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IMDbPro

Jay Livingston(1915-2001)

  • Music Department
  • Composer
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Jay Livingston was born March 28, 1915 in McDonald, Pennsylvania. He (along with his partner Ray Evans) composed many songs for movies such as To Each His Own (1946), Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) and Academy Award winning songs "Mona Lisa" from the movie Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1949), "Buttons and Bows" from the movie The Paleface (1948) and "Que Sera Sera" from the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). Livingston and Evans also collaborated on several popular TV themes such as Bonanza (1959) and Mister Ed (1961).
BornMarch 28, 1915
DiedOctober 17, 2001(86)
BornMarch 28, 1915
DiedOctober 17, 2001(86)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Won 3 Oscars
    • 7 wins & 6 nominations total

Known for

Doris Day and James Stewart in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
The Man Who Knew Too Much
7.4
  • Soundtrack
  • 1956
Kim Basinger, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Guy Pearce in L.A. Confidential (1997)
L.A. Confidential
8.2
  • Soundtrack
  • 1997
Bob Hope, Jane Darwell, Oliver Blake, Fred Clark, William Frawley, Tor Johnson, Andrea King, Marilyn Maxwell, and Lloyd Nolan in The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
The Lemon Drop Kid
7.0
  • Music Department
  • 1951
Alan Ladd and Wanda Hendrix in Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1949)
Captain Carey, U.S.A.
6.4
  • Soundtrack
  • 1949

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Music Department

  • Catalina Zavala Richard in Béa (2018)
    Béa
    8.4
    Short
    • composer: theme music
    • 2018
  • Twisted Sister: Silver Bells (2006)
    Twisted Sister: Silver Bells
    7.4
    Music Video
    • Music Department
    • 2006
  • Matt Carmody, Jared Daperis, Daniel Hugh Kelly, and Drew Powell in Ponderosa (2001)
    Ponderosa
    6.1
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • 2001
  • Bonanza: Under Attack (1995)
    Bonanza: Under Attack
    5.8
    TV Movie
    • composer: original theme
    • 1995
  • Bonanza: The Return (1993)
    Bonanza: The Return
    5.8
    TV Movie
    • composer: theme "Bonanza"
    • 1993
  • Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988)
    Bonanza: The Next Generation
    5.6
    TV Movie
    • composer: original theme "Bonanza"
    • 1988
  • Bob Hope Buys NBC? (1985)
    Bob Hope Buys NBC?
    6.2
    TV Special
    • composer: theme music
    • 1985
  • Doris Day in The Doris Day Show (1968)
    The Doris Day Show
    7.2
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • composer: theme song "Que Sera, Sera" (as Livingston)
    • 1968–1973
  • Bonanza (1959)
    Bonanza
    7.3
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • 1959–1973
  • John Forsythe, Melanie Fullerton, Joyce Menges, and Susan Neher in To Rome with Love (1969)
    To Rome with Love
    7.2
    TV Series
    • theme by
    • 1970
  • Bob Denver and Herb Edelman in The Good Guys (1968)
    The Good Guys
    6.9
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • lyrics: theme song
    • 1968–1970
  • Tammy (1965)
    Tammy
    6.9
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • 1965–1966
  • Allan Lane, Alan Young, and Mister Ed in Mister Ed (1961)
    Mister Ed
    6.9
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • 1961–1965
  • Karen (1964)
    Karen
    8.0
    TV Series
    • special songs
    • 1965
  • Beetle Bailey (1963)
    Beetle Bailey
    6.4
    TV Series
    • theme music composer
    • 1963

Composer

  • ¿Qué será? (2004)
    ¿Qué será?
    Short
    • Composer
    • 2004
  • Hermes House Band: Que Sera, Sera
    Music Video
    • Composer
    • 2001
  • The Secret of Old Glory Mine
    8.2
    TV Movie
    • Composer
    • 1976
  • Norman Corwin Presents (1971)
    Norman Corwin Presents
    6.2
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1972
  • Auf Sieg? Auf Platz? - Auf Liebe!
    9.4
    TV Movie
    • Composer
    • 1967
  • Beetle Bailey (1963)
    Beetle Bailey
    6.4
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1963
  • Krazy Kat (1962)
    Krazy Kat
    6.3
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1963
  • Satins and Spurs (1954)
    Satins and Spurs
    6.3
    TV Movie
    • Composer
    • 1954

Actor

  • William Holden, Nancy Olson, and Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950)
    Sunset Boulevard
    8.4
    • Jay Livingston
    • 1950

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Livingston
  • Height
    • 6′ 3″ (1.91 m)
  • Born
    • March 28, 1915
    • McDonald, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Died
    • October 17, 2001
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(pneumonia)
  • Spouses
      Shirley MitchellMay 16, 1992 - October 17, 2001 (his death)
  • Children
    • Travilyn Elaine Livingston
  • Parents
      Maurice Herman Levison
  • Relatives
      Nancy Olson(Sibling)

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In their Television Archives interview, Ray Evans and Jay Livingston said when Desi Arnaz asked them to write a theme song for a Western television show, he told them he could not pay them much for a weekly salary, because the show was only going to last one year. The men made a deal with Desi to keep the rights to the song. When Bonanza became an unexpected smash-hit, owning the rights to the song, the men made millions.

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