George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 - July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs he founded Capitol Records.
DeSylva was born in New York City, but grew up in California and attended the University of Southern California. His father, Aloysius J. De Sylva, was better known to American audiences as the Portuguese-born actor, Hal De Forrest.
DeSylva's first successful songs were those used by Al Jolson on Broadway in the 1918 +Sinbad production, which included "I'll Say She Does." Soon thereafter he met Jolson and in 1918 the pair went to New York and De Sylva began working as a songwriter at Tin Pan Alley. "If You Knew Susie" is the title of a popular song from the 1920s written by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Meyer. With a name immortally linked with many hits, Eddie Cantor’s best-known 1920s success was undoubtedly "If You Knew Susie", which was a U.S. number-one song for five weeks in 1925. A film by the same name, starring Eddie Cantor, was released in 1948.George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 - July 11,.