- Born
- Died
- Birth nameHyman Harry Zaritsky
- Academy Award-nominated songwriter and lyricist ("Unchained Melody", 1955, with composer Alex North for the film "Unchained") and attorney, educated at West Virginia University and the Brooklyn Law School (LL.B). He practised law for several years, then joined the United States Army in World War II, serving in the Special Services where he wrote special material for the album "Strictly G.I.".
Hy Zaret was presented with numerous honors and awards for his works, including a George Foster Peabody Award, Ohio State University Institute for Education Award (twice), National Conference of Christians and Jews Award, American Heritage Foundation Award: Freedom House.
His commissions and citations include those from the United States Public Health Service, the American Medical Association, the National Foundation on Infantile Paralysis, the National Safety Council, and the United States Treasury Department.
He joined ASCAP in 1942, and his chief musical collaborators included Joan Whitney, Alex Kramer and Louis Singer.
- IMDb mini biography by: Louis Rugani
- "Unchained Melody" has been recorded by musicians in diverse genres, including Elvis Presley, Lena Horne, Guy Lombardo, and U2. The most familiar recording is by the Righteous Brothers; their rendition reached number four on the Billboard chart in 1965.
- He wrote lyrics for many songs and advertising jingles, but his biggest hit was "Unchained Melody", with the music by Alex North. It was written in 1955 for a movie called "Unchained". Zaret and North were nominated for an Academy Award for best song. An instrumental version was a number-one hit for Les Baxter in 1955, and a vocal version by Al Hibbler reached number three on the charts the same year.
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