Composer, author, comedian. Joined ASCAP 1957, Elected Professional Member of The Lambs 1907.
Born in Syracuse, NY, May 2, 1878; died in New York February 6, 1962.
Broadway stage appearances include: The Little Missus, The Mimic Year, How’s Your Health, Tiger, Tiger (1919) and The Firefly (opened Dec 2, 1912, at the Lyric Theater; Book and lyrics mostly by Lamb Otto Harbach, music by Rudolf Frimil (frequent guest at The Lambs). One of the all-time favorite love songs, “Giannina Mia” provides a sample of The Firefly. Alan Jones and Jeannette MacDonald starred in the 1937 film version.
Atwell appeared on the popular CBS radio show, The Fred Allen Show in the 1940’s. It should be noted, Lamb Peter Donald portrayed the character ‘Ajax Cassidy’ in Fred Allen’s “Allen’s Alley” skit, which made its debut on December 13, 1942, and became the most popular segment of the program.
Atwell is best remembered for his collaboration for “Some Little Bug is Going to Find You” (introduced in the musical Alone At Last, Shubert Theater, October 14, 1915), which had contributions of three lambs: lyrics by Atwell and Benjamin Hapgood Burt, music by Silvio Hein.