Brodszky, Nicholas

A writer of popular songs, Nicholas Brodszky was born in Russia in Odessa (now the Ukraine) and had some musical training as a child. During the civil war in Russia the Jewish family moved to Budapest and Nicholas grew up speaking Hungarian, a language he spoke throughout his life. He worked and studied in Rome and Vienna where he wrote some songs for Viennese operettas in 1920 and contributed music for his first film in 1930. He had some successful songs in Germany but avoided problems with the Nazis by emigrating to the United States in 1934. By the late 1930s he had emigrated to Britain. Nicknamed “Slug,” he then went to Hollywood where he began writing for musical films, including the Yiddish film “Der Purimspieler” and “The Student Prince.” For the latter he wrote three songs to supplement Sigmund Romberg’s score. He wrote several hits with lyricist Sammy Cahn. Two of the songs he wrote for popular 1950s tenor Mario Lanza became gold records (with a million sold). His most successful song was “Be My Love,” written for Mario Lanza’s film “The Toast of New Orleans.” His strong point was ideas for melodies, but the work of arranging was generally left to his team of assistants. Five of his musical works were nominated for Academy Awards.