Frank Loesser

Frank Loesser wrote the music and lyrics for Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Before Broadway he was a hit Hollywood lyricist, and his gift for slangy, conversational lyrics made his characters sound like real New Yorkers.

Who was Frank Loesser?

Frank Loesser was born in New York City on June 29, 1910. In the late 1930s he began writing lyrics for films, working with composers such as Hoagy Carmichael, Burton Lane, and Jule Styne. During World War II he wrote both words and music for Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, and he won an Oscar for Baby, It's Cold Outside, sung in the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter.

On Broadway he wrote his own music and lyrics. His songs capture the way people actually talk, and he loved musical tricks such as three gamblers singing over each other in Fugue for Tinhorns. His range ran from brassy comedy to the near-operatic The Most Happy Fella. He also founded the music publisher Frank Music Corporation and, in 1952, the licensing company Music Theatre International. He died in New York on July 28, 1969.

Frank Loesser's Broadway shows in order

His first Broadway musical was Where's Charley? (1948), followed by Guys and Dolls (1950), The Most Happy Fella (1956), Greenwillow (1960), and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961). His last musical, Pleasures and Palaces (1965), closed during its out-of-town tryout and never reached Broadway.

Between shows he also wrote the songs for the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen. He married Jo Sullivan, the original leading lady of The Most Happy Fella, in 1959.

Legacy, awards, and where to start

Both Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and How to Succeed also won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, shared by Loesser and book writer Abe Burrows. Each became a Hollywood film: Guys and Dolls in 1955, with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, and How to Succeed in 1967, with Robert Morse repeating his Broadway role. Many critics rank Guys and Dolls among the greatest musical comedies ever written.

Start with Guys and Dolls, which is packed with songs you may already know. How to Succeed is a sharp office satire to try next, and The Most Happy Fella shows his more ambitious, romantic side.

Frank Loesser: frequently asked questions

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