Jack Little (born
John Leonard May 30,
1899 –
9 April 1956 sometimes credited
Little Jack Little) was a
composer,
singer,
actor and
songwriter whose
songs were featured in several
movies.
He was born in
London,
United Kingdom but moved to the
U. S. as a child. Little was educated in pre-med classes at the
University of Iowa, where he played in and organized the university band. He toured the country with an orchestra, appearing in hotels, night clubs, and on radio. He collaborated musically with
Tommie Malie,
Dick Finch,
John Siras, and
Joe Young.
In 1928 he joined
ASCAP.
He was married to
actress Lila Leeds.
Suffering from hepatitis, Little Jack Little committed
suicide in
1956.
His compositions include ''Jealous, I Promise You,
A Shanty in Old Shanty Town'' and ''You're a Heavenly Thing''.
Little Jack Little is mentioned in the
Honeymooners' episode ''Young at Heart'' that first aired on
February 11,
1956, written by Marvin Marx and Walter Stone, and directed by Frank Satenstein.
Ralph Kramden (
Jackie Gleason) and
Ed Norton (
Art Carney) are reminiscing about the bands from their youth, and also mention Isham Jones,
Ted Fiorito, Basil Fomeen, and Johnny Messner and his Toy Piano.