Akst, Harry
(1894–1963)> COMPOSER
Harry Akst Composer New York City, August 15, 1894; Hollywood, California, March 31, 1963. Akst is best remembered for writing several pop and jazz standards, including “Dinah” and “ Am I Blue? ” He took classical piano lessons at the age of five but learned ragtime so that he could become a demonstrator for Leo Feist . For a brief time, he accompanied Nora Bayes in her vaudeville appearances. He was drafted during World War I and was sent to Camp Upton, where he met Private Walter Donaldson…