Johnny Marks
John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (a hit for Gene Autry and others), "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (a hit for Brenda Lee), "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (recorded by the Quinto Sisters and later by Burl Ives), "Silver and Gold" (for Burl Ives), and "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" (introduced by Bing Crosby). Personal lifeMarks was born to a Jewish[1] family in Mount Vernon, New York.[2] He began writing songs when he was 13.[3] A graduate of McBurney School in New York, N.Y., Colgate University, and Columbia University, Marks later studied in Paris. He earned a Bronze Star and four Battle Stars as an Army Captain in the 26th Special Service Company during World War II. Marks had three children: Michael, Laura, and David. Marks was the great-uncle of economist Steven Levitt.[4] Marks' father, Louis B. Marks (1869-1939), was a leading illumination (lighting) engineer. His wife, Margaret May Marks, was the sister of Robert L. May, who wrote the original story of Rudolph.[2] Marks was the nephew of Marcus M. Marks, a business figure who served as Borough President of Manhattan. Marks lived on West 11th Street in Greenwich Village and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. He died on September 3, 1985, of complications from diabetes.[5] CareerAmong Marks's many works is "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer", which was based on a poem of the same name by Marks's brother-in-law, Robert L. May, Rudolph's creator. A television film based on the story and song first aired in 1964, with Marks composing the score. He felt pigeonholed by the success of the song; he felt that his best song was "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day“, which set the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1864 poem "Christmas Bells" to music. [3] In addition to his songwriting, Marks founded St. Nicholas Music in 1949, and served as director of ASCAP from 1957 to 1961. In 1981, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[6] Marks appeared as an imposter on the December 11, 1961, episode of the game show To Tell The Truth. Impersonating the owner of a herd of reindeer, he received two of the four votes. After the true contestant was revealed, Marks identified himself as the composer of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".[citation needed] Works (incomplete list)Christmas songs
** Burl Ives released "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Silver and Gold," two songs he sang as his character Sam the Snowman, as singles for the 1965 holiday season, the year after the TV production.
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