Edward Eliscu

{{Infobox person

|image=

|birth_date={{Birth date|1902|4|2}}

|birth_place=Manhattan, New York City, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1998|6|18|1902|4|2}}

|occupation= {{hlist|Lyricist|playwright|producer|stage actor}}

}}

Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was an American lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films.

Life

Eliscu was born in Manhattan, New York City. His parents, Frank and Sofia Eliscu, were born in Romania and emigrated to the United States. {{cite web | url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/505453-Edward-Eliscu | title=Edward Eliscu | website=Discogs }} He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in Manhattan as a classmate of director George Cukor. He then attended City College of New York and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. His older brother Millton D'Eliscu was a military officer, multi-sport coach, and athletic director.{{Cite web |last=Kiger |first=Patrick J. |date=2020-09-08 |title=Killer Instinct: How One Man Taught U.S. Rangers to Fight Dirty in WWII |url=https://www.historynet.com/killer-instinct-how-one-man-taught-u-s-rangers-to-fight-dirty-in-wwii/ |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=HistoryNet |language=en-US}}

He then began acting in Broadway plays. Eliscu's first film score was with Vincent Youmans and Billy Rose for the film Great Day. Two well-known songs from that show include "More Than You Know," and "Without a Song."

He married the dancer and journalist Stella Bloch in 1931. They both worked in the film industry until the House Committee on Un-American Activities named her husband in the 1950s. This ended his career in the film and later in the television industry.[http://archives.nypl.org/dan/19825 Stella Bloch papers], New York Public Library. Retrieved October 19, 2015 Eliscu together with his wife's cousin Mortimer Offner moved away from Hollywood and returned to New York.{{cite book|author1=Larry Ceplair|author2=Steven Englund|title=The Inquisition in Hollywood: Politics in the Film Community, 1930–1960|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HvC3WaGZF3UC&pg=PA399|date=January 1983|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-04886-7|pages=399–400}}

Eliscu was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975.[http://songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_home_page.asp?exhibitId=251 Songwriters Hall of Fame] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001161205/http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_home_page.asp?exhibitId=251 |date=October 1, 2006 }}. Retrieved October 19, 2015

He died on June 18, 1998, aged 96, in Newtown, Connecticut.{{cite news |title=Edward Eliscu, 96, Songwriter and Playwright |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/22/us/edward-eliscu-96-songwriter-and-playwright.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 22, 1998 }}

Eliscu is the grandfather of music journalist and broadcaster Jenny Eliscu.{{Cite web|title= |url=https://twitter.com/jennylsq/status/1156252912177299459|access-date=June 26, 2020|via=Twitter|language=en}}{{Primary source inline|date=July 2020}}