Kenneth Lorin Darby was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor.
10 Facts About Ken Darby
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Kenneth Lorin Darby was born in Hebron, Nebraska, on May 13,1909, to Lorin Edward Darby and Clara Alice Powell.
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Ken Darby was married to Vera Matson from 1932 to his death in 1992.
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Ken Darby performed as part of "The King's Men," a vocal quartet who recorded several songs with Paul Whiteman's orchestra in the mid 1930s and were the featured vocalists on the Fibber McGee and Molly radio program from 1940 through 1953.
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Ken Darby was a composer and production supervisor for Walt Disney Studios and was choral and vocal director on the 1946 Disney film classic Song of the South.
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Ken Darby was Marilyn Monroe's vocal coach for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and There's No Business Like Show Business.
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Ken Darby was the principal composer of the 1956 Elvis Presley hit "Love Me Tender" for the movie of the same name but signed the rights over to his wife, Vera Matson, whose name appears as co-lyricist and co-composer with Presley.
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An avid fan of Nero Wolfe, Rex Stout's fictional detective genius, Ken Darby wrote a detailed biography of Wolfe's home titled The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe.
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Ken Darby died January 24,1992, in the final stages of production of his last book, Hollywood Holyland: The Filming and Scoring of 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'.
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Ken Darby was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.