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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Meredith Willson
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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Meredith Willson
MEREDITH WILLSON
Awarded by
President Ronald Reagan
June 23, 1987
Our country knows Meredith Willson as the composer-lyricist whose musicals and songs captured the joy and innocence of America. Meredith Willson's career embraced the musical life of his nation. His greatest hits, "The Music Man" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," will forever stand as landmarks of the Broadway stage. As one critic said: "His music is as American as apple pie and a Fourth of July oration." He will always be remembered affectionately and with respect for his virtuosity as our music man.
(1902 -- 1984) Meredith Willson was best known as author and composer of “The Music Man,” which premiered on Broadway in 1957.
Willson was born in Mason City, Iowa, and played the flute in John Philip Sousa’s famous band from 1921 to 1923. He then joined the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1924 to 1929.
He came to San Francisco, served as concert director for KFRC, and rose to prominence in the early 1930s as a musical director at NBC, San Francisco.
In the late 1930s he moved to NBC, Hollywood, and was musical director on many of the famous radio shows of that era. He also composed for motion pictures and, in the 1940s, was twice nominated for the Academy Award.
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Medal History
