Introduction
Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Life and career
Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Best Original Song award twice: in 1940 for "When You Wish upon a Star" in Pinocchio and in 1952 for "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')" in High Noon.
Washington had his roots in vaudeville as a master of ceremonies. Having started his songwriting career with Earl Carroll's Vanities on Broadway in the late 1920s, he joined ASCAP in 1930. In 1934, he was signed by MGM and relocated to Hollywood, eventually writing full scores for feature films. During the 1940s, he worked for a number of studios, including Paramount, Warner Brothers, Disney, and Republic. During these tenures, he collaborated with many of the great composers of the era, including Hoagy Carmichael, Victor Young, Max Steiner, and Dimitri Tiomkin.
He served as a director of ASCAP from 1957 until 1976, the year he died.
Washington is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His grave is located in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery.
Songs
Some of Washington's songwriting credits include:
- "Town Without Pity" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1961), sung in the movie by Gene Pitney
- "Rawhide" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1958), sung in the TV show by Frankie Laine
- "Wild Is the Wind" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1956) sung in the movie by Johnny Mathis
- "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1956), sung in the movie by Frankie Laine
- "The 3:10 to Yuma" (music by George Duning, 1957), sung in the movie by Frankie Laine
- "The High and the Mighty" (music by Dimitri Tiomkin, 1954) (Deleted from the final "cut", but nominated anyway; also deleted from the recent "restoration" by Batjac)
- Lyrics from the musical numbers in the film Let's Do It Again, 1953.
- "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')" in the film High Noon, sung by Tex Ritter.
- "My Foolish Heart" (music by Victor Young, 1950)
- "On Green Dolphin Street" (music by Bronislau Kaper, 1947)
- "Stella by Starlight" (music by Victor Young), 1944), recorded by Ella Fitzgerald on her Verve album Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!, also covered by Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Chet Baker
- "Baby Mine" for Dumbo (music by Frank Churchill, 1941), sung in the movie by Betty Noyes (uncredited); nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 14th Academy Awards.
- "When You Wish upon a Star" for Pinocchio (music by Leigh Harline, 1940), sung in the movie by the character Jiminy Cricket, voice by Cliff Edwards, alsoknown as "Ukulele Ike", won Oscar for best song
- "The Nearness of You" (with Hoagy Carmichael, 1938) written for Gladys Swarthout for the film Romance in the Dark
- "Smoke Rings"(music by H. Eugene Gifford, 1932)
- "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" (music by George Bassman, 1932), used by Tommy Dorsey as his theme song
- "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You" (music by Victor Young, 1932), recorded by Ella Fitzgerald on her Pablo release Digital III at Montreux.
- "Singin' in the Bathtub" (with Herb Magidson; music by Michael H. Cleary, 1929)