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Howard Dietz

American executive and songwriter

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Howard Dietz (born Sept. 9, 1896, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died July 30, 1983, New York City) was an American motion-picture executive and songwriter.

After graduating from Columbia University in 1917, Dietz joined the Philip Goodman Advertising Agency, where he was assigned to devise a trademark for Goldwyn Pictures. Dietz used Columbia’s lion mascot as an inspiration for the Goldwyn studio’s “roaring lion” trademark, which thereafter appeared at the beginning of each film, including those made after Goldwyn Pictures merged with two other studios in 1924 to become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Corporation. Dietz also suggested the lion’s accompanying Latin motto, “Ars Gratia Artis”—“Art for Art’s Sake.” Dietz himself joined Goldwyn Pictures in 1919 and soon became director of advertising and publicity, a post that he retained in MGM until his retirement in 1957.

Dietz wrote lyrics in his spare time and eventually wrote the words to more than 500 songs. He began this second career in 1923, but it was not until he teamed up with the song composer Arthur Schwartz in 1929 and the duo established their reputation with the musical revue The Little Show that his talents were recognized. The two men went on to collaborate in writing such popular Broadway musicals and revues as Three’s a Crowd (1930), The Band Wagon (1931), Flying Colors (1932), Revenge with Music (1934), At Home Abroad (1935), Inside U.S.A. (1941), and The Gay Life (1961). Dietz also wrote an acclaimed English translation of Johann Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus in 1950.

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