Richard A. Whiting (November 12, 1891-February 10, 1938) was a writer of popular songs.

He was born in Peoria, Illinois. He attended the Harvard Military School in Los Angeles, California. Upon his graduation, Whiting began his career as a staff writer for various music publishers. In 1912, he became a personal manager.

In 1919, he moved to Hollywood and wrote a number of film scores. He wrote music, collaborating with such lyricists as BG DeSylva, Ray Egan, Johnny Mercer, Neil Moret, Leo Robin, Gus Kahn, and Sidney Clare, to produce a number of hits (listed below). He also wrote a number of scores for Broadway plays.

He was the father of singer/actress Margaret Whiting and actress Barbara Whiting Smith.

He died in Beverly Hills, California. He was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1970.

Film scores

• Innocents of Paris
• Dance of Life
• Monte Carlo
• Safety in Numbers
• The Playboy of Paris
• Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round
• One Hour With You
• Adorable
• Big Broadcast of 1936
• Varsity Show
• Ready, Willing and Able
• Hollywood Hotel
• Cowboy from Brooklyn

Broadway show scores

• Toot Sweet
• George White’s Scandals of 1919
• Take a Chance

Hit songs

• (They Made it Twice as Nice as Paradise) and They Called it Dixieland
• Till We Meet Again
• Some Sunday Morning
• It’s Tulip Time in Holland
• Where the Morning Glories Grow
• Where the Black-Eyed Susans Grow
• Japanese Sandman
• Sleepy-time Gal
• Ain’t We Got Fun
• Honey
• Breezin’ Along With the Breeze
• Horses
• It’s a Habit of Mine
• Beyond the Blue Horizon
• Eadie Was a Lady
• On the Good Ship Lollipop
• Sentimental and Melancholy
• Too Marvelous for Words
• Love is on the Air Tonight
• Silhouetted in the Moonlight
• You’ve Got Something There
• Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride

External references

• Songwriters' Hall of Fame page on Whiting (http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_bio.asp?exhibitId=314)
• Big Bands Database page on Whiting (http://nfo.net/cal/tw7.html)