Who was Marshall Barer?
Biography of Marshall Barer from wikipedia.com
Marshall Barer – Born Marshall Louis Barer, Astoria, New York City, 19 February 1923. Lyricist, librettist, singer, songwriter and director. Died Santa Fe, New Mexico, 25 August 1998.
Marshall Barer began his career as a lyricist and song writer in the late 1940s while working as a very successful commercial artist/designer in New York. His most-heard song is theMighty Mouse Theme (Here I Come to Save the Day) for the famous cartoons.
He began by writing special material for supper club artistes like Celeste Holm and Dwight Fiske and then graduated to writing “pop” songs with Alec Wilder for such stars as Harry Belafonte, Sarah Vaughan, and Nat King Cole. He was later hired by Golden Records, for whom he wrote over 100 songs.
In 1951 he met Dean Fuller and they began collaborating on songs for the musical theatre, beginning with the revue Walk Tall in 1954. They also wrote special material for Bing Crosbyand Sid Caesar.
Barer began his own cabaret act in the 1970s, playing in clubs in Los Angeles and New York, where he would often reinterpret the lyrics of his own songs.
Marshall retired on August 25, 1998 (at age 75), in Santa Fe, New Mexico, his home, after living many years in Venice, California. Although a prolific writer, Marshall was largely unknown except to aficionados of “lost” musicals.
Artists who still feature Barer numbers in their shows include Michael Feinstein and Andrea Marcovicci. Both often attended his legendary Sunday night soirees at Venice Beach for other singers and songwriters.
