Billy Rose

William Billy Rose was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. He is credited with many famous songs, notably Me and My Shadow , Without a Song , It Happened in Monterrey and Its Only a Paper Moon . For decades preceding and immediately after the Second World War Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with shows, such as Jumbo , Billy Roses Aquacade, and Carmen Jones , his Diamond Horseshoe nightclub, and the Ziegfeld Theatre influencing the careers of many stars. Billy Rose was inducted as a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. After divorcing comedian Fanny Brice, he married Olympic swimmer Eleanor Holm.

William Samuel Rosenberg was born to a Jewish family in New York City. He attended Public School 44, where he was the 50yard dash champion. While in high school, Billy studied shorthand under John Robert Gregg, the inventor of the Gregg System for shorthand notation. He won a dictation contest using Gregg notation, taking over 150 words per minute, and writing forward or backward with either hand.

Source: Wikipedia