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American composer and songwriter, renowned almost exclusively for his iconic Christmas songs.Johnny Marks, born in Mount Vernon, New York (1909), studied at Columbia University and the University of Paris. He served as a Captain in the US Army during WWII, earning the Bronze Star and Four Battle Stars. After the war, he founded St. Nicholas Music, a publishing company dedicated to Christmas music. Despite not celebrating Christmas himself (being Jewish), he became one of the most successful and influential composers of Christmas songs in history, with hits like 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree', and 'A Holly Jolly Christmas'.

• Marks wrote 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' (1949) based on a character created by his brother-in-law, Robert L. May, for a Montgomery Ward department store booklet. Gene Autry's recording became one of the best-selling singles of all time.
• He produced and wrote the music for the hugely successful 1964 stop-motion animated TV special 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'.
• Though synonymous with Christmas, Marks also wrote the non-holiday song 'Happy New Year Darling'.
• He died of a heart attack at the age of 75 in New York City in 1985. His legacy endures through the perennial popularity of his Christmas classics.