[Deathwatch] Alan W. Livingston, entertainment industry veteran, 91

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Alan W. Livingston dies at 91; former president of Capitol Records
Livingston created the character Bozo the Clown for popular children's
read-along record albums in the 1940s and signed the Beatles during his
tenure as president of Capitol Records in the 1960s.
By Dennis McLellan

March 14, 2009

Alan W. Livingston, an entertainment industry veteran whose career
included creating the character of Bozo the Clown for popular
children's read-along record albums in the 1940s and signing the
Beatles during his tenure as president of Capitol Records in the 1960s,
died Friday. He was 91.

FOR THE RECORD:
Alan Livingston obituary: The obituary of music industry executive Alan
W. Livingston in Saturday's Section A referred to the song "Que Sera,
Sera." The song originally was titled "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will
Be, Will Be)," but the Doris Day hit for which Livingston's songwriter
brother Jay won an Oscar was titled "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que
Sera, Sera)." ?


Livingston died of age-related causes at his home in Beverly Hills,
said his step-daughter, Jennifer Lerner.

"Alan had a great passion and love of music, and he was a great friend
to the artist community," said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the
National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

"He had great taste and judgment, as far as musical talent, and as an
executive, he was always very mentoring, very supportive," said
Portnow, who as president of 20th Century Fox Records in the late '70s
reported to Livingston when he was a senior executive at 20th Century
Fox Corp.

Livingston was best-known for his years as president of Capitol Records
during the 1960s, when he signed artists such as the Beach Boys, Steve
Miller and the Band.

His most famous signing, however, took longer than might be expected.

Livingston first heard about the Beatles in 1963 when he read about the
group in the English music press.

The Beatles' records were being released in the United Kingdom by EMI.
And because EMI was Capitol's major stockholder, Capitol had the right
of first refusal on the Beatles in America. But Capitol rejected the
Beatles' early hit singles as unsuitable for the American market.

At a meeting with Capitol's producers, Livingston asked Dave Dexter,
who screened all of the English records, what he thought of the
Beatles.

"He said, 'Alan, forget it,' " Livingston recalled in a 2004 Billboard
interview. " 'They're a bunch of long-haired kids. They're nothing.' I
said, 'OK,' and I had no reason to be concerned, because nothing from
England was selling here."

Livingston finally received a call from the Beatles' manager, Brian
Epstein, from London wanting to know why there was no interest in the
group. When Livingston said he hadn't even heard the Beatles sing,
Epstein told him to listen to one of their records and call him back.

Livingston did, and the Beatles signed with Capitol, which agreed on a
$40,000 budget to promote their first single.

Livingston later recalled taking the Beatles' new single home to play
for his wife, actress Nancy Olson.

"I had great respect for her because she had a good ear," he recalled
in the 2004 interview. "She looked at me and said, 'I want to hold your
hand? Are you kidding?' I said, 'God, I made a mistake!' "

In February 1964, the Beatles made their first appearance on "The Ed
Sullivan Show," and Beatlemania in America was in full swing.

The youngest of three children, Livingston was born in McDonald, Pa.,
on Oct. 15, 1917.

While growing up, he took saxophone and clarinet lessons, and his
brother, Jay, studied piano. Jay later teamed with fellow songwriter
Ray Evans, and they shared Oscars for writing "Buttons and Bows," "Mona
Lisa" and "Que Sera, Sera." Jay Livingston died in 2001.

While at the University of Pennsylvania, Livingston and his brother
paid expenses by forming an orchestra that played at fraternity dances
and school events.

Alan Livingston graduated from the university's Wharton School of
Finance and Commerce with a bachelor's degree in economics. He then
moved to New York and worked in advertising for three years.

After serving in the Army as a second lieutenant during World War II,
Livingston was hired by Capitol Records in Hollywood in 1946 as a
writer and producer of storytelling record albums with illustrated
read-along books for children.

He called the new concept a "record-reader."

After writing "Bozo at the Circus," Livingston worked with an artist to
create the clown narrator -- a composite design of Livingston's based
on various clown pictures -- and he hired former clown and cartoon
voice-over artist Pinto Colvig to supply Bozo's voice.

"Bozo at the Circus," with music produced by Billy May, was a big hit,
with the series reportedly selling more than 8 million copies over the
next several years and spawning Bozo merchandise and Bozo-hosted TV
shows.

Other Livingston-written and produced children's recordings followed,
featuring Woody Woodpecker and various Disney and Warner Bros. cartoon
characters.

In the early '50s, after becoming vice president in charge of creative
operations at Capitol Records, Livingston signed Frank Sinatra, then at
a low point in his career, and teamed him up with arranger Nelson
Riddle -- a pairing that launched Sinatra's comeback on the charts.

Livingston, who was married for several years to actress Betty Hutton,
left Capitol in the late '50s. He became vice president of NBC network
television programming, during which he supervised the pilot for the
western series "Bonanza."

Livingston returned to Capitol Records as president in the early '60s
and became chairman of the board before leaving again in 1968. He later
formed his own company, Mediarts, which was involved in movies, records
and music publishing.

>From 1976 to 1980, he was group president for 20th Century Fox Film
Corp.'s television production, records, music and film processing
operations.

He then became president of Atalanta Investment Co., a position he
resigned in 1987. He also wrote a novel, "Ronnie Finkelhoff,
Superstar."

In addition to his step-daughter Jennifer Lerner, Livingston is
survived by his wife, Nancy; his son, Christopher Livingston; his
daughter, Laura Gibson; his stepdaughter Liza Lerner; his sister, Vera
Drazen; five grandchildren and three step-grandchildren.

A private service for family members will be held.

Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary