Freed, Arthur

orig. Arthur Grossman

(born Sept. 9, 1894, Charleston, S.C., U.S.—died April 12, 1973, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film producer and lyricist. He performed in vaudeville and wrote songs in the 1920s. MGM hired him in 1929 to write lyrics for musicals, and over the next decade he produced hits such as “Singin' in the Rain,” “Temptation,” and “You Are My Lucky Star.” After serving as associate producer of The Wizard of Oz (1939), he was promoted to producer. He was largely responsible for the high quality of MGM's musicals of the 1940s and '50s, including Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Easter Parade (1948), An American in Paris (1951, Academy Award), Singin' in the Rain (1952), and Gigi (1958, Academy Award).

Freed, Arthur (b. Arthur Grossman) (1894–1973) lyricist, movie producer; born in Charleston, S.C. Beginning in vaudeville (he appeared at times with the Marx Brothers), he started to write songs and in 1929 was hired as a lyricist by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). For the next ten years he wrote the lyrics for numerous films. In 1939 he became a producer and for two decades helped to make MGM the leading studio for musicals, surrounding himself with talented directors like Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley, and Stanley Donen, and shaping the careers of many Hollywood legends including Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. He also continued writing songs, such as "Singing in the Rain." Two of his films won best picture Oscars, An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958).