Prior to the release of "What a Way to Go!" (1964), producer Arthur P. Jacobs first heard that the film rights were available on December 5, 1963. Jacobs met with the Loftings' attorney Bernard Silbert in which he told him of his intentions to produce "Dr. Dolittle" as a musical with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and actor Rex Harrison attached. On Christmas Day 1963, Jacobs acquired the rights, but he was given the condition to find a distributor within six months. In January 1964, "The New York Times" reported that Alan Jay Lerner had signed on to write the script and compose the songs. In the following March, Jacobs pitched his project to studio executive Darryl Zanuck, in which 20th Century Fox signed on as the distributor. On March 22, it was reported that Rex Harrison had also signed to star as Doctor Dolittle. Because Lerner's collaborator Frederick Loewe had retired, Jacobs hired André Previn to compose the musical score.