Van Heusen, Jimmy

Van Heusen, Jimmy

 orig. Edward Chester Babcock

(born Jan. 26, 1913, Syracuse, N.Y., U.S.—died Feb. 7, 1990, Rancho Mirage, Calif.) U.S. songwriter. He began working in radio in his teens. In the early 1930s he worked in Tin Pan Alley and later collaborated on songs such as “Darn That Dream” and “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.” With Johnny Burke he wrote the songs for 23 Bing Crosby films. In 1954 he began collaborating with Sammy Cahn. He composed 76 songs for his friend Frank Sinatra, including “The Tender Trap” and “Come Fly with Me,” and won Academy Awards for “Swinging on a Star,” “All the Way,” “High Hopes,” and “Call Me Irresponsible.”