Richard A. Whiting, father of singer/actress Margaret Whiting and actress Barbara Whiting Smith, was a prolific writer of popular songs. Born in Peoria, Illinois, in 1891, he attended the Harvard Military School in Los Angeles, California. After graduation, Whiting began his career as a staff writer for various music publishers. In 1919, he moved to Hollywood and wrote a number of film scores. Collaborating with such lyricists as Buddy DeSylva, Ray Egan, Neil Moret, Leo Robin, Gus Kahn, Sidney Clare and, perhaps most notably, Johnny Mercer, he wrote a number of scores for Broadway plays and produced a number of popular hits. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1970.
|
