Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies

Perry Como had a hit with Pockriss and Vance's Grammy-winning song Catch A Falling Star

Lee Pockriss, the songwriter behind Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and Catch A Falling Star, has died at the age of 87.

His wife Sonja said he died at home in Connecticut following a long illness.

Best known for his collaborations with Paul Vance, including the number one hit Bikini, he also worked in musical theatre and television.

Perry Como released a hit version of Catch a Falling Star in 1957, winning the singer a Grammy Award in 1959.

Born in Brooklyn, Pockriss studied musicology in New York before serving as a cryptographer for the US Air Force during World War II.

After the war, he began composing, primarily for television, where he came across Vance - and a successful partnership was born.

Among their collaborations, including Four Little Heels, Playground of My Mind and Stagecoach to Cheyenne, Bikini remains the best-known.

A number one hit for Brian Hyland in 1960, the song was widely credited with helping the bikini gain popular acceptance beyond the starlet confines of Hollywood and the French Riviera.