Nacio Herb Brown

Biography

Ignacio Herb Brown (some sources indicate his birth name was Ignacio Herbert Brown) was born in Deming, New Mexico to Ignacio and Cora Brown. He had an older sister, Charlotte. In 1901 his family moved to Los Angeles, where he attended Manual Arts High School. His music education started with instruction from his mother, Cora Alice (Hopkins) Brown. Brown first operated a tailoring business (1916), and then became a financially successful realtor, but he always wrote and played. After his first hit "Coral Sea" (1920) and first big hit, "When Buddha Smiles" (1921), he eventually became a full-time composer. He joined The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1927.

In 1928 he was hired to work in Hollywood by MGM and write film scores for the new medium of sound film. For his film work, he often collaborated with lyricist Arthur Freed. Their music is collected for the most part in Singin' in the Rain. He appeared in the MGM variety film The Hollywood Revue of 1929. Brown also worked with Richard A. Whiting and Buddy De Sylva on Broadway Musicals such as Take a Chance.

Along with L. Wolfe Gilbert, Nacio wrote the music for the popular children's television western, Hopalong Cassidy which first aired in 1949.

He spent two days in the UCSF Medical Center, then died on September 28, 1964 in San Francisco, California at the home of his children, Nacio Jan Brown and Candace Nacio Brown.

Legacy

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, and into the New Mexico Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2012.

Marriage

Brown was married at five times, each ending in divorce.

1. Ruby Porter with whom he had one child, Nacio Herb Brown, Jr. They divorced in 1931.
2. In 1932 he married Jeanne Borlini Lockhart.
3. In 1934 he married actress Anita Page.
4. Beffie Kellogg.
5. Georgeann Morris, with whom he had two children, Nacio Jan Brown and Candace Brown.

Published songs and music