Oscar-winning songwriter of "Mona Lisa" dead at 92

Ray Evans died late Thursday, February 15, of heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital. Lyricist Evans collaborated with melody writer Jay Livingston for more than six decades, earning seven Academy Award nominations and winning three—in 1948 for "Buttons and Bows" in the film The Paleface, in 1950 for "Mona Lisa" in the movie Captain Carey, USA, and in 1956 for "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" from The Man Who Knew Too Much. The duo wrote songs for dozens of movies and two Broadway musicals, as well as the theme songs for Bonanza and Mister Ed, and the Christmas standard "Silver Bells." Evans changed the title of his most-beloved creation from "Prima Donna" to "Mona Lisa" on the advice of his art-loving wife, Wyn. Jay Livingston died in 2001 at age 86. Ray Evans was 92.

Sources: Yahoo! News, IMDB.com