Mitch Leigh

Mitch Leigh was a Tony Award winning composer, most famous for the 1965 musical Man of La Mancha. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Leigh (the former Irwin Michnick) graduated from Yale with Bachelors of Music in 1951 and received a Masters of Music in 1952. Leigh composed, produced, and directed for musicals, and wrote commercials for radio and television. Leigh wrote music for eight musicals and two plays, Too Good to Be True and Never Live Over A Pretzel Factory. As a jingle writer for radio and television commercials, Mitch Leigh ultimately formed the company Music Makers in the 1950s, which was responsible for writing many popular jingles in the USA at the time. Leigh and writing partner Joe Darion (lyrics) won the 1966 Tony Award for Best Original Score for Man of La Mancha.