Hungarian-born composer of operettas and musicals, of which "The Student Prince" (1924) and "The Desert Song" (1926) are the most famous. Trained as an engineer, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1909 and got his first job in the music business as pianist and conductor at Andre Bustanobys bistro at Broadway and 39th Street. His career took off after he was commissioned by J.J. Shubert to write the score for his 1914 Winter Garden Theatre show "The Whirl of the World".