Be, also a great song. Four years later ironically Doris Day sung the same song to David Niven in the film Please Don't Eat the Daisies. Niven is best remembered for the film Around the World in 80 Days. The Radio and T.V. Association of America nominated Harold's song: Around the World in 80 Days "Hit Record of the Year," a great honor in itself.
In 1957 Adamson received his fifth Oscar nomination for writing the lyrics with Leo McCarey to An Affair To Remember. Adamson however, his most prolific piece of work is the lyrics for the theme song to "I Love Lucy".
"I Love Lucy and she loves me, We're as happy as two can be, Sometimes we quarrel but then, How we love making up again. Lucy kisses like no one can, She's my missus and I'm her man, and life is heaven you see, Cause I LOVE LUCY, Yes, I LOVE LUCY and LUCY loves me..." Harold Adamson
For Johnny Green's career click here.
Harold Adamson was born in Greenville, New Jersey, in 1906 and was 73 at the time of his death in 1980..
When Hal Adamson died 30 years ago on August 17, 1980 at the service Johnny Green played in memory of Hal the piano at the Church in Beverly Hills. Green is remembered for his great music and conducting in the film "West Side Story." Other great films Green worked as the musican conductor was Bye Bye Birdie and Oliver. Green won Oscars for both Oliver and West Side Story. He was nominated for Bye Bye Birdie. As the nephew, I remembered shaking his hands of Mr. Green and Merton Berle. Meeting our cousin Meg Foster. Hal and Johnny Green had worked together during World War II in the film "Bathing Beauty," with Esther Williams and Red Skelton.While Hal said "Being nominated for an Oscar is a great honor in itself." At Hal's funeral Johnny Green, played the piano through entire service. Green had been nominated 14 times and won five Oscars. Brigadoon was another one of his masterpieces.
An Affair to Remember, Bruce playing with
sister in Harold's backyard at 704 North Alpine, Beverly Hills
in 1959, Hal looking on. Not far away a few blocks Frank Sinatra
had a home. Next door was Donna Reed, both Reed and Sinatra won
Oscars in 1953 about seven years earlier. For From Here to Eternity.
Rings a bell with Hal. In the summer of 1981-82 my aunt Gretchen
went on vacation and allowed me to
house sit for three months. Everyday was a hot summer
day and I would jog all around the bordering parks in Beverly
Hills.
Eve Adamson -- Harold's daughter
died at age 68 on Oct.
8th, 2006. Tennessee Williams
said of Eve "She directed the best version of Cat on A Hot
Tin Roof he had ever seen," on stage.
Eve Adamson's obituaryNew York Times obituary click here.\
On Feb. 11, 2006 Harold Adamson was honored by Jazz pianist Eric Reed at the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.) in honor of Hal's 100th year of his birth. Cousin E. Adamson said Eric Reed did a subperb job of playing Hal's tunes. I drove to beat deadline to deliver an hour long video Our Pal Hal; to Reed and he was very appreciative. For he was able to get actual video of Harold's songs.
Eric Reed Program at Kennedy Center here. On December 10, 2006 Harold would have been 100 years old.
Behind Every Great Man There is a
Great Woman, Behind Harold Adamson
was Gretchen. Please visit the memorial to my Aunt Gretchen Adamson,
(Mrs. Harold Adamson), who died at 7:55pm August 2, 2002 here.
Bruce Campbell Adamson produced both a 28 and 58 minute documentary "Our Pal Hal; An Affair To Remember.".
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