- Born
- Died
- Prolific composer ("Manhattan Tower"), songwriter ("Goodbye"), conductor, arranger and author, educated in public schools and then a banjoist in orchestras and on radio in St. Louis, Missouri, then came to Hollywood in 1938 as music director for NBC and composer of scores for films, radio, and night club revues. He conducted and arranged the Broadway musical "The Show Is On", and composed the Broadway stage score for "Along Fifth Avenue". Joining ASCAP in 1935, his other popular-song compositions include "Blue Prelude", "You Have Taken My Heart", "When a Woman Loves a Man", "P.S. I Love You", "Blue Evening", "Ev'ry Time", "Maybe She'll Remember", "Saddest Man in Town", "San Fernando Valley", "When You Climb Those Golden Stairs", "Homesick, That's All", "Goin' Back to Brooklyn", "Married I Can Always Get", "Daylight Savings Blues", "The Man Who Loves Manhattan", "Once to Every Heart", "How Old Am I?", and "This Is All I Ask".- IMDb mini biography by: Hup234!
- SpousesNancy Harkey(November 11, 1931 - 1946) (divorced, 3 children)Loulie Jean Norman(? - May 1, 1984) (his death)
- A popular arranger for such stalwarts as Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong and 'Nat 'King' Cole', his wife, singer Loulie Jean Norman was the soaring soprano on the "Star Trek" theme song. They collaborated on numerous albums, including a song sung by Frank Sinatra entitled "The Future Song Without Words" written by Jenkins and featuring Loulie's voice.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 424-426. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.
- Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982.
- He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6626 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
- October 24, 1951, he leads his orchestra for the American version of the French song "Maître Pierre" which was written in 1948 by Henri Betti (music) and Jacques Plante (lyrics). The English lyrics were written by Mitchell Parish and the title song became "The Windmill Song". The recording took place in New York and the song was sung by The Andrews Sisters.
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