Among the best known of Johnny Mercer’s songs are “Moon River”, “Autumn Leaves”, “Days of Wine and Roses”, and “Hooray for Hollywood”. He wrote the lyrics to more than 1,500 songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Oscar nominations, and won four Best Original Song Oscars. His roots on his mother’s side are Croatia: his grandfather (Ivan Josip Čučević, i.e., John Joseph Ciucevich) was born in Croatia on the island of Lastovo.