Published on 10/2/2024

Among the best known of Johnny Mercer's songs are "Moon River", "Autumn Leaves", "Days of Wine and Roses", and "Hooray for Hollywood". He wrote the lyrics to more than 1,500 songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Oscar nominations, and won four Best Original Song Oscars. His roots on his mother's side are Croatia: his grandfather (Ivan Josip Čučević, i.e., John Joseph Ciucevich) was born in Croatia on the island of Lastovo.

Johny's grandfather (on his mother's side) was Ivan Josip Čučević born in Croatia on the island of Lastovo

Johnny Mercer, New York, N.Y., between 1946 and 1948.

(Photo by William P. Gottlieb/Public domain).

Johny Mercer and Louis Armstrong

Johny Mercer with Branka Gudelj, Savannah, Georgia, in July 2024

Johny Mercer and Nat King Cole

The humble beginnings of one of America's greatest songsmiths

Mercer was born in Savannah, Georgia, where one of his first jobs, aged 10, was sweeping floors at the original 1919 location of Leopold's Ice Cream. Mercer lived on Lincoln Street, a block away from the store's East Gwinnett and Habersham location.

Mercer's father, George Anderson Mercer, was a prominent attorney and real-estate developer. Mercer's mother, Lillian Elizabeth (nee Ciucevich), was the daughter of a Croatian immigrant father Ivan Josip (John Joseph) Čučević and a mother with Irish ancestry.

Lillian was the senior Mercer's secretary and second wife. Lillian's father, born in Croatian island of Lastovo, in 1834 to Ivana Cucevic (Čučević) and Marijo Dundovic, was a merchant seaman who ran the Union blockade during the Civil War. Mercer was George's fourth son, and his first son by Lillian.

His great-grandfather was Confederate General Hugh Weedon Mercer and he was a direct descendant of American Revolutionary War General Hugh Mercer, a Scottish soldier-physician who died at the Battle of Princeton. Mercer was also a distant cousin of General George S. Patton.

Mercer liked music as a small child and attributed his musical talent to his mother, who would sing sentimental ballads.

Source Wikipedia (excerpt from his biography)

Moon River, lyrics (and singing) by Johnny Mercer, music by Henry Mancini

List of Johnny Mercer's belongings at Savannah History Museum, shown below.

Golden key, visible in the middle of the table (just in front of Johnny's typewriter), is the key of the City of Savannah, Georgia.

Also visible are one of his four Grammy Awards and his hat.

Johnny Mercer was a lyricist, songwriter and singer. He was also a record label executive, who co-founded Capitol Records.

From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, many of the songs Mercer wrote and performed were among the most popular hits of the time. He wrote the lyrics to more than fifteen hundred songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Academy Award nominations and won four Best Original Song Oscars.

His mother's father was born on the Croatian island of Lastovo in 1834.

Source: Croatian Week

Nat King Cole and Johnny Mercer

Johnny Mercer, co-founder of Capitol Records, was the first prominent white label to sign a black artist to a major recording contract. When Nat King Cole got the run-around trying to purchase a home in Beverly Hills, Mercer interceded and the deal went through. That Mercer came from the deep South (Savannah, GA), during the peak of segregation is a testament to the man. Cole and Mercer - two class acts.

Many thanks to @AJNorth for this information.

Plaque at Johnny Mercer's House, Savannah, Georgia, July 2024

Johny Mercer's house in Savannah, Georgia

Johnny Mercer's grave in Savannah, Georgie, Bonaventura Cemetary

Bench by Johnny Mercer's grave