Joseph Darion

Background

Joseph Darion was born on January 30, 1917, in New York City, New York, United States. He was the son of Isak and Rose (Nadelle) Darion.

Education

Darion attended City College of New York.

Career

Mr. Darion was a prolific lyricist who worked in every field of music from popular songs to opera. He served in the Navy during World War II. In the early 1950s he had three Top-10 hits the Patti Page ballad ''Changing Partners'' (music by Larry Coleman), the Teresa Brewer novelty ''Ricochet'' (music by Mr. Coleman and Norman Gimbel) and Red Buttons's comedy hit ''The Ho-Ho Song.''

Mr. Darion's first Broadway show, the innovative jazz opera ''Shinbone Alley'' in 1957 with music by George Kleinsinger, was a musical adaptation of Don Marquis's popular ''Archy and Mehitabel'' stories. The show evolved out of a popular recording featuring Carol Channing and Eddie Bracken. He also wrote ''Illya Darling'' (1967), a Broadway adaptation of the movie ''Never On Sunday,'' with music by Manos Hadjidakis. It ran for 320 performances. But Darion's greatest success came in the 1965-66 season with Man Of La Mancha (with a score by Mitch Leigh).

He also wrote librettos in collaboration with the composer Ezra Laderman. They included an oratorio, ''Galileo Galilei,'' and the cantatas ''And David Wept,'' ''A Handful of Souls,'' ''The Questions of Abraham'' and ''A Mass for Cain.''

Achievements

• Joe Darion is most commonly known for writing stage score for the long-running Broadway show Man of La Mancha. He co-wrote several hits during the 1950s, including "Changing Partners", "Ricochet", and "The Ho-Ho Song".
  
  In 1966 Darion won two Tony Awards for "Man of La Mancha:" for Best Lyricist with collaborator 'Mitch Leigh' winning for Best Composer, and for his lyrics as part of a Best Musical win. In 1968, he was nominated in the same two categories for "Ilya, Darling:" as Best Lyricist, this time with Manos Hatzidakis as Best Composer, and for his lyrics as part of a Best Musical nomination.

Works

More photos

• audio

  • Man of La Mancha 1965
  • The Impossible Dream 1965

• book

  • Changing Partners 1953

• video

  • Shinbone Alley 1953

Views

Quotations: "Write a lyric with beautiful words but with open vowels in the wrong places, and you won't live to hear the applause, because if the composer doesn't kill you, the singer will."

"Today the music must be woven into the warp and woof of the play to add a dimension, to put up another wall for the weight of the play to rest upon."

Membership

Darion was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, American Guild of Authors and Composers, Dramatists Guild, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Connections

On June 8, 1940, Darion married Hellen Solomon.

Father:

Isak Darion

Mother:

Rose (Nadelle) Darion

Spouse:

Hellen Solomon

Partner:

Mitch Leigh

January 30, 1928 – March 16, 2014

Mitch Leigh, born Irwin Michnick, was an American musical theatre composer and theatrical producer best known for the musical Man of La Mancha.

Partner:

George Kleinsinger

February 13, 1914 – July 28, 1982

George Kleinsinger was an American composer best known for his collaboration with Paul Tripp on the 1940s children's classical-music piece "Tubby the Tuba".

Partner:

Ezra Laderman

29 June 1924 – 28 February 2015

Ezra Laderman was an American composer of classical music.

Partner:

Guy Wood

July 24, 1911 – February 23, 2001

Guy B. Wood was a musician and songwriter born in Manchester, England.

Partner:

John Benson Brooks

February 23, 1917 – November 13, 1999

John Benson Brooks was an American jazz pianist, songwriter, arranger, and composer.

Partner:

Herman Krasnow

February 15, 1910 – April 23, 1984

Herman "Hecky" Krasnow was a record producer of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and the Frank Buck recording Tiger.

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series brings researchers the most recent data on the worlds most-popular authors.
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