Jack Little
Illustration — Little Jack Little c. 1943 Jack Little (born John Leonard; May 30, 1899 – April 9, 1956), sometimes credited as Little Jack Little, was a British-born American composer, singer, pianist, actor, and songwriter whose songs were featured in several movies. He is not to be confused with the burlesque comedian also known as "Little" Jack Little, who stood 4 ft tall.
Also recorded as Little Jack Little
Jack Little

Ad on page 94 of January 2, 1943 Billboard magazine. · Public domain
- Full name
- John Leonard.
- Born
- 1899 · Silvertown.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- composer · singer · songwriter · musician · conductor · writer
- Education
- University of Iowa
- Honours
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
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wikidata · Q6113707
In this article
Early years
Early years
Little was born in the Silvertown section of London, but moved to the United States when he was nine years old, growing up in Waterloo, Iowa. He was educated in pre-med classes at the University of Iowa, where he played in and organized the university band.
Career
Career
Early in his career, Little worked at radio stations, including WSAI and WLW, both in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had a 15-minute daily program (originating from WLW) on NBC radio in the early 1930s. Little toured the country with an orchestra, appearing in hotels, night clubs, and on the radio. In one such touring appearance on radio, at WOC in Davenport, Iowa, Little "made a new endurance record for himself... when he remained on the air three hours and sixteen minutes... [and] sang fifty-one songs in answer to thousands of requests." He collaborated musically with Tommie Malie, Dick Finch, John Siras, and Joe Young. In 1928 he joined ASCAP. From 1933 to 1937, he recorded prolifically, starting on Bluebird, Columbia, and finally ARC, playing in a light society dance band style. He often worked with musical director Mitchell Ayres. His compositions include "Jealous, I Promise You", "A Shanty in Old Shanty Town" and "You're a Heavenly Thing". Details of his chart success per Joel Whitburn are given below.
Chart successes
Chart successes
• Year — Song — Peak chart position • 1934 — "You Oughta Be in Pictures" • "Old Roses" • "Stay As Sweet As You Are" • "June in January" • 1935 — "Little Boy Blue" • "Lullaby of Broadway" • "I'm Goin' Shopping with You" • "I'm in the Mood for Love" • "I Wished on the Moon" • "On Treasure Island" • "No Other One" • "Where Am I? (Am I in Heaven?)" • 1936 — "I'm Shooting High" • 1937 — "It's Swell of You"
Recognition
Recognition
Little has a star at 6618 Hollywood Boulevard in the radio section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.
Personal life
Personal life
He was married to Thea Hellman, who died in 1940; they had two children.
Death
Death
Little died in his sleep on April 9, 1956, at his home in Hollywood, Florida, after suffering from hepatitis for some time.
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Places
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Silvertown.
Birth place
Hollywood.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jack Little (songwriter), revision 1372424528 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Citations
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 02 September 2026.
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