Alan Wendell Livingston is an American businessman and writer/producer.

Early years

Livingston was born in McDonald, Pennsylvania on October 15, 1917. He was the youngest of three children, whose mother encouraged reading books and playing musical instruments. He began his career in the entertainment business leading his own college orchestra as a student at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce with a B.S. in Economics, he moved to New York where he worked in advertising for three years. At the start of World War II, he enlisted in the army as a private and served as a second lieutenant in the infantry. After his discharge, he borrowed some money, hitched a ride on an army plane and headed for Los Angeles, California where he obtained his first position with Capitol Records, Inc. in Hollywood as a writer/producer. McDonald is a borough located partially in both Washington and Allegheny counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn or UPenn, although the former is the preferred and recognized nickname of the University) is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... Capitol record by Wingy Manone Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, founded in 1942. ... ...

Capitol Records

His initial assignment was to create a children's record library for the four-year old company, for which he created the legendary "Bozo the Clown" character. He wrote and produced a popular series of storytelling record-album and illustrative read-along book sets beginning with the September 1946 release of "Bozo at the Circus." His record-reader concept, which enabled children to read and follow a story in pictures while listening to it, was the first of its kind. The Bozo image was a composite design of Livingston's, derived from a variety of clown pictures and given to an artist to turn into comic-book-like illustrations. Livingston then hired Pinto Colvig to portray Bozo on the recordings. Colvig, a former circus clown, was also the original voice of Walt Disney's Pluto, Goofy, Grumpy, Sleepy and many other characters. Billy May produced the music. The series turned out to be a smash hit for Capitol, selling over eight million albums in the late 1940s and early 50s. Successful record sales led to a variety of Bozo-related merchandise and the first television series, "Bozo's Circus," starring Pinto Colvig on KTTV-Channel 11 (CBS) in Los Angeles in 1949. The character also became a mascot for the record company and was later nicknamed "Bozo the Capitol Clown." Bozo the Clown is the name of a clown whose widespread syndication in early television made him the best-known clown character in the United States. ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Vance DeBar Pinto Colvig was a vaudeville actor, radio actor, newspaper cartoonist, prolific movie voice actor, and circus performer whose schtick was playing clarinet off-key while mugging. ... Walt Disney Walter Elias Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966), was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, and animator. ... William E. May, better known as Billy May (10 November 1916 - 22 January 2004) was a United States composer, arranger and musician. ...

Livingston wrote and produced many other children's recordings including products for Walt Disney; Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker; Bugs Bunny and all of the Warner Bros. characters. In the case of the latter, he wrote the 1951 pop hit "I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat" for Mel Blanc's Tweety Pie. Woody Woodpecker in the 1948 short Wacky-Bye Baby, directed by Dick Lundy. ... Bugs Bunny on a United States stamp Bugs Bunny is a fictional street-smart gray rabbit appearing in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, and is one of the most recognizable characters, real or imaginary, in the world. ... The WB Shield, used from 2001 to late 2003. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Melvin Jerome Blanc, better known as Mel Blanc (born May 30, 1908 in San Francisco, California; died July 10, 1989 in Los Angeles, California), was a famous American voice actor for many animation studios, primarily the Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbera studios. ... Tweety aka Tweety Pie or Tweety Bird is a fictional character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes series of animated cartoons. ...

Within a few years, Livingston moved on to the adult music arena and became Vice President in charge of all creative operations of the company. He signed Frank Sinatra when Sinatra was at a low point in his career. Livingston wanted Sinatra to work with arranger Nelson Riddle, however Sinatra was reluctant to do so out of his loyalty to Axel Stordahl with whom he had worked for most of his career. The first Sinatra/Stordahl recordings for Capitol failed to produce the magic Livingston and producer Voyle Gilmore were looking for, and Sinatra agreed to try a session with Riddle on April 30, 1953. The impact was immediate, producing the classic "I've Got the World on a String." However, it was "Young-at-Heart" that became the defining moment in Sinatra's comeback, peaking at #2 during its 22-week run on the charts in the spring of 1954. Frank Sinatra in 1947 Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer who is considered one of the finest vocalists of all time, renowned for his impeccable phrasing and timing. ... Nelson Riddle and Frank Sinatra, 1956 Nelson Riddle (June 1, 1921 - October 6, 1985) was a well-known American bandleader, arranger and orchestrator whose career spanned from the late 1940s until the early 1980s. ... Stordahl and Frank Sinatra at the first Capitol recording session in 1953 Axel Stordahl (8 August 1913-August 30, 1963) was an arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Livingston has been credited as the creative force responsible for Capitol Records' growth from net sales of $6 million per year to sales in excess of $100 million per year.

California Productions and NBC

After 10 years with Capitol, Livingston and the company sold the "Bozo the Clown" licensing rights (excluding the recordings) to Larry Harmon, one of several people hired to portray the character at promotional appearances, as Livingston left the company to accept a position as President of California Productions, the wholly owned film production subsidiary of the National Broadcasting Company. Shortly thereafter, Livingston was also named Vice President of NBC, in charge of Television Network Programming, dealing principally with all films made for the network. In this capacity, he produced the pilot for the series "Bonanza" for which his brother, songwriter Jay Livingston, wrote the memorable theme. During this time, Alan also served on the Boards of Bob Hope Enterprises, Inc. and Joseph Mankiewicz's motion picture production company, Figaro, Inc. Larry Harmon (born Lawrence Weiss in 1925 in Toledo, Ohio, USA), is the longtime owner of the characters Bozo the Clown and Laurel and Hardy. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... This article discusses the television series. ... Jay Livingston (born in McDonald, Pennsylvania, March 28 1915, died in Los Angeles, California, October 17, 2001) was a partner in the composing and songwriter duo with Ray Evans, best known for the songs they composed for films. ...

Return to Capitol

Five years later, Capitol Records induced him to return as President and, eventually, Chairman of the Board. He was also named to the Board of Electric and Musical Industries (EMI), a British corporation that was the largest stockholder in Capitol. Subsequently, he merged Capitol Records into Audio Devices, Inc., a magnetic tape manufacturer listed on the American Stock Exchange, and changed the name of the surviving company to Capitol Industries, Inc., of which Livingston was named President. It was during this period that he turned Capitol Records into a more rock-oriented company with such artists as the Beach Boys, Steve Miller, The Band, and others. His most noteworthy accomplishment at that time was signing the Beatles for Capitol in 1963 and bringing them to the United States in 1964. The EMI Group is a major record label, based in Hammersmith, London, in the United Kingdom and with operations in over 25 other countries. ... The Beach Boys 1976 album 15 big ones The Beach Boys are a pop music group formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, whose popularity has lasted into the twenty-first century. ... The name Steve Miller might refer to: Steve Miller, leader of the eponymous Steve Miller Band Steve Miller, author of science fiction stories and novels including the Liaden universe® stories co-written with Sharon Lee This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise... The Band. ... The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Later ventures

Livingston later sold out his stock in Capitol Industries to form his own company, Mediarts, Inc., for the production of motion pictures, records and music publishing. He eventually sold his interest in that company to United Artists as a result, particularly, of its success in the record business including Don McLean, who reached the #1 position in the country with his "American Pie" single and album in 1972. Two feature motion pictures were completed during the company's operation: "Downhill Racer" (1969) starring Robert Redford and Gene Hackman, and "Unman, Wittering & Zigo" (1971) starring David Hemmings; both released by Paramount Pictures. The current United Artists logo. ... Cover of the American Pie album. ... Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. ... Gene Hackman Eugene Alden Hackman (born 30 January 1930) is an American actor. ... David Hemmings in the late 1960s David Hemmings (November 18, 1941 – December 3, 2003) was a British movie actor, whose most famous role was the photographer in Michelangelo Antonionis Blow-Up (1966), one of the films that best represented the spirit of the 1960s. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used from 1987 to 1995. ...

In August 1976, Livingston joined Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation as Senior Vice President and President, Entertainment Group. He left in 1980 to accept the presidency of Atalanta Investment Company, Inc., and resigned in 1987 to produce a one-hour film for television and to form Pacific Rim Productions, Inc. Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their...

Livingston also wrote a novel titled "Ronnie Finkelhof, Superstar" about a shy Harvard pre-law student who becomes an overnight success as a rock musician. It was published by Ballantine Books in the spring of 1988.

On August 1, 1998, Livingston received his first honor for his creation of "Bozo the Clown" as the International Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee, Wisconsin presented him their Lifetime of Laughter Achievement Award.

Livingston is currently retired and married to actress Nancy Olson, whose film credits include "Sunset Blvd." (1950) and "The Absent Minded Professor" (1961). They reside in Beverly Hills, California. Their son, Christopher Livingston, is a movie producer, director, writer and songwriter. Nancy Olson and William Holden in Sunset Boulevard Nancy Olson (born July 14, 1928 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American actress. ...