Victor Arden
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Born

  • March 8, 1893
  • Wenona, IL

Died

  • July 31, 1962
  • New York, NY

Real Name

  • John Fuiks

Arden & Ohman Theme Songs

  • Dance of the Paper Doll
  • That Certain Feeling
  • Fine and Dandy
  • Funny Face
  • Ooh! That Kiss

Victor Arden

''King of the Piano Roll'' Victor Arden was among the most popular entertainers of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Together with partner Phil Ohman he recorded hundreds of songs and piano rolls featuring the duo's ''pyrotechnical'' keyboard style. The pair was also featured on numerous radio programs and led pit orchestras for several George Gershwin musicals.

Arden earned a degree in music from the University of Chicago, from where he went on to attend the American Conservatory of Music. After moving to New York he began playing music for movie shorts and writing original compositions. In the early 1920s, while working for the QRS Piano Roll company, he met his future partner, Phil Ohman. The two became friends and later formed a team. They made a name for themselves in vaudeville and playing small clubs on 52nd Street. In 1924 they were hired to conduct the pit orchestra for the Gershwin musical Lady Be Good, the first of many shows in which they were involved. Among the other musicals they worked on were Funny Face, Oh Kay, Tip Toes and Spring Is Here. They eventually formed a full big band, which featured various vocalists, including Frank Luther. The duo also appeared in Vitaphone short subjects and worked on several radio programs, the American Album of Familiar Music, The Buick Program and the Bayer Music Review.

Arden and Ohman split in 1934, though a brief reunion produced several recordings for the Brunswick label. After the break-up Arden formed a short-lived dance band. From 1934 to 1937 he conducted studio orchestras at NBC for such radio shows as Kings of Melody, Broadway Varieties and Sweetest Love Songs Ever. He conducted Abe Lyman's orchestra on many shows of the popular Waltz Time series. During the 1930s he conducted the orchestra on several Dick Powell recordings. In the mid-1940s he worked on the Manhattan Merry-Go-Round and in 1947 on the American Melody Hour. Late in his career he also directed the ''All Stars Trio,'' a group he had originally formed back when he was arranging piano rolls for QRS. Victor Arden died in 1962.