Wikipedia:
Melville Joseph Gideon (born May 21, 1884 in New York City; † November 11, 1933 in London) was an American composer, singer, and pianist.
Melville J. Gideon was apparently initially showcased as a child prodigy, performing with the New York Philharmonic at the age of twelve. He continued to be active in adulthood, initially in the United States, and devoted himself to topical subjects, such as cab driving, which, according to Graham Russell Hodges in his social history of New York cab drivers, became "synonymous with a new urban culture" in the early 20th century. Hodges cites an extensive excerpt from Gideon's ''Take me 'round'', which was an element of the Ziegfeld Follies in 1908, as an expression of this mood for life. In 1909, Gideon composed one of the Billiken songs, which apparently coincided with the first Billiken figurines.
In 1911, Gideon moved to London and initially performed a ragtime program at the Alhambra. There he was not universally received with enthusiasm: In an article Ragtime. The New Tarantism, author Francis Toye concluded in 1913 with the sentence: "[...] persuade Parliament to deport Messrs. Hirsch and Melville Gideon [...] as highly undesirable aliens, before this unhappy country should be converted into an even larger lunatic asylum than it is at present." Nevertheless, he was much sought after in his early days in London, especially as the discord between Charles B. Cochran and André Charlot developed. He was involved in Charlot's ''Kill That Fly!'' and played a significant role in Cole Porter's career, developing a style similar to Coward's as a singer on the piano.
In 1913, newspaper reports revealed that Gideon had suffered substantial financial losses in London and was bankrupt. In 1914, it was made public that he was earning about £7000 a year from his music, but had lost about £10,000 playing since June 1912.
During the period of World War I, Melville J. Gideon apparently also performed in events for the benefit of war wounded.
In the 1920s, numerous recordings were made with Melville J. Gideon. In 1928, he brought out the musical ''The Optimists'' at the Casino de Paris in New York. 24 performances took place. That same year he received quite favorable reviews for the recording of ''My Heart Stood Still'' and ''The Hours I Spent with You''. The 1929 recording of ''Roses of Yesterday'' and ''For Old Time's Sake'' was also received somewhat graciously. In 1931, with his band playing at the Dorchester House Hotel, he was hired to fill in for Ambrose and His Band's Saturday night recordings, but these radio broadcasts met with little favor. One critic wrote that he had not exactly set the ''Thames on fire'', but criticized the letters from readers, some of which had apparently been quite vicious.
In 1929, Gideon was featured in the film ''The Co-Optimists''. The musical had first been performed in London in 1921 and had reached 500 performances. In 1926, recordings of The Co-Optimists had appeared. In 1933, he played himself in the film ''Her First Affair''.
Note: Translated from the German version of Wikipedia into English.
