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Biography
George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Records.
DeSylva was born in New York City, but grew up in California, and attended the University of Southern California, where he joined the Theta Xi Fraternity.
His Portuguese-born father, Aloysius J. De Sylva, was better known to American audiences as actor Hal De Forrest. His father was also a lawyer as well as an actor. His mother, Georgetta Miles Gard, was the daughter of Los Angeles police chief George E. Gard.
DeSylva's first successful songs were those used by Al Jolson on Broadway in the 1918 production of Sinbad, which included "I'll Say She Does". Soon thereafter, he met Jolson and in 1918 the pair went to New York and DeSylva began working as a songwriter in Tin Pan Alley.
In the early 1920s, DeSylva frequently worked with composer George Gershwin. Together, they created the experimental one-act jazz opera Blue Monday set in Harlem, which is widely regarded as a forerunner to Porgy and Bess ten years later.
In April 1924, DeSylva married Marie Wallace, a Ziegfeld Follies dancer.
In 1925, DeSylva became one third of the songwriting team with lyricist Lew Brown and composer Ray Henderson, one of the top Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the era. The team was responsible for the song "Magnolia" (1927) which was popularized by Lou Gold's orchestra. The writing and publishing partnership continued until 1930, producing a string of hits and the perennial Broadway favorite Good News.
DeSylva joined ASCAP in 1920 and served on the ASCAP board of directors between 1922 and 1930. He became a producer of stage and screen musicals. DeSylva relocated to Hollywood and was contracted to Fox Studios.
During this tenure, he produced movies such as The Little Colonel, The Littlest Rebel, Captain January, Poor Little Rich Girl and Stowaway. In 1941, he became the Executive Producer at Paramount Pictures, a position he would hold until 1944. At Paramount, he was also an uncredited executive producer for Double Indemnity, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Story of Dr. Wassell and The Glass Key. Betty Hutton always credited DeSylva for bringing her to Hollywood and launching her film career.
The Paramount all-star extravaganza Star Spangled Rhythm, which takes place at the Paramount film studio in Hollywood, features a fictional movie executive named "B.G. DeSoto" (played by Walter Abel) who is a parody of DeSylva.
In 1942, Johnny Mercer, Glenn Wallichs and DeSylva together founded Capitol Records. He also founded the Cowboy label.
Productions
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Artist Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
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