Ray Jessel

Raymond Jessel (16 October 1929 – 17 July 2015) was a Welsh songwriter, screenwriter, orchestrator, and musical theatre composer. Born in Cardiff, he moved to Canada in 1955 and started a career as an orchestrator and composer for CBC Radio and CBC Television. He met a Canadian pianist Marian Grudeff, who became his songwriting partner. He received five MAC Awards for "Original Song" and the 2004 Bistro Award. He was most recognised for his audition for America's Got Talent in 2014 in which he sang an original song about a transgender woman. With little success in Toronto, Jessel and Grudeff moved to New York City where they made their first success with the Broadway musical, Baker Street, in 1964. Jessel contributed to The Dean Martin Show, The Carol Burnett Show, The Smothers Brothers Show, The Bob Newhart Show and others. In the 1970s and 1980s he was a writer and editor for numerous episodes of The Love Boat and Head of the Class, among other series, and co-wrote lyrics for I Remember Mama in 1979.