Henry Vars
Henry Vars, born Henryk Warszawski, was a Polish and American composer, film composer, pianist, and conductor, and one of the pioneers of Polish jazz. He was born in Warsaw on December 29, 1902, and died in Los Angeles on September 1, 1977.
He grew up in a musical Jewish family. His sister Josephine sang at the Warsaw Opera and La Scala, and his sister Paulina was a pianist. Vars played piano from childhood and studied painting at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts for two years before turning to music. After composer Emil Mlynarski heard him conduct a school orchestra, Mlynarski arranged a scholarship for him to study at the music conservatory. Vars graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory, where he studied composition and conducting with Professor Roman Statkowski.
While still a student, Vars accompanied performers at the Morskie Oko cabaret theater and later worked at the Syrena Record factory. His ambition to write symphonic music did not come to fruition, and he began composing light music. From 1925 to 1939, he became one of Poland’s most popular writers of popular, jazz, and dance music, as well as music for musical revues. His first popular song was “Let’s Dance a Tango.” Among his other well-known songs were “I Made a Date with Her for Nine” and “Only in Lviv.” By the end of the 1920s, he was being called the king of Polish jazz.
Vars went on to build a career in film music. He wrote scores for 95 Polish films made before the war, including the first Polish sound film, To Siberia (1930). After settling in the United States, he struggled to find work and for seven years had no earnings, relying on his wife, fashion designer Elżbieta. In 1954 he began working with Hollywood film producers, including John Wayne, and wrote music for 39 films for studios such as Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. For six years he also composed music for the television series Flipper and Daktari. Bing Crosby, Brenda Lee, and Doris Day performed his songs.
Alongside popular and film music, Vars composed classical works, including symphonic poems, a ballet, and a concertino.