![Ken Darby](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w185/g3ln3AUplMgjTrejESPosJH1pa2.jpg)
Ken Darby
Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for the Munchkinland mayor in The Wizard of Oz (1939), who was portrayed in the film by Charlie Becker. Darby is also notable as the author of The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe (1983), a biography of the home of Rex Stout's fictional detective.
Ken Darby's choral group, The Ken Darby Singers, sang backup for Bing Crosby on the original 1942 Decca Records studio recording of "White Christmas." In 1940 they also sang on the first album ever made of the songs from The Wizard of Oz, a film on which Darby had worked. However, the album was a studio cast recording, not a true soundtrack album (although it did feature Judy Garland), and it did not use the film's original arrangements.
Darby also performed as part of "The King's Men," a vocal quartet that recorded several songs with Paul Whiteman's orchestra in the mid-1930s and were the featured vocalists on the Fibber McGee and Molly radio program from 1940 through 1953. In the early 1940s, he performed with the King's Men a musical version of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" that he wrote called "T'was the Night Before Christmas" which was performed on the Christmas episodes of Fibber McGee and Molly. They also participated on the soundtracks of several MGM films, including The Wizard of Oz and occasional Tom and Jerry cartoons. The King's Men portrayed the Marx Brothers in a musical spoof in the film Honolulu (Darby played one of two 'Grouchos' in the group). He also provided the theme song and the soundtrack for The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, the 1955-61 television series starring Hugh O'Brian, and The Adventures of Jim Bowie starring Scott Forbes.
He was a composer and production supervisor for Walt Disney Studios and was the choral and vocal director of the 1946 Disney film classic Song of the South.
He was also Marilyn Monroe's vocal coach for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and There's No Business Like Show Business (1954).
Darby was also the principal composer of the 1956 Elvis Presley hit "Love Me Tender" for the movie of the same name but signed the rights over to his wife, Vera Matson, whose name appears as co-lyricist and co-composer with Presley. The song was adapted from the Civil War-era song "Aura Lee." Presley's composing credit was mandated by his management, to entice him to record the song. Darby was often asked about his decision to credit the song to his wife along with Presley, and his standard response was an acid, "Because she didn't write it either."
An avid fan of Nero Wolfe, Rex Stout's fictional detective genius, Darby wrote a detailed biography of Wolfe's home titled The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe (1983).
Ken Darby died January 24, 1992, in the final stages of production of his last book, Hollywood Holyland: The Filming and Scoring of 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' (1992).
He was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 4.953 |
Birthday | 1909-05-13 |
Place of Birth | Hebron, Nebraska, USA |
Also Known As |
![Make Mine Music](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1Mu98243emXAKy8iZfymUJDgTpS.jpg)
1946
![Make Mine Music](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1Mu98243emXAKy8iZfymUJDgTpS.jpg)
Make Mine Music
5.841/246
In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring such fun-filled favorites as "Pe...
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Make Mine Music
![The Brave Engineer](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/42hPStDkAqood9jJ1Ax7n8hpaM3.jpg)
1950
![The Brave Engineer](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/42hPStDkAqood9jJ1Ax7n8hpaM3.jpg)
The Brave Engineer
5.9/14
Casey Jones is one of the best engineers there is and it is his duty to get his cargo to its destination on time via train. He sets off but is set bac...
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The Brave Engineer
![Going Hollywood](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lwQdpRGxl1msB2IvnwsCYsDYiss.jpg)
1933
![Going Hollywood](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/lwQdpRGxl1msB2IvnwsCYsDYiss.jpg)
Going Hollywood
5.5/12
The film tells the story of Sylvia, a French teacher at an all-girl school, who wants to find love. When she hears Bill Williams on the radio, she dec...
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Going Hollywood
![Honolulu](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/wBTtbfupI5BECw5Zm9yy1w9c9EZ.jpg)
1939
![Honolulu](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/wBTtbfupI5BECw5Zm9yy1w9c9EZ.jpg)
Honolulu
6.1/7
Wanting a break from his overzealous fans, a famous movie star hires a Hawaiian plantation owner to switch places with him for a few weeks.
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Honolulu
![Broadway Serenade](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/r3bxtJCWm4tPEhGhQ3bJ0Pbyjqq.jpg)
1939
![Broadway Serenade](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/r3bxtJCWm4tPEhGhQ3bJ0Pbyjqq.jpg)
Broadway Serenade
6.2/4
A married singer, pianist/composer team are struggling to hit it big in New York. Finally, they audition before a Broadway producer, but the producer...
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Broadway Serenade
![Stagecoach War](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/feQriVOdct7NDIcV6zEm0qYM2Jx.jpg)
1940
![Stagecoach War](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/feQriVOdct7NDIcV6zEm0qYM2Jx.jpg)
Stagecoach War
4/1
Hoppy is busy chasing stagecoach bandits who sing as they rob.
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Stagecoach War
![Renegade Trail](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/698rNf4CF8phVDYMpD6reMg83gm.jpg)
1939
![Renegade Trail](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/698rNf4CF8phVDYMpD6reMg83gm.jpg)
Renegade Trail
5/1
Hoppy goes to town to help Marshal Windy with some rustlers and winds up helping the widow Joyce when confidence men try to take her herd. King's Men...
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Renegade Trail
![Law of the Pampas](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1HH7CbDA4EuVpNH0Smu7aZNSOUe.jpg)
1939
![Law of the Pampas](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1HH7CbDA4EuVpNH0Smu7aZNSOUe.jpg)
Law of the Pampas
5/1
Hoppy and Lucky are headed to South America to deliver a heard of cattle. Bay guy Ralph Merritt gets in their way. For a while.
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Law of the Pampas
![The Showdown](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nJHPu1h2vRt1LPgqmBOuAvpH5ug.jpg)
1940
![The Showdown](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nJHPu1h2vRt1LPgqmBOuAvpH5ug.jpg)
The Showdown
6/2
European bad guy Baron Bendor leads some local townsmen in a plot to obtain horses through theft. Hoppy and his sidekicks Lucky and Speedy must find a...
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The Showdown
![The Kansan](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/p0o0LV969cvqptwgsrjsAMWZx9d.jpg)
1943
![The Kansan](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/p0o0LV969cvqptwgsrjsAMWZx9d.jpg)
The Kansan
5.2/5
Wounded while stopping the James gang from robbing the local bank, a cowboy wakes up in the hospital to find that he's been elected town marshal. He s...
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The Kansan
![For Me and My Gal](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/gJrm2rg2sCnO9oKxdcBVH9a6wkj.jpg)
1942
![For Me and My Gal](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/gJrm2rg2sCnO9oKxdcBVH9a6wkj.jpg)
For Me and My Gal
6.444/45
Two vaudeville performers fall in love, but find their relationship tested by the arrival of WWI.
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For Me and My Gal
![Let's Go Native](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/4mYyPATU6ZYlDpCgMrgALuLum6o.jpg)
1930
![Let's Go Native](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/4mYyPATU6ZYlDpCgMrgALuLum6o.jpg)
Let's Go Native
7.5/2
The company of a musical comedy gets shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by a "king" from Brooklyn and his coterie of wild native girls.
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Let's Go Native
![Margie](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/yi8Xdp8Rl9SnssxIeM95KELHOT2.jpg)
1946
![Margie](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/yi8Xdp8Rl9SnssxIeM95KELHOT2.jpg)
Margie
6.9/7
A woman reminisces about her teenage years in the 1920s, when she fell in love with her teacher.
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Margie
![The Martins and the Coys](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1wDxHmPhJTJawgvzcpmf9pOPdTp.jpg)
1946
![The Martins and the Coys](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1wDxHmPhJTJawgvzcpmf9pOPdTp.jpg)
The Martins and the Coys
6/5
The Martins and the Coys are two feuding clans. One day, Grandpa Coy gets caught in the Martin henhouse, and a massive battle erupts, leaving only a M...
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The Martins and the Coys
![Walt Disney's Halloween Hilarities](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/9JcfrP3M0AFdeJkMzRn1zwfxHau.jpg)
1953
![Walt Disney's Halloween Hilarities](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/9JcfrP3M0AFdeJkMzRn1zwfxHau.jpg)
Walt Disney's Halloween Hilarities
0/0
A package film of Halloween-themed cartoons, one of which being Trick or Treat (1952).
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Walt Disney's Halloween Hilarities
![Two-Faced Woman](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/ckur8ivaMyvn6VSP5Q5Ru7E9UJG.jpg)
1941
![Two-Faced Woman](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/ckur8ivaMyvn6VSP5Q5Ru7E9UJG.jpg)
Two-Faced Woman
6.426/27
A woman pretends to be her own twin sister to win back her straying husband.
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Two-Faced Woman
![Donald's Dilemma](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/qwRYHy36TKvtk1ab9gXGGnUk4Wn.jpg)
1947
![Donald's Dilemma](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/qwRYHy36TKvtk1ab9gXGGnUk4Wn.jpg)
Donald's Dilemma
6.383/30
Donald and Daisy are walking when he is hit by a flowerpot. He's convinced he's a famous singer, and he croons divinely, but does not recognize Daisy....
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Donald's Dilemma
![Trick or Treat](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nQXM4cjVozDgNaQoRGBGi6cg29b.jpg)
1952
![Trick or Treat](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nQXM4cjVozDgNaQoRGBGi6cg29b.jpg)
Trick or Treat
6.861/97
When the nephews come to Donald's house in their Halloween costumes he dumps water on them and laughs at his trick. A witch sees this and decides to h...
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