Sammy Timberg

Sammy Timberg was a New York-born contemporary of George Gershwin and Aaron Copland, and his music was nearly as ubiquitous in popular culture, even if his name wasn't as well known. He wrote songs for such Broadway musicals as The Duchess of Chicago and The Street Singer, and he worked for Fleischer Studios, where he scored as many as 200 cartoons starring the likes of Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, and Superman. He also composed popular hits including "It's a Hap-Hap-Happy Day," "Don't Take My Boop-Oop-a-Doop Away," and "Help Yourself to My Heart," which was recorded by Frank Sinatra during his period at Columbia Records. As his music legacy endured on television for new generations, Timberg's daughter Pat oversaw the release of modern re-recordings of Timberg's classic '30s songs and music, using his own arrangements and titled Boop-Oop-a-Doin' (2004).