Actor, entertainer, songwriter and author, educated in high school and a vaudeville trouper with his mother, Grace Hayes. During World War II, he served with valor in the United States Army Air Corps. With his wife Mary Healy he appeared in films, night clubs, theaters, and on radio and television. Joining ASCAP in 1951, his chief musical collaborators included Frank Loesser, Nacio Herb Brown, and Robert Allen. His popular-song compositions include "When You Used to Dance With Me (Alone)", "Why Do They Call a Private a Private?", "Cool Alaska Rock and Roll", and "Come to Me".