George Forrest on AllMovie

George Forrest was a three-time Academy Award-nominated composer/lyricist whose name will forever be tied with fellow composer Robert Wright, with whom he worked for nearly all his professional career. Forrest had displayed musical talent very early in life, having been a child piano prodigy. While still a youth, Forrest once played accompaniment for Al Jolson. In high school, Forrest met Wright and collaborated on the creation of a song for their alma mater. After a career in clubs, the duo were introduced to Hollywood and were quickly signed by MGM. The three songs the duo were nominated for were "Always and Always" from 1938's Mannequin, "It's a Blue World" from 1940's Music in My Heart and "Pennies for Peppino" from the 1942 film, Flying with Music. After establishing themselves in Hollywood, Wright and Forrest began adapting operettas and eventually started creating their own musicals, most notably Kismet, which premiered in 1953.