Hughie Prince

Hughie Prince in Buck Privates (1941)

Hugh Durham Prince – also known as Hughie Prince – (9 August 1906 in Greenville in South Carolina–15 January 1960 in New York) was an American film composer and songwriter^[1] who composed "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" with lyricist Don Raye for the movie comedy Buck Privates and which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1942.^[2][3]

Biography

Hugh Prince was the son of Hugh Huckabee Prince and Florence Emma (née Durham).^[4] In 1920 he was living with his parents on Westover Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia. His father died in 1921 and by the 1930s Prince was living with his mother in Queens in New York where he worked as a stage actor. During the 1940s Prince and his mother were living in New York City where he worked as a songwriter in the music industry.^[5] His music was used in more than 56 film and television productions. From 1940 he composed film music, starting with Hit the Road and Rhumboogie for the film Argentine Nights. In 1940 Prince and Don Raye wrote the song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" sung by the Andrews Sisters in the 1941 film comedy Buck Privates with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the lead roles and gaining as Oscar nomination in the Best Song category.^[2] However, the statue went to Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II for their song "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from the film musical Lady Be Good. Prince had a small role as Henry in Buck Private.^[6][7] "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" remained the most successful song by Prince and even after his death it is still used in feature films, television productions and shows. He wrote additional music for The Girl from Nantucket^[8][9] and composed the score, wrote the lyrics and the script and directed the film drama The Strip Tease Murder Case in 1950.

Prince died in New York in 1960 aged 53 and is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Rutland County in Vermont.^[5]

Songs (selection)

• 1939 "She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor" – with Don Raye
• 1941: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four", "When Private Brown Becomes a Captain", "You're a Lucky Fellow", "Mr. Smith", "I Wish You Were Here" from the movie Buck Privates
• 1941: "You're a Lucky Fellow" and "Mr. Smith" from the movie In the Navy
• 1941: "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" from the short film In the Groove
• 1944: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" from the movie Follow the Boys
• 1944: "Sing" from the movie Moonlight and Cactus
• 1944: "Let's Have Another One" from the movie Dreaming
• 1946: "Solid Potato Salad" from the movie Breakfast in Hollywood
• 1946: 'Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four' from the movie One Exciting Week
• 1947: "Bounce Me Daddy with a Solid Four" from the movie The Egg and I
• 1953 "Pour Me a Glass of Teardrops" – with Dick Rogers
• 1962: "Rhumboogie" was used in the movie Saratoga Trunk
• 1976: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in the Bette Midler Show
• 1986: "Beat Me Daddy's Eight to the Bar", used in the 40th Annual Tony Awards
• 1988: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in the television mini-series War and Remembrance
• 1992: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
• 1995: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in the movie Beautiful Is the Youth (Lust och fägring stor)
• 1997: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in the television mini-series The Shining
• 2004: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in the movie Something the Lord Made
• 2009: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in the movie The Land of the Lost
• 2012: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in the movie Red Tails
• 2015: "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", used in the movie Pitch Perfect 2

References

External links

• Prince on the Internet Movie Database
• Songs written or co-written by Hugh Durham Prince - dbopm: the database of popular music