A PROFITABLE NIGHTINGALE
EXT time you hear "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" spare « thought for the Australian composer, Eric Mascwitz. Having written the book and lyrics for the stage sutcess, Balalaika, he left his job as director of light entertainment at the BBC, and was soon raking in thousands of pounds in royalties from this and other successes. He left for America to delve into radio, films and stage, and more success and money were his. Then war broke out, and Eric returned to London, leaving
his money tied up in a film venture which finally failed. He passed out of the limelight, until last year his friends were pained to learn of his misfortunes. An unsympathetic landlord sued him for unpaid rent for his untenanted. London flat-for Eric, unfit for military work, was earning just £7 a week in a censorship department. An understanding magistrate dismissed the suit, allowing Eric to retain his flat and his few treasured possessions. But, little by little, Eric is coming into his own again, for the words of the song, "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" are his, and every time it is sung or played in public it means money for him. And every radio station in the world, except the Hitlerised ones, are playing it.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 135, 23 January 1942, Page 11
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215A PROFITABLE NIGHTINGALE New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 135, 23 January 1942, Page 11
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