Milton Ager

Milton Ager (October 6, 1893 – May 6, 1979) was an American composer.

Milton Ager
Background information
Born(1893-10-06)October 6, 1893
Chicago, Illinois, US
DiedMay 6, 1979(1979-05-06) (aged 85)
Los Angeles, California
GenresPopular music
Occupation(s)Composer, lyricist
InstrumentsPiano
Associated actsSophie Tucker

Biography

Ager was born to a Jewish family[1] in Chicago, Illinois, the sixth of nine children. Leaving school with only three years of formal high-school education, he taught himself to play the piano and embarked on a career as a musician. After spending time as an accompanist to silent movies, he moved to New York City to write music. During World War I he served as a morale officer.

Ager also was a music publisher in partnership with his frequent musical collaborator, lyricist Jack Yellen. He moved to Hollywood where he made a living writing songs for film. On his death, Milton Ager was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Ager was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1979.

In 2007, a revue of Ager's music called Vampin' Lady opened in New Hope, Pennsylvania, performed by singer Joyce Moody under the direction of Earl Wentz and transferred to New York City as part of the American Composer Series.

Family
  • Ager's wife was columnist Cecelia Ager.
  • Ager was the father of columnist Shana Alexander.
  • Ager's niece, Joy Eden Harrison, a singer-songwriter with three albums to her credit, claims his work has been influential on her own musical career.

Songs

Among the best known Milton Ager songs are:

Works for Broadway include:

  • What's in a Name? (1920) – musical – composer
  • Rain or Shine (1928) – musical – co-composer
  • Murray Anderson's Almanac (1929) – revue – co-composer

References
  1. Tampa Jewish Federation: "Jews in the News: Carrie Fisher, Norman Lear and Stephen Tobolowsky" retrieved March 18, 2017
  • Jaques Cattell Press: ASCAP biographical dictionary of composers, authors and publishers. Fourth edition. R. R. Bowker, New York 1980.
  • Stanley Sadie, H. Wiley Hitchcock (Ed.): The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, New York, N.Y. 1986.
  • Colin Larkin: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Third edition. Macmillan, New York, N.Y. 1998.
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