Robert Arthur

May 10, 1928 - January 21, 2018

Robert Arthur, the Music Supervisor for the Ed Sullivan Show from the 1950s until June, 1971, passed away peacefully at his Topanga, California home on January 21, with his wife, Jeanne, at his side.

Born Robert Arthur Lippman in Flushing, New York, in 1928, he was the son of Natalie and Max Lippman. Arthur began playing the piano as a young boy. As a student at Bayside High School he composed music and lyrics and played trombone and piano in gigs with his schoolmates. He also excelled in academics and track and field.

Upon graduating from Colgate University with degrees in economics and Spanish, he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War, where he served for two years as a bayonet instructor.

While the music supervisor of the Sullivan show, Arthur worked closely with Harry Belafonte, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, among others.

As an ASCAP composer and lyricist, he wrote television program theme songs and songs that have been sung by many notable performers including Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, and Natalie Cole.

When the Sullivan Show ended, Arthur moved to Los Angeles, where he helped Dick Clark launch the American Music Awards and the Country Music Awards. Arthur was co-producer and writer on the American Bandstand 25th Anniversary. He was director, writer, and producer of more than fifty bio videos celebrating such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, and Michael Jackson. He also produced videos that Jackson showed during his concerts.

One of Arthur’s greatest contributions is as a composer and lyricist. His elegant compositions, in the tradition of Cole Porter and the Gershwins, have uplifted millions of people and will continue to do so. An avid tennis player, he enjoyed the sport well into his eighties. He was a loving husband and father, a mentor, and a gracious, kind and gifted man whose life was very well-lived.

In addition to his wife of twenty years, Jeanne Dancs Arthur, survivors include his son, Adam; brother, Peter Lippman; sisters-in-law Anne Phalon and Elisabeth Mention; and niece, Jacqueline Mention. His first two wives, Michele Arthur Corns and Freya Bame Arthur, predeceased him. Jeanne asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a favorite charity.