Obituaries : Pinky Tomlin, 80; Hit Songwriter

Private services for songwriter Pinky Tomlin, author of the hit song “The Object of My Affection” and dozens of other tunes during an entertainment career spanning more than 20 years, will be conducted Wednesday at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills.

Tomlin, 80, a native of Eros, Ark., died of a heart attack Saturday at a medical center in North Hollywood. He had been retired since 1970, when he sold an oil- and gas-drilling business started after he left show business.

Besides writing songs, Tomlin sang, played guitar, led touring orchestras, performed on radio and appeared in movies. His own musical variety show appeared on television in Los Angeles in 1953.

Tomlin, noted for his relaxed, country-boy style, was a University of Oklahoma geology student when he met Joanne Alcorn, who was “Miss Oklahoma” and his future wife, and later wrote “The Object of My Affection” in 1935.

After composing one of the favorite tunes of the ‘30s, Tomlin headed west to Los Angeles and scored a hit with Jimmie Grier’s orchestra at the Biltmore. He spent more than a dozen years touring the nation with his own band.

Along the way, Tomlin also wrote such songs as “The Love Bug Will Bite You if You Don’t Watch Out,” “Lost and Found,” “Love Is All,” “If It Wasn’t for the Moon,” “What’s the Reason?” and “That’s What You Think.”

He and Alcorn were wed in 1938 in Westwood. She died in July, 1986. Survivors include a son, Tom Tomlin; a daughter, Sylvia Riley of Downey, and four grandchildren.