Songwriter. Famed for collaborations with her former husband Andre Previn on numerous movie soundtracks. Born Dorothy Veronica Langan (some sources state birth year as 1929) the daughter of a laborer (her father suffered from severe mental illness the result of being gassed during World War I), she was compelled by her father to pursue a musical career. Following high school, she attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts for one year and later worked in summer stock and TV commercials. She began writing lyrics and was discovered by producer Arthur Freed who hired her for MGM. While there she met Andre Previn and married him in 1959. Their writing partnership yielded Oscar nominations for "Faraway Part of Town" (from the film "Pepe", 1960) and "Second Chance" (from the picture "Two for the Seesaw", 1962). In 1965, she suffered a nervous breakdown which required hospitalization for a period. She resumed her career with Previn and contributed to the soundtracks for the films "Goodbye Charlie" (1964), "Inside Daisy Clover" (1965), "Harper" (1966) and "Valley of the Dolls" (1967). She received a third Academy Award nomination (co-sharing with Fred Karlin) for "Come Saturday Morning" from "The Sterile Cuckoo" (1969). The song became a Top-20 hit for the group The Sandpipers in 1970. By this point, she had divorced Previn (who had been having an affair with Mia Farrow). During the 1970s, she turned to singing and recorded a live double album at Carnegie Hall in 1973. In addition during the decade, she had her first autobiography volume published. During the 1980s, she was writing for stage productions.
Songwriter. Famed for collaborations with her former husband Andre Previn on numerous movie soundtracks. Born Dorothy Veronica Langan (some sources state birth year as 1929) the daughter of a laborer (her father suffered from severe mental illness the result of being gassed during World War I), she was compelled by her father to pursue a musical career. Following high school, she attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts for one year and later worked in summer stock and TV commercials. She began writing lyrics and was discovered by producer Arthur Freed who hired her for MGM. While there she met Andre Previn and married him in 1959. Their writing partnership yielded Oscar nominations for "Faraway Part of Town" (from the film "Pepe", 1960) and "Second Chance" (from the picture "Two for the Seesaw", 1962). In 1965, she suffered a nervous breakdown which required hospitalization for a period. She resumed her career with Previn and contributed to the soundtracks for the films "Goodbye Charlie" (1964), "Inside Daisy Clover" (1965), "Harper" (1966) and "Valley of the Dolls" (1967). She received a third Academy Award nomination (co-sharing with Fred Karlin) for "Come Saturday Morning" from "The Sterile Cuckoo" (1969). The song became a Top-20 hit for the group The Sandpipers in 1970. By this point, she had divorced Previn (who had been having an affair with Mia Farrow). During the 1970s, she turned to singing and recorded a live double album at Carnegie Hall in 1973. In addition during the decade, she had her first autobiography volume published. During the 1980s, she was writing for stage productions.
Bio by: C.S.
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