Composer, Author, Actor. Marc Blitzstein, an American musician, wrote the lyrics and composed the music for several films, which include, "What Woman Want" in 2000, "Cradle Will Rock" in 1999, "Die Dreigroschenoper" in 1962, "The True Glory" in 1945, "Native Land" in 1942, "Night Shift" in 1941, "Valley Town" in 1940, "Too Much Johnson" in 1938 and "The Spanish Earth" in 1937. Blitzstein's musical compositions are "Regina," "Reuben, Reuben," "Juno," "Nickel Under the Foot," "Art for Art's Sake," "Francey," "Pirate Jenny," "Barbara's Song," "Army Song," "The Liffey Waltz," "One Kind Word," and "I Wish It Was So." Born the son of a wealthy banker, his musical talents were recognized early with piano lessons. He studied music composition at the Curtis Institute from 1924 to 1926, and then briefly in Berlin and Paris before his involvement with the Composers Collective of New York and the New York Composers Forum-Laboratory. His first successful piece was with his 1928 one-act opera "Triple Sec," which ran on Broadway as part of Garrick Gaities in 1930. In 1937 he received national attention when his pro-union musical "The Cradle Will Rock," directed by Orson Welles, was halted for a short time by the Works Progress Administration, but eventually had 108 performances. He had a role as a piano player in this musical. After he joined the American Communist Party in the 1930s, he wrote political articles for left-wing periodicals. He had a role in the 1941 "No for an Answer," but this production was also closed for political reasons. During World War II, he served in the US Air Force in England as the director of the American broadcasting station in London. He was married for three years before his wife's death from breast cancer. His adaption of "The Threepenny Opera" was performed on Broadway starting in 1954 for seven years and contained his only hit song "Mack the Knife." Singer Bobby Darin recorded "Mack the Knife" in 1959, becoming a #1 Billboard hit for nine non-consecutive weeks.