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Hollywood Songwriter Ray Evans Died

February 17, 2007 | People
Hollywood-songwriter Ray Evans died February 15, 2007 of heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital, he was 92.

Raymond Bernard Evans was an American songwriter and partner in a composing and songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Livingston the music for the songs.

Livingston and Evans won Academy Awards in 1948 for the song "Buttons and Bows", written for the movie The Paleface; in 1950 for the song "Mona Lisa", written for the movie Captain Carey, U.S.A.; and in 1956 for the song "Que Sera Sera", written for the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much. In addition to their three Oscar-winning songs, Livingston and Evans earned four other Oscar nominations Livingston and Evans also wrote popular TV themes for shows including "Bonanza" and "Mr. Ed".

Among Livingston and Evans' songs, which reportedly have sold a total of nearly 500 million copies, is the Christmas standard "Silver Bells." Introduced in the 1951 Bob Hope-Marilyn Maxwell comedy "The Lemon Drop Kid," "Silver Bells" is said to have been recorded by nearly 150 artists and has sold more than 160 million copies. He was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1977.

Elvis Presley recorded "Mona Lisa" and "Silver Bells".
Source:Various