{{Short description|American pianist (1893–1962)}} {{Infobox person | name = Victor Arden | image = Victor Arden & Phil Ohman.jpg | alt = | caption = Victor Arden and Phil Ohman | birth_name = Lewis John Fuiks | birth_date = {{birth date|1893|3|8}} | birth_place = Wenonah, Illinois, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1962|7|31|1893|3|8}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | nationality = | other_names = | occupation = Pianist | alma_mater = | spouse = | children = | parents = | known_for = }} '''Victor Arden''' was the stage name of American pianist '''Lewis John Fuiks''' (8 March 1893 – 31 July 1962)<ref name=rs>DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-2834-2}}. Pp. 14-15.</ref> who was best known as the piano duo partner of and co-orchestra leader with Phil Ohman from 1922 to 1932.<ref>The New York Times, August 1, 1962</ref> He was the pianist in the All-Star Trio, who made several hits for Victor Records between 1919 and 1921.<ref name=whitburn>{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |title=Pop Memories 1890-1954 |year=1986 |publisher=Record Research, Inc. |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |isbn=0-89820-083-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/22 22] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/22 }}</ref>
==Early years== Arden was born March 8, 1893, in Wenona, Illinois.<ref name=rs/>
==Radio== In 1935, Arden was described in a newspaper article as "well-known to music lovers and radio listeners."<ref name="ht">{{cite news|title=WKBO|newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4291069/harrisburg_telegraph/|agency=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=September 13, 1935|location=Pennsylvania, Harrisburg|page=19|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = February 11, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> At the time, Arden's orchestra was featured on ''Musical Moments'', which was carried on over 300 stations weekly.<ref name=ht/> Arden and his orchestra also provided the music for ''Mr. Chameleon'', a detective fiction radio drama that ran on CBS Radio from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. <ref>{{cite book |last1=Cox |first1=Jim |title=Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age |date=June 14, 2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-1227-0 |page=180 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gLzwCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Mr.+Chameleon%22+CBS&pg=PA180 |access-date=November 27, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
==Recording== Before 1920, Arden was making piano rolls to be reproduced on player pianos manufactured by the American Piano Company.<ref>{{cite news|title=Answering a Question|newspaper=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4290990/the_brooklyn_daily_eagle/|agency=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=March 18, 1919|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=7|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = February 11, 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> He also cut numerous rolls for QRS.
==Death== Arden died July 31, 1962, in New York City.<ref name=rs/>
== Selected compositions == '''1909''' * ''Safety Pin Catch'' '''1918''' * ''Just Blue'', also by Frank Wheeler Wadsworth (1889–1929) '''1919''' * ''In My Dreams'' * ''Lucille'', also by Frank Wheeler Wadsworth (1889–1929) * ''Marilynn'', also by Frank Wheeler Wadsworth (1889–1929) * ''Honeymoon Waltz'', words by Ray Sherwood (born 1895), music by Victor Arden '''1920''' * ''Hy n' Dry'' * ''Rose of the Orient'', also by Frank Wheeler Wadsworth (1889–1929) & George Hamilton Green * ''Dolly, I Love You'', also by Frank Wheeler Wadsworth (1889–1929) & Dick Long * ''Molly'', also by Frank Wheeler Wadsworth (1889–1929) & Dick Long * ''Who Wants a Baby?'', also by George Hamilton Green * ''Dottie Dimples'', also by George Hamilton Green * ''In Blossom Time'', also by Louis Weslyn (pseudonym for Weslyn Jones) (1884–1937) '''1921''' * '''Round the Town'' * ''Hand Painted Doll'', also by George Hamilton Green * ''Lonesome Land'', also by George Hamilton Green '''1922''' * ''After A While (You're Goin' to Feel Blue)'', also by George Hamilton Green & Walter Hirsch (1891–1967) * ''My Sweet Gal'', also by George Hamilton Green * ''I'm Happy: Fox Trot'', also by George Hamilton Green '''1930''' * ''Dancing the Devil Away'' '''1941''' * ''Hearts in Harmony'' * ''We'd Rather Die Upon Our Feet Than Live Upon Our Knees'', words by Henry A. Murphy, melody by Joseph Russel Robinson (1892–1963) & Victor Arden * ''Unity'', words by Henry A. Murphy, melody by Joseph Russel Robinson (1892–1963) & Victor Arden * ''Let's Incorporate'', also by Lawrence M. Klee (died 1957)
== Education == Arden was a graduate of the University of Chicago and studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.
== Family == Arden was married twice. He first married Ilse Alma Spindler (born April 1894) – a 1916 graduate of the University of Chicago – in Chicago, on May 2, 1917.<ref>Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920</ref> The couple had two sons: Robert Spindler Fuiks (1921–2009)<ref>[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tcpalm/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=136743361 ''Obituaries: Robert Spindler Fuiks,''] TCPalm.com, Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group, Stuart, Florida, December 1, 2009</ref> and Lewis John Fuiks Jr. (1919–2004). Arden remarried in the 1950s to Frances Newsom, a classical soprano.
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.perfessorbill.com/comps/varden.shtml William Edwards biography database], Ashburn, Virginia * [http://www.pianola.co.nz Robert Perry, piano roll historian], Auckland, New Zealand * [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105529 Victor Arden recordings] at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arden, Victor}} Category:1893 births Category:1962 deaths Category:20th-century American composers Category:20th-century American pianists Category:American Conservatory of Music alumni Category:20th-century American male composers Category:American pop pianists Category:20th-century American male pianists Category:Composers from Illinois