Jay gorney biography

Russian-born Jewish American musical theater and film songwriter

Jay Gorney (December 12, 1896^[1][2]– June 14, 1990) was an American theater and film song writer.

Life and career

Gorney was born Abraham Jacob Gornetzsky on December 12, 1896,^[1] in Białystok, Russia (now part of Poland), the son of Frieda (Perlstein) and Jacob Gornetzsky.^[3] His family was Jewish.

In 1906, he witnessed the Bialystok pogrom, which forced his family into hiding for nearly two weeks; they soon fled to the United States, arriving on 14 September 1906.^[2] The family settled in Detroit, Michigan, where Jacob Gornetzsky became an engineer at the newly formed Ford Motor Company.

Jay gorney biography

Frieda Gornetzsky bought a piano for her children. At age 14, after two years of lessons, Gorney was offered a job as a pianist at a local Nickelodeon.

He worked his way through the University of Michigan (Class of 1917) and the University of Michigan L