Meredith Willson

Biography

Meredith Willson was born on May 18, 1902 in Mason City, Iowa to John David Willson and Rosalie Reiniger. As a young child, Willson took up the piano, piccolo, and the flute. He attended Mason City High School, where he played the piccolo and the flute in the school band. At the age of 17, Willson left his hometown and arrived in New York. In 1919, he enrolled at the Institute of Musical Art (Julliard School). From, 1920-1929, he studied under Georges Barrère, Julius Gold, Henry Hadley, Bernard Wagenaar, and Mortimer Wilson.

Willson joined the John Philip Sousa Band in 1921. He was the flutist of the band for two years. He was also part of the Rialto Theatre Orchestra in New York, the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Chamber Music Society from 1924-29. In 1929, Willson moved to San Francisco. He was hired as the musical director by the American Broadcasting Company for the KFRC radio station. In 1932, he left KFRC and joined the National Broadcasting Company in San Francisco and then in Los Angeles. From 1942-45, Willson joined the United States Army and served during WWII as the musical director of the Armed Forces Radio Service.

As a composer, Willson composed an array of works during his life time that were performed by orchestras, artists, radio stations, on stage, and including films. He composed The Music Man, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Here’s Love, 1491, May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You, You and I, Two In Love, Chicken Fat, Win, I See the Moon, Symphony No. 1, Symphony No. 2, Whose Dream Are You, Hit the Leather and many other notable works. He also composed the music for Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), and The Little Foxes (1941) films. In addition to his work as a composer, Willson published several books, such as And There I Stood with My Piccolo, Eggs I Have Laid, Who Did What to Fidalia?, and But He Doesn’t Know the Territory.

Meredith Willson was married three times. He married Elizabeth Willson in 1920 and divorced her in 1947. He then married Ralina Zarova, who was an actress, in 1948, but succumbed to cancer in 1966. In 1968, Willson married Rosemary Sullivan and remained married to her until his death on June 15, 1984, in Santa Monica, California.