Best known for composing the song When Irish Eyes Are Smiling in 1912 even though he was not of Irish heritage.
He studied music at the Cleveland Conservatory.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
His life was dramatized in Irish Eyes Are Smiling from 1944, starring Dick Haymes and June Haver.
His song When Irish Eyes Are Smiling was covered by Bing Crosby.
