Bob Merrill

Bob Merrill (May 17, 1921 - February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. Merrill was born Henry Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a dialogue director for Columbia Pictures. He began his songwriting career writing tunes for Dorothy Shay. One of his first major h... more

Bob Merrill (May 17, 1921 - February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. Merrill was born Henry Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a dialogue director for Columbia Pictures. He began his songwriting career writing tunes for Dorothy Shay. One of his first major hits was the 1950 novelty song "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake", co-written with Al Hoffman and Clem Watts and recorded by Eileen Barton. His two most famous songs were "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?", a huge hit for Patti Page and "Mambo Italiano" recorded by Rosemary Clooney. Bob wrote a string of chart hits including "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania", "Love Makes the World Go 'Round", and "Honeycomb", as recorded by Jimmy Rodgers. In addition, he wrote "Tina Marie" for Perry Como and "Make Yourself Comfortable" as recorded... less