Biography
Sammy Fain was an American composer of popular songs for Broadway and Hollywood films. Born Samuel Feinberg in New York City on 17 June 1902, he began his career as a staff pianist and songwriter in the mid-1920s and achieved early success collaborating with lyricist Irving Kahal from 1927 until Kahal's death in 1942.
Fain contributed songs to numerous films in the 1930s, including Footlight Parade (1933). He later wrote for Walt Disney animated features such as Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Sleeping Beauty (1959) and The Rescuers (1977), as well as live-action musicals including Calamity Jane (1953) and April Love (1957). With lyricist Paul Francis Webster he won Academy Awards for best original song for 'Secret Love' from Calamity Jane and the title song from Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955).
Fain also wrote for Broadway productions including Everybody's Welcome (1931), Hellzapoppin (1938) and Flahooley (1951). He died in Los Angeles on 6 December 1989.
