Felix Bernard was a composer and pianist whose songs helped define American popular music in the 1920s and 1930s. Born Felix William Bernhardt in Brooklyn, he was a professional pianist from childhood and went on to compose some of the era's most recognizable melodies. His earliest major success was "Dardanella" in 1919, co-written with Johnny S. Black, which became one of the best-selling recordings of its time. Bernard's most celebrated composition is "Winter Wonderland," written in 1934 with lyricist Richard B. Smith. Originally recorded by Richard Himber and his Hotel Ritz-Carlton Orchestra, the song gained wider popularity through recordings by Guy Lombardo, and later Perry Como and the Andrews Sisters in 1946. It has since been recorded by over two hundred artists and remains one of the most performed holiday songs in the American repertoire. Bernard also composed "Who's Your Little Who-Zis" with Al Goering and other songs with collaborators including Sam Coslow, L. Wolfe Gilbert, and Paul Francis Webster. He died in 1944 at age forty-seven, before "Winter Wonderland" reached the height of its cultural presence.
