Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Loesser is one of those figures I consider a cornerstone of the American songbook. A New Yorker who wrote both music and words, he handed us Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, hauling in Tony Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and a share of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The sheer breadth of that trophy case is staggering. But what delights me most is that he wrote Baby, It's Cold Outside, a melody that resurfaces every winter worldwide. He died in 1969, yet his songs keep him vividly alive, and that is about the most enviable legacy a songwriter could ask for.
Overview
Frank Henry Loesser ( "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won a Tony Award for Guys and Dolls and shared the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for How to Succeed.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Frank Loesser
- Name (Japanese)
- フランク・レッサー
- Reading
- ふらんく・れっさー
- Born
- June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Dog
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- composer / librettist / lyricist / songwriter / film score composer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Townsend Harris High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
- 1950 Academy Award for Best Original Song
- 1951 Tony Award for Best Musical
- 1962 Tony Award for Best Musical
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Baby, It's Cold Outside | — | |
| Notable work | Guys and Dolls | — |
6. Links
Composer — see all → · Librettist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.