Jimmy Van Heusen: Swinging on a Star

Jimmy Van Heusen, literally and figuratively, led a double life. Witty, talented, personable and dedicated to his craft of songwriting, he was in many ways a very private man. His given name was Chester Edward Babcock. The professional name of Jimmy Van Heusen was adopted when his boss at the radio station thought that the last name of Babcock was distraction. So, Chester adopted the first name after a friend and the surname after the shirt company. Following the double-life theme, during WWII he was working for the movie industry in Hollywood and, wanting to do his part for American defense and yet retain his profitable profession, he became a test-pilot for Lockheed. He signed on with Lockheed using his real name. For a long time, work colleagues in either camp didn’t know of his other profession. As Van Heusen not prone to give details of his personal life, this may explain why he is the last of the Sinatra Rat Pack to have a written biography. First-time author Christopher A. Coppula credits three major sources for his information: an incomplete and unpublished biography by Robert de Roo, some writings by Van Heusen himself and Jim Burns, producer of a PBS documentary about Van Heusen. From the book, we learn about Van Heusen’s early songwriting efforts and his working relationships with lyricists Eddie de Lange, Johnny Burke, and Sammy Cahn. In Hollywood, Van Heusen