Born in Hillsboro, TX. A former piano accompanist for ballroom dancers, he went to Hollywood in 1933 to write special material for Ethel Merman films at Paramount. In 1935 he joined MGM as a musical supervisor and occasional composer and arranger, notably of Judy Garland songs ("Dear Mr. Gable," etc.). It was Edens who tested Shirley Temple's singing ability to see if she would really be the right choice to play Dorothy in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939). When he decided that her singing was not good enough, Judy Garland became the preferred choice for Dorothy. In the early 40s he became associate producer to Arthur Freed while continuing to compose, score, and arrange MGM musicals. Edens, along with producer Arthur Freed, was the real guiding force behind MGM's 1951 screen version of SHOW BOAT. Edens was the one who carried out the search for the right singer-actor to play Joe and sing "Ol' Man River", and it was Edens who discovered William Warfield after reading a rave review of a New York song recital that Warfield had given. Edens was also the one who supervised the cuts to the film after it was felt by the producer and the director that the original cut was too slow. He also produced a number of films after the mid-50s. When THE SOUND OF MUSIC was first announced by 20th Century-Fox to be directed by William Wyler, Edens was to be Associate Producer. It was Edens who thought up the opening shot of the camera coming over the alps to reveal Julie Andrews coming up over the hill singing "The hills are alive with the sound of music..." Although Wyler chose not to direct, Edens' brilliant opening concept was kept in by Robert Wise. He and actress/singer/writer Kay Thompson shared the same birthday (November 9th). From 1942 thru 1957, they gave joint birthday parties during which each presented a surprise production number using special material which featured their friends (Judy Garland, Ann Sothern, Chuck Walters, Ralph Blane). Each never told the other while rehearsing what the other was planning to present.

Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Score) 1939: BABES IN ARMS (w. George Stoll)  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Best Score) 1940: STRIKE UP THE BAND (w. George Stoll)  Nominated for Music Best Song 1940: STRIKE UP THE BAND "Our Love Affair" - Music & Lyrics  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Musical Picture) 1942: FOR ME AND MY GAL (w. George Stoll)  Nominated for Music Best Song 1947: GOOD NEWS "Pass That Peace Pipe" - Music & Lyrics (w. Ralph Blane & Hugh Martin)  Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Musical Picture) 1948: EASTER PARADE (w. Johnny Green)  Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Musical Picture) 1949: ON THE TOWN (w. Lennie Hayton)  Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Musical Picture) 1950: ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (w. Adolph Deutsch) 8 nominations, 3 Awards