Howard Dietz

American pop and Broadway lyricist Howard Dietz, active from the 1920s through the 1960s, is best known for his work with composer Arthur Schwartz. Schwartz and Dietz wrote successful Broadway scores including The Little Show (1929), Three's a Crowd (1930), At Home Abroad (1935), and Inside U.S.A. (1948). Born in N.Y.C. in 1896, Dietz briefly attended Columbia University before working as a newspaper columnist and ad writer. After serving in WWI, he went on to become the advertising and publicity director of MGM (and other companies), and wrote for radio and television. Hits by Schwartz and Dietz include "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" and "Moanin' Low" (1929), "Something to Remember You By" (1930), "Dancin' in the Dark" (1931), "Louisiana Hayride" and "A Shine on Your Shoes" (1932), "You and the Night and the Music" (1934), "By Myself" and "I See Your Face Before Me" (1938), and "That's Entertainment" (1953). Dietz also wrote English lyrics for the operas La Boheme and Der Fledermaus, and collaborated on pop songs with such composers as Jerome Kern, Vernon Duke, Jimmy McHugh, and Ralph Rainger. Dietz reunited with Schwartz in the 1960s for the musicals The Gay Life (1961) and Jennie (1963). Dietz was the librettist for about half of the Broadway musicals he worked on, authored the autobiography Dancing in the Dark, and is a member of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
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