Henry E Hadad

1929 - 2017
Henry Hadad Jr., known professionally as Hank Hunter, died on November 4 in New Jersey. He was 88 years old.

Mr. Hadad was born in Brooklyn, NY on January 7, 1929, the second of four siblings born to his parents, Henry and Werda Hadad. Following his graduations from Poly Prep high school and New York University, Mr. Hadad joined his father's business but in the mid-1950's, decided to become a songwriter after listening to music on the radio and deciding "he could write songs better than that." Along with his co-writers, he composed over 200 songs during his career, including the hits Vacation, I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter, and Second Hand Love (Connie Francis), Ginger Bread (Frankie Avalon), My Empty Arms (Jackie Wilson), Tears and Roses (Al Martino), Footsteps (Steve Lawrence), Just for Old Times Sake (McGuire Sisters) and One Way Ticket To the Blues (Neil Sedaka).

In 1964, he married the former Claudette Jabara and they had two children. While Mr. Hadad's musical activities decreased after the mid-1960s, he continued to enjoy periodic success from new versions of his songs, as well as their use in movies and commercials.

Surviving are his wife Claudette, daughter Suzanne, son Henry, daughter-in-law Lara, and four grandchildren, Chris, Rob, Jack and Olivia Hadad of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, his brother Fred Hadad and family of Florham Park, New Jersey, sister Louise Hamwi and family of Red Bank, New Jersey, and the family of his sister, the late Gloria Samara of Dallas, Texas.