Sunday, December 3, 2006; Y03
If you've ever seen a performance of "Guys and Dolls" or "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," you're already acquainted with the work of composer-lyricist Frank Loesser.
"But his name isn't familiar to people today, it's not instantly recognizable," said Walter J. Gottlieb, an independent TV producer in Silver Spring whose documentary on Loesser premieres Sunday on WETA as part of a pledge drive. "I thought it was important to tell audiences who this guy was behind all these shows and songs that they love."
So Gottlieb contacted the office of Loesser's widow, Jo Sullivan Loesser, and began filming two weeks later.
"I happened to call at a fortuitous time because Symphony Space was presenting 'Wall to Wall Loesser,' " a day-long showcase in New York of Loesser's songs. While there, Gottlieb filmed as many interviews as he could for his documentary.
His 90-minute program also includes historical re-creations, all shot locally with area actors at such locations as the District's Arena Stage, the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring, the Greenbelt Museum and the Black Box Theatre at Montgomery College in Takoma Park.
"That's unusual for a Broadway-themed film," Gottlieb said, "because most are done by established producers in New York or L.A."
Loesser had connections with the entertainment industry on both sides of the continent. He was born in New York in 1910 into a family of classically trained, German-immigrant musicians and sometimes would sit under the piano while his older brother would play Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert with friends.
But Loesser got swept up by popular music and began working in small nightclubs and writing lyrics.
He moved to Hollywood, where he developed a "conversational style of lyric writing that would become his trademark," the documentary says. He also began to write music: His first big hit as a lyricist-composer was "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," written during World War II.
Loesser returned to New York, where his Broadway work included "Guys and Dolls" (later a movie with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra) and "How to Succeed." He won an Oscar for the 1949 song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and a Pulitzer in 1962 for "How to Succeed." He died in 1969 of lung cancer.
"Such a genius, but also so human," Gottlieb said of Loesser. "He was a tough-talking guy who was brilliant but had a temper and smoked too much. He cursed all the time but was incredibly warm and generous, and mentored the whole next generation of musical theater talent."
-- Judith S. Gillies
HEART & SOUL: THE LIFE & MUSIC OF FRANK LOESSER
Sunday, 6 p.m., WETA
