ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE

ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE

Johnny Mercer didn’t come to New York recently on the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe, but whatever he rode must have been going pretty fast because Johnny picked up some early speed that has spent him shooting to the celling of the entertainment world, his most immediate big splurge being on Your Hit Parade with Joan Edwards (Saturdays, CBS 9:00 P.M. EST).

It was always in Johnny’s mind to be in the theater, but he was a wise young man and kept that to himself until it would do him some good. As a result, he submitted quietly to a formal education at the Woodbury Forest School in Virginia.

His first acting was with an amateur group, the Savannah Players. In 1929, he landed a small part with the New York Theater Guild in its production of “The Hero.”

His first song to capture the public’s fancy was “Out of Breath, Scared to Death of You,” which he wrote for the “Garrick Gaieties,” in collaboration with Everet Miller, who wrote the music. Johnny has very fond memories, indeed, of the “Garrick Gaieties.” His first song hit appeared in that show. More important, in its cast was a pretty young lady named Elizabeth Meehan, who later became Mrs. Mercer. They have a six-year-old daughter, Amanda, who is, of course, the inspiration for Mercer’s hit song, “Mandy is Two,” which came out four years ago.

Johnny is an accomplished cook and a rather fair golfer. He admits Bing Crosby is a much better player. Still, Crosby is his favorite opponent on the links.

The list of Mercer lyrics up to “Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe,” is a long one. Some of the better known are “Lazy Bones,” and “Goodie, Goodie” and “I’m An Old Cowhand From the Rio Grande.”

Johnny’s career has been varied. He did a number of singing stints with various bands, among them Paul Whiteman’s orchestra. While on that job, he wrote “Pardon My Southern Accent” and “Here Come The British.” He wrote the lyrics for the movie musical “Old Man Rhythm” and some of his other movie songs are “Ready, Willing and Able” and “Hollywood Hotel.” While in New York, this last time, he combined his chores on the Hit Parade show with work on writing a new musical “St. Louis Woman,” which is set for a Broadway opening sometime this coming summer.

Being very practical about his career—knowing how it will never really let him settle down in any one place—and being only too well aware of the housing problem, Johnny and his wife, Elizabeth, maintain two homes, a house in Hollywood and an apartment in New York, off Central Park.