Jay Gorney; Songwriter and Producer

Jay Gorney, whose “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” became the musical motif of the Great Depression, died Thursday at the Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged in New York City.

A spokesman for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, to which Gorney had belonged since 1925, said the song maker was 93 when he died of Parkinson’s disease.

Born in Bialystok, Russia, Gorney--who also wrote under the name Daniel Jason--came to the United States as a child and worked his way through the University of Michigan by leading school bands. He graduated as a lawyer but practiced only one year before turning to music full time.

His first songs were for the “Greenwich Village Follies,” a 1924 revue. That success led to the score for “Artists and Models” that same year, “Earl Carroll Vanities” in 1925 and “Miss Happiness” in 1926.

His other Broadway shows included “Touch and Go,” “Stand Up and Cheer,” “Marie Galante” and “Redheads on Parade.” He also was a producer--for “Merry-Go-Round,” “First Nighter” and “Meet the People.”

Gorney wrote for Fox Films in the early 1930s and a decade later was at Columbia Pictures as executive producer of musicals.

After World War II, he produced student musicals in New York while directing and producing for CBS-TV. He also was a lecturer and teacher of musical theater.

Besides “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?,” which he wrote for the 1932 show “Americana” with lyrics by E.Y. (Yip) Harburg, and which became a hit for Rudy Vallee, Gorney also wrote “You’re My Thrill,” “Baby, Take a Bow,” “A Girl in Your Arms” and dozens more.

Survivors include his wife, Sondra, a daughter and two sons.