Arthur Malvin, 83, Won Tony for ‘Sugar Babies’ Score
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Arthur Malvin, a composer and lyricist whose work with Carol Burnett and Frank Sinatra earned him two Emmy Awards, and who received a Tony nomination for helping create the musical “Sugar Babies,” died June 16 at 83 in his Los Angeles home.
In 1978, Malvin shared an Emmy with Stan Freeman for the mini-musical “Hi-Hat,” a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers parody the pair wrote for “The Carol Burnett Show.” He spent 11 years working on the CBS variety program.
He also received an Emmy in 1968 for writing musical material for a Frank Sinatra television special, “A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim,” which featured Ella Fitzgerald and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
On Broadway, he contributed music and lyrics to “Sugar Babies,” a pastiche of old-time burlesque material that starred Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller and ran for over 1500 performances. His nomination for original score was one of eight Tony nominations the musical received in 1980.
Malvin was born July 7, 1922, in New York City, the youngest of five children of Bernard and Sophie Malvin, Jewish immigrants who had left czarist Russia. His father ran a small hand laundry.
After securing his first singing gig at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, a teenage Malvin got through his first performance by hiding in his hand a 5-cent song sheet with lyrics to the popular songs of the day.
In 1942, he joined the Claude Thornhill Orchestra, a big band known for its innovative arrangements. Later that year, Malvin organized a vocal group called the Crew Chiefs that sang with Maj. Glenn Miller’s Army Air Forces Orchestra.
When Malvin was asked, ” ‘Daddy, what did you do in the war?’ he was particularly fond of saying, ‘I made doo-wah against the Germans,’ ” his son said.
After World War II, Malvin toured as a soloist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra that was led by Tex Beneke.
He also sang on children’s records and recorded advertising jingles for Sominex, Blue Bonnet margarine, Tang drink mix and many others.
Malvin is survived by Irene, his wife of 56 years; his children, David, Daniel, and Janet, and four grandchildren.
