orig. Arthur Grossman
born Sept. 9, 1894, Charleston, S.C., U.S.
died April 12, 1973, Los Angeles, Calif.
U.S. film producer and lyricist.
He performed in vaudeville and wrote songs in the 1920s. MGM hired him in 1929 to write lyrics for musicals, and over the next decade he produced hits such as "Singin' in the Rain," "Temptation," and "You Are My Lucky Star." After serving as associate producer of The Wizard of Oz (1939), he was promoted to producer. He was largely responsible for the high quality of MGM's musicals of the 1940s and '50s, including Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Easter Parade (1948), An American in Paris (1951, Academy Award), Singin' in the Rain (1952), and Gigi (1958, Academy Award).