name	Dorothy Fields
background	non_performing_personnel
birth name	Dorothy Fields
birth date	July 15, 1905
died	March 28, 1974 New York City, United States
origin	Allenhurst, New Jersey, United States
occupation	Lyricist
website	}}

Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist.

She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Along with Ann Ronell, Dana Suesse, Bernice Petkere, and Kay Swift, she was one of the first successful Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood female songwriters.

Biography

Fields was born in Allenhurst, New Jersey, and grew up in New York City.

Her father, Lew Fields, an immigrant from Poland, was a vaudeville comedian and later became a Broadway producer. Her career as a professional songwriter took off in 1928, when Jimmy McHugh, who had seen some of her early work, invited her to provide some lyrics for him for ''Blackbirds of 1928''. Fields and McHugh teamed up until 1935. Songs from this period include "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby", "Exactly Like You", and "On the Sunny Side of the Street."

In the mid-1930s, Fields started to write lyrics for films and collaborated with other composers, including Jerome Kern. With Kern, she worked on the movie version of ''Roberta'', and also on their greatest success, ''Swing Time''. The song "The Way You Look Tonight" earned the Fields/Kern team an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936.

Fields returned to New York and worked again on Broadway shows, but now as a librettist, first with Arthur Schwartz on ''Stars In Your Eyes''. (They re-teamed in 1951 for ''A Tree Grows in Brooklyn''.) In the 1940s, she teamed up with her brother Herbert Fields, with whom she wrote the books for three Cole Porter shows, ''Let's Face It!'', ''Something for the Boys'', and ''Mexican Hayride''. Together, they wrote the book for ''Annie Get Your Gun'', a musical inspired by the life of Annie Oakley. They intended for Jerome Kern to write the music, but when he died, Irving Berlin was brought in. The show was a success, and ran for 1,147 performances.

In the 1950s, her biggest success was the show ''Redhead'' (1959), which won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. When she started collaborating with Cy Coleman in the 1960s, her career took a new turn. Their first work together was ''Sweet Charity''. Her last hit was from their second collaboration in 1973, ''Seesaw''. Its signature song was "It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish". Fields died of a stroke the next year at the age of 68.

Fields was the sister of writers Herbert and Joseph.

Thirty-five years after her death, Barack Obama, in his inauguration speech as 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009, echoed lyrics by Fields when he said, "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America". This alludes to the song "Pick Yourself Up" from the 1936 film ''Swing Time'', for which Jerome Kern had written the music, in which Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire sang Fields's words "Pick yourself up; dust yourself off; start all over again".

References

External links

Dorothy Fields at Internet Broadway Database

Songwriters Hall of Fame">Dorothy Fields at the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Category:Jewish composers and songwriters Category:Songwriters from New Jersey Category:American lyricists Category:American musical theatre librettists Category:American musical theatre lyricists Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:People from Monmouth County, New Jersey Category:People from Manhattan Category:People from New York City Category:1905 births Category:1974 deaths Category:Deaths from stroke Category:American Jews

de:Dorothy Fields es:Dorothy Fields fr:Dorothy Fields he:דורותי פילדס sv:Dorothy Fields

birth name	Elaine Bawson Stritch
birth date	February 02, 1925
birth place	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
occupation	Actress/Vocalist
years active	1944–present
spouse	John Bay (1973-82; his death) }}

Elaine Bawson Stritch (born February 2, 1925) is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs. She is known for her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical ''Company'', her 2001 one-woman show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', and recently for her role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleen on NBC's ''30 Rock.'' She has been nominated for the Tony Award four times in various categories, and won for ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty''.

Biography

Early years

Elaine Bawson Stritch was born in 1925 in Detroit, Michigan to Mildred (née Jobe), a homemaker, and George Joseph Stritch, an executive with B.F. Goodrich. Her family was wealthy and devoutly Roman Catholic. Stritch's father was of Irish descent and her mother was of Welsh descent. Stritch was a niece of Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago.

Stritch trained at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York City under Erwin Piscator; other students at the Dramatic Workshop at this time included Marlon Brando and Bea Arthur.

Beginning stage career

Stritch made her stage debut in 1944. However, her Broadway debut came in the revue ''Angel in the Wings'' in which she performed comedy sketches and the song "Civilization". Stritch understudied Ethel Merman for ''Call Me Madam'', and, at the same time, appeared in the 1952 revival of ''Pal Joey'', singing "Zip". Stritch later starred in the national tour of ''Call Me Madam'' and appeared in a supporting role in the original Broadway production of William Inge's play ''Bus Stop''. She was the lead in ''Goldilocks''.

She starred in Noel Coward's ''Sail Away'' on Broadway in 1961. Stritch started in the show in a "relatively minor role and was only promoted over the title and given virtually all the best songs when it was reckoned that the leading lady...although excellent, was rather too operatic for a musical comedy." During out-of-town tryouts in Boston, Coward was "unsure about the dramatic talents" of one of the leads, opera singer Jean Fenn. "They were, after all, engaged for their voices and...it is madness to expect two singers to play subtle 'Noel Coward' love scenes with the right values and sing at the same time." Joe Layton suggested "What would happen if ...we just eliminated [Fenn's] role and gave everything to Stritch? ... The show was very old-fashioned, and the thing that was working was Elaine Stritch... every time she went on stage [she]was a sensation. The reconstructed 'Sail Away'...opened in New York on 3 October."

Stritch became known as a singer with a brassy, powerful voice, most notably originating on Broadway the role of Joanne in ''Company'' (1970). After over a decade of successful runs in shows in New York, Stritch moved in 1972 to London, where she starred in the West End production of ''Company''.

Television

Her earliest television appearances were in ''The Growing Paynes'' (1949) and the ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' (1953–55). She also appeared on episodes of ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' in 1954. She was the first and original Trixie Norton in the pilot for ''Honeymooners'' sketch with Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Pert Kelton. Her character was a burlesque dancer, but the role was rewritten and Trixie became a regular housewife. Stritch was replaced by Joyce Randolph. Other television credits, include a number of dramatic programs in the 1950s and 1960s, including ''Studio One''.

In 1975, Stritch starred in the British LWT comedy series ''Two's Company'' opposite Donald Sinden. She played Dorothy McNab, an American writer living in London who was famous for her lurid and sensationalist thriller novels. Sinden played Robert, her English butler, who disapproved of practically everything Dorothy did and the series derived its comedy from the inevitable culture clash between Robert's very British stiff-upper-lip attitude and Dorothy's devil-may-care New York view of life. ''Two's Company'' was exceptionally well-received in Britain and ran for four seasons until 1979, despite being buried in the "graveyard slot" of Sundays at 10:30pm. Stritch and Sinden also sang the theme tune to the programme.

Her other British television appearances included Roald Dahl's ''Tales of the Unexpected''. Although she appeared several times in different roles, perhaps her most memorable appearance was in the story "William and Mary," in which she played the wife of a man who has cheated death by having his brain preserved. In his introduction to the episode, Dahl observed that humor should always be used in horror stories, in order to provide light to the shade, and that was why Stritch had been cast, as ''"an actress who knows a lot about humor"''.

Stritch became a darling of the British chat show circuit, appearing with Michael Parkinson and Terry Wogan many times, usually ending the appearance with a song. She also appeared on BBC One's children's series, ''Jackanory'', reading, among other stories, ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl.

On returning to live in the United States, she was a regular on the short-lived'' The Ellen Burstyn Show'' in 1986, playing Burstyn's character's mother. She appeared as stern schoolteacher Mrs. McGee on three episodes of ''The Cosby Show'' (1989–1990). She followed later with appearances on ''Law & Order'' (1992, 1997) as Lainie Steiglitz; as Judge Grace Lema on ''Oz'' (1998); and as the character Martha Albright (mother of Jane Curtin's character) on two episodes of ''3rd Rock From the Sun'' (1997, 2001), alongside her Broadway co-star George Grizzard, who played George Albright (the names George and Martha were a play on the characters Stritch and Grizzard played in ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'').

Stritch was reportedly considered for the role of Dorothy Zbornak on ''The Golden Girls'' but, as she related in her show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', she "blew her audition". The role was subsequently cast with Bea Arthur (who had appeared with Stritch in 1956 in the television series ''Washington Square'').

More recently, she was seen on ''One Life to Live'' (1993) and recurring roles on ''Law & Order'' (1992, 1997) and ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1997, 2001).

On April 26, 2007, she began guest appearances on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'' as Colleen, the fearsome mother of Alec Baldwin's lead character, Jack Donaghy.

In 2008, Stritch appeared as herself in an episode during the second season of ''The Big Gay Sketch Show''. She was spoofed during the first season as well as the second season.

BBC Radio

In 1982, Stritch appeared on an edition of the long running BBC Radio comedy series ''Just a Minute'' alongside Kenneth Williams, Clement Freud and Barry Cryer. The show has been described by long-time chairman Nicholas Parsons as being among the most memorable because of the way Stritch stretched the show's rules. It was on this occasion that Stritch famously described Kenneth Williams as being able to make "one word into a three-act play". She also appeared as Martha in a radio adaptation of Edward Albee's ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (she understudied Uta Hagen in the same role during the show's original Broadway run, performing during matinees before taking over the role entirely).

Later stage work

After John Bay's death from brain cancer in 1982, Stritch returned to America. After a lull in her career and struggles with alcoholism, Stritch began performing again in the 1990s. She appeared in a one-night only concert of ''Company'' in 1993, as Parthy in a Broadway revival of the musical ''Show Boat'' in 1994, and as Claire in a revival of Edward Albee's ''A Delicate Balance'' in 1996.

Her one-woman show, ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', a summation of her life and career, premiered at New York's Public Theater, running from November 7, 2001 to December 30, 2001, and then ran on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre from February 21 to May 27, 2002. ''Newsweek'' noted:

Now we see how ''At Liberty'', the amazing one-woman show Stritch is moving to Broadway from the Public Theater this week, acquired the credit, ''"Constructed by John Lahr. Reconstructed by Elaine Stritch"''. "The reconstruction means I had the last say", she says. "Damn right I did."... In case you didn't notice, Stritch is not the kind of woman who goes in for the sappy self-indulgence that pollutes most one-person shows. In fact, ''At Liberty'' is in a class by itself, a biting, hilarious and even touching tour-de-force tour of Stritch's career and life. Almost every nook and cranny of "At Liberty" holds a surprise. Turns out she dated Marlon Brando, Gig Young and Ben Gazzara, though she dropped Ben when Rock Hudson showed an interest in her. "And we all know what a bum decision that turned out to be", she says. And then there were the shows. A British writer recently called Stritch ''"Broadway's last first lady"'', and when you see her performing her signature numbers from ''Company'' and ''Pal Joey'' and hear her tell tales of working with Merman, Coward, Gloria Swanson and the rest, it's hard to argue. Especially since she does it all dressed in a long white shirt and form-fitting black tights. It's both a metaphor for her soul-baring musical and a sartorial kiss-my-rear gesture to anyone who thinks there isn't some life left in the 76-year-old [sic] diva. "Somebody said to me the other day, 'Is this the last thing you're going to do?'", says Stritch. "In your dreams! I can't wait to get back into an Yves Saint Laurent costume that isn't mine--but will be when the show is over.

''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' played to British audiences in 2002-03. She reprised ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' at Hartford Stage in June 2008. She appeared in the Broadway revival of Sondheim's ''A Little Night Music'', from July 2010 to January 2011, succeeding Angela Lansbury in the role of Madame Armfeldt, the wheelchair-bound mother who remembers her life as a courtesan in the song "Liaisons". The AP reviewer of the musical (with the two new leads) wrote "Devotees of Stritch, who earned her Sondheim stripes singing, memorably, "The Ladies Who Lunch" in "Company" 40 years ago, will revel in how the actress, who earned a huge ovation before her very first line at a recent preview, brings her famously salty, acerbic style to the role of Madame Armfeldt." The theatre critic for ''The Toronto Star'' wrote:

"Stritch offers a sophisticated gloss on her by now patented, plain-talking woman who reveals all the home truths everyone ever wanted (or didn't) to hear about themselves. When Stritch tears into her big set-piece, "Liaisons", about all the affairs in her life, it's not just a witty catalogue of indiscretions but a deeply moving fast-forward through a life filled equally with love, loss, joy and regret.

Cabaret

Stritch has been performing a cabaret act at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City since 2005 (she is a resident of the Carlyle Hotel). Her first show at the Carlyle was titled "At Home at the Carlyle". The ''New York Times'' reviewer wrote

Amazingly, none of the 16 songs she performs have ever been in her repertory, and just as amazingly, you don't miss signature numbers... [L]etting them go has allowed her to venture into more sensitive emotional territory. Interpreting stark, talk-sing versions of Rodgers and Hart's "He Was Too Good to Me", "Fifty Percent" from the musical ''Ballroom'', and Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's "That's Him", she comes into her own as a dramatic ballad singer.

Between musical numbers, Stritch told stories from the world of stage and screen, tales from her everyday life and personal glimpses of her private tragedies and triumphs. She most recently performed at the Cafe Carlyle in January and February 2010, and again in March 2010 in ''At Home at the Carlyle: Elaine Stritch Singin' Sondheim…One Song at a Time''.

Personal life

Her late husband, John Bay, was part of the family that owns the Bay's English Muffins company, and Stritch sends English muffins as gifts to friends. Said John Kenley: "Every Christmas, she still sends me English muffins." When she was based in London, instead of renting or buying a property Stritch and her husband lived at the Savoy Hotel. She is good friends with gossip columnist Liz Smith, who shares the same birthday (February 2) as Stritch.

Stritch has been candid about her struggles with alcohol. She took her first drink at 13, and began using it as a crutch prior to performances to vanquish her stage fright and insecurities. Her drinking worsened after Bay's death, and she sought help after experiencing issues with effects of alcoholism, as well as the onset of diabetes. ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' discusses the topic at length.

Popular culture

Stritch's voice and vocal delivery are spoofed in the ''Forbidden Broadway'' songs "The Ladies Who Screech" and "Stritch," parodies of "The Ladies Who Lunch" and "Zip", songs she performed in the musicals ''Company'' and ''Pal Joey''. In 2009, a parody by Bats Langley entitled "How the Stritch Stole Christmas" (loosely based on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas") appeared on YouTube.

On ''The Big Gay Sketch Show,'' she was spoofed as a Wal-Mart greeter who's still a theater gal at heart. ("I'm heeere. I'm still heeeerrre." "Here's to the ladies who shop... at ''Wal-Mart!''") This draws inspiration from footage of D.A. Pennebaker's documentary film, ''Company: Original Cast Album'', in which she says "I'm just screaming", self-critiquing during recording "The Ladies Who Lunch". The sketch also spoofs ''Elaine Stritch Live at Liberty'' in which she refers to her feat, as a young stage actress and understudy for Ethel Merman in ''Call Me Madam'', where she had to check in with Merman at half hour to curtain in New York, then commute to Connecticut for the out of town tryout of ''Pal Joey'', and on some days make the round trip twice when there was a matinee and evening performance of both shows.

In a subsequent episode of ''The Big Gay Sketch Show'', Stritch is spoofed as an airport security guard, who's still "on" and isn't able to tone down her over-the-top antics. In yet another episode, "Stritch" (played by Nicol Paone) is promoting her self-titled perfume, "Stritchy" in dramatic fashion when she's confronted by the real-life Elaine Stritch, who makes a cameo appearance.

Honors and awards

Stritch has been nominated for the Tony Award four times:

Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Bus Stop'', 1956

Best Actress in a Musical for ''Sail Away'', 1962, as Mimi Paragon

Best Actress in a Musical for ''Company'', 1971

Best Actress in a Play for ''A Delicate Balance'', 1996

In 2002, her one-woman show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' won the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show. In ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' she shared stories and songs from her life in theatre and observations on her experiences with alcoholism. The D.A. Pennebaker documentary of ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' (2004) combined rehearsal elements and her stage performance to win several Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Achievement in a Variety or Music Program. She received an Emmy Award in September 2007 for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance on ''30 Rock''.

Work

Stage

''Loco'' (October 16 - November 16, 1946)

''Angel in the Wings'' (December 11, 1947 - September 4, 1948)

''Yes, M'Lord'' (October 4 - December 18, 1949)

''Call Me Madam'' (October 12, 1950 - May 3, 1952) (understudy for Ethel Merman) (replaced by Nancy Andrews when on national tour)

''Pal Joey'' (Revival) (January 3, 1952 - April 18, 1953) (replaced by Betty O'Neil)

''On Your Toes'' (Revival) (October 11 - December 4, 1954)

''Bus Stop'' (March 2, 1955 - April 21, 1956)

''The Sin of Pat Muldoon'' (March 13–16, 1957)

''Goldilocks'' (October 11, 1958 - February 28, 1959)

''Sail Away'' (October 3, 1961 - February 24, 1962)

''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (October 13, 1962 - May 16, 1964) (replacement for Uta Hagen starting in 1963)

''Company'' (April 26, 1970 - January 1, 1972) (replaced by Jane Russell in 1971)

''Love Letters'' (October 31, 1989 - January 21, 1990) (replacement for Kate Nelligan)

''Company'' (April 11 and April 12, 1993) (concert staging)

''Show Boat'' (Revival) (October 2, 1994 - January 5, 1997) (replaced by Carole Shelley)

''A Delicate Balance'' (Revival) (April 21 - September 29, 1996)

''Angela Lansbury - A Celebration'' (November 17, 1996) (benefit concert)

''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' (February 21 - May 27, 2002)

''Endgame'', Brooklyn Academy of Music, (April 25 - May 17, 2008)

''The Full Monty'', Papermill Playhouse, (June 10 - July 12, 2009)

''A Little Night Music'' (Broadway Revival), (July 13, 2010 - January 9, 2011) (replacement for Angela Lansbury)

Filmography

Stritch performed in more than 30 feature films and television films, including ''A Farewell to Arms,'' Woody Allen's ''September,'' ''Screwed,'' ''Out to Sea,'' ''Monster-In-Law,'' and ''Autumn in New York.'' She has been interviewed in documentaries such as ''Broadway: The Golden Years, by the Legends Who Were There'' (2003) and ''The Needs of Kim Stanley'' (2005).

Selected filmography

''Three Violent People'' (1957)

''A Farewell to Arms'' (1957)

''The Perfect Furlough'' (1958)

''Too Many Thieves'' (1966)

''The Spiral Staircase'' (1975)

''Providence'' (1977)

''September'' (1987)

''Cocoon: The Return'' (1988)

''Cadillac Man'' (1990)

''One Life to Live'' (1994)

''Out to Sea'' (1997)

''3rd Rock from the Sun'' as Martha Albright (2 episodes: 1997, 2001)

''Krippendorf's Tribe'' (1998)

''Screwed'' (2000)

''Autumn in New York'' (2000)

''Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There'' (2003) (documentary)

''Monster-in-Law'' (2005)

''Romance & Cigarettes'' (2005)

''30 Rock'' (6 episodes: 2007−present)

''The Big Gay Sketch Show'' (2008)

References

External links

Just A Minute Transcript

Father Beck interviews Elaine Stritch

Elaine Stritch interview: Performance Working in the Theatre CUNY-TV video by the American Theatre Wing, September 1989

Category:1925 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Michigan Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

de:Elaine Stritch es:Elaine Stritch fr:Elaine Stritch it:Elaine Stritch nl:Elaine Stritch ru:Стритч, Элейн fi:Elaine Stritch sv:Elaine Stritch tl:Elaine Stritch

[[Image:Peter Mintun.jpeg|thumb|right|400px|Peter Mintun ~ Society Pianist ''Photo- Robert Altman ]]

Peter Mintun is a well-known pianist, who is an authority on American popular songs and films, produced between both World Wars.

Biography

Peter Mintun was born in Berkeley, California into a musical family. He spent his early years performing in the San Francisco area. He now lives and performs in Manhattan.

Mr. Mintun continues to travel doing recitals and concerts across the country, performing at different places, like Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia and many other venues. He has released 4 CDs.

In addition to performing music of the great American songwriters and lyricists of the period, Peter Mintun serves as a consultant for research into popular music of the 1920s, '30s and '40s. His extensive knowledge, and talent for writing, have made him a favorite among record labels re-issuing classic material.

References

External links

Home Page

Category:Living people Category:American pianists

name	Beegie Adair
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
born	Kentucky, United States
instrument	Piano
genre	Jazz
occupation	Pianist
label	Green Hills
associated acts	Beegie Adair Trio
website	www.beegieadair.com
notable instruments	}}

Beegie Adair (born in Barren County, Kentucky in 1937) is a jazz pianist. She studied piano at Western Kentucky University. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee where she did graduate work at Peabody College. She later went on to form the Beegie Adair Trio.

Biography

She went to work as a pianist on WSM-TV and Radio. After 9 years at the station, she began freelancing studio work, in addition to TV orchestra work. She was rehearsal pianist and utility keyboard on the Johnny Cash Show on ABC for 3 years. She has many album credits with musicians all around the world, including John Stewart, John Loudermilk, J.J. Cale, Ronnie Milsap and Mickey Newbury. Her TV credits include shows with Dolly Parton, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball. She has accompanied such artists as Urbie Green, Nat Adderley, Lew Tabackin, Perry Como, Wayne Newton and Henry Mancini in live concerts. She has 23 jazz recordings with her trio, the Beegie Adair Trio, which consists of bassist Roger Spencer and percussionist Chris Brown. She currently lives in Franklin, Tennessee with her husband, Billy who is an associate professor of jazz studies at the Blair School in Vanderbilt University.

References

External links

Beegie Adair's website

Yahoo biography

Appearance on NPR's ''Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz''

Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:People from Barren County, Kentucky Category:Musicians from Kentucky Category:American jazz pianists

nl:Beegie Adair

name	Jerome Kern
birth date	January 27, 1885
birth place	New York City, New York
death date	November 11, 1945
death place	New York City, New York
spouse
domesticpartner	}}

Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Long Ago (and Far Away)" and "Who?". He collaborated with many of the leading librettists and lyricists of his era, including George Grossmith Jr., Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin and E. Y. Harburg.

A native New Yorker, Kern created dozens of Broadway musicals and Hollywood films in a career that lasted for more than four decades. His musical innovations, such as 4/4 dance rhythms and the employment of syncopation and jazz progressions, built on, rather than rejected, earlier musical theatre tradition. He and his collaborators also employed his melodies to further the action or develop characterization to a greater extent than in the other musicals of his day, creating the model for later musicals. Although dozens of Kern's musicals and musical films were hits, only ''Show Boat'' is now regularly revived. However, songs from his other shows are still frequently performed and adapted. Although Kern detested jazz arrangements of his songs, many have been adopted by jazz musicians to become standard tunes.

Biography

Early life

Kern was born in New York City, on Sutton Place, in what was then the city's brewery district. His parents were Henry Kern (1842–1908), a Jewish German immigrant, and Fannie Kern ''née'' Kakeles (1852–1907), who was an American Jew of Bohemian parentage. At the time of Kern's birth, his father ran a stable; later he became a successful merchant. Kern grew up on East 56th Street in Manhattan, where he attended public schools. He showed an early aptitude for music and was taught to play the piano and organ by his mother, an accomplished player and teacher.

In 1897, the family moved to Newark, New Jersey, where Kern attended Newark High School (which became Barringer High School in 1907). He wrote songs for the school's first musical, a minstrel show, in 1901, and for an amateur musical adaptation of ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' put on at the Newark Yacht Club in January 1902. Kern's father insisted that his son work with him in business, instead of composing, after leaving high school before graduation in the spring of his senior year in 1902. Kern, however, failed miserably in one of his earliest tasks: he was supposed to purchase two pianos for the store, but instead he ordered 200. His father relented, and later in 1902, Kern became a student at the New York College of Music, studying the piano under Alexander Lambert and Paolo Galico, and harmony under Dr. Austin Pierce. His first published composition, a piano piece, ''At the Casino'', appeared in the same year. Between 1903 and 1905, he continued his musical training under private tutors in Heidelberg, Germany, returning to New York via London.

First compositions

For a time, Kern worked as a rehearsal pianist in Broadway theatres and as a song-plugger for Tin Pan Alley music publishers. While in London, he secured a contract from the American impresario Charles Frohman to provide songs for interpolation in Broadway versions of London shows. He began to provide these additions in 1904 to British scores for ''An English Daisy'', by Seymour Hicks and Walter Slaughter, and ''Mr. Wix of Wickham'', for which he wrote most of the songs.

In 1905, Kern contributed the song "How'd you like to spoon with me?" to Ivan Caryll's hit musical ''The Earl and the Girl'' when the show transferred to Chicago and New York in 1905. He also contributed to the New York production of ''The Catch of the Season'' (1905), ''The Little Cherub'' (1906) and ''The Orchid'' (1907), among other shows. From 1905 on, he spent large blocks of time in London, contributing songs to West End shows like ''The Beauty of Bath'' (1906; with lyricist P. G. Wodehouse) and making valuable contacts, including George Grossmith Jr. and Seymour Hicks, who were the first to introduce Kern's songs to the London stage. Kern's parents died in 1907 and 1908. In 1909 during one of his stays in England, Kern took a boat trip on the River Thames with some friends, and when the boat stopped at Walton-on-Thames, they went to an inn called the Swan for a drink. Kern was much taken with the proprietor's daughter, Eva Leale (1891–1959), who was working behind the bar. He wooed her, and they were married at the Anglican church of St. Mary's in Walton on October 25, 1910. The couple then lived at the Swan when Kern was in England.

Kern is believed to have composed music for silent films as early as 1912, but the earliest documented film music which he is known to have written was for a twenty-part serial, ''Gloria's Romance'' in 1916. This was one of the first starring vehicles for Billie Burke, for whom Kern had earlier written the song "Mind the Paint", with lyrics by A. W. Pinero. The film is now considered lost, but Kern's music survives. Another score for the silent movies, ''Jubilo'', followed in 1919. Kern was one of the founding members of ASCAP.

Kern's first complete score was Broadway's ''The Red Petticoat'' (1912), one of the first musical comedy Westerns. The libretto was by Rida Johnson Young. By World War I, more than a hundred of Kern’s songs had been used in about thirty productions, mostly Broadway adaptations of West End and European shows. Kern contributed two songs to ''To-Night's the Night'' (1914), another Rubens musical. It opened in New York and went on to become a hit in London. The best known of Kern's songs from this period is probably "They Didn't Believe Me", which was a hit in the New York version of the Paul Rubens and Sidney Jones musical, ''The Girl from Utah'' (1914), for which Kern wrote five songs. Kern's song, with four beats to a bar, departed from the customary waltz-rhythms of European influence and fitted the new American passion for modern dances such as the fox-trot. He was also able to use elements of American styles, such as ragtime, as well as syncopation, in his lively dance tunes. Theatre historian John Kenrick writes that the song put Kern in great demand on Broadway and established a pattern for musical comedy love songs that lasted through the 1960s.

In May 1915, Kern was due to sail with Charles Frohman from New York to London on board the RMS ''Lusitania'', but Kern missed the boat, having overslept after staying up late playing poker. Frohman died in the sinking of the ship.

The Princess Theatre musicals

Kern composed sixteen Broadway scores between 1915 and 1920 and also contributed songs to the London hit ''Theodore & Co'' (1916; most of the songs are by the young Ivor Novello) and to revues like the Ziegfeld Follies. The most notable of his scores, however, were those for a series of shows written for the Princess Theatre, a small (299-seat) house built by Ray Comstock. Theatrical agent Elisabeth Marbury asked Kern and librettist Guy Bolton to create a series of intimate and low-budget, yet smart, musicals.

The "Princess Theatre shows" were unique on Broadway not only for their small size, but their clever, coherent plots, integrated scores and naturalistic acting, which presented "a sharp contrast to the large-scale Ruritanian operettas then in vogue" or the star-studded revues and extravaganzas of producers like Florenz Ziegfeld. Earlier musical comedy had often been thinly plotted, gaudy pieces, marked by the insertion of songs into their scores with little regard to the plot. But Kern and Bolton followed the examples of Gilbert and Sullivan and French ''opéra bouffe'' in integrating song and story. "These shows built and polished the mold from which almost all later major musical comedies evolved. ... The characters and situations were, within the limitations of musical comedy license, believable and the humor came from the situations or the nature of the characters. Kern's exquisitely flowing melodies were employed to further the action or develop characterization." The shows featured modern American settings and simple scene changes to suit the small theatre.

The team's first Princess Theatre show was an adaptation of Paul Rubens' 1905 London show, ''Mr. Popple (of Ippleton)'', called ''Nobody Home'' (1915). The piece ran for 135 performances and was a modest financial success. However, it did little to fulfill the new team's mission to innovate, except that Kern's song, "The Magic Melody", was the first Broadway showtune with a basic jazz progression. Kern and Bolton next created an original piece, ''Very Good Eddie'', which was a surprise hit, running for 341 performances, with additional touring productions that went on into the 1918-19 season. The British humorist, lyricist and librettist P. G. Wodehouse joined the Princess team in 1917, adding his skill as a lyricist to the succeeding shows. ''Oh, Boy!'' (1917) ran for an extraordinary 463 performances. Other shows written for the theatre were ''Have a Heart'' (1917), ''Leave It to Jane'' (1917) and ''Oh, Lady! Lady!!'' (1918). The first opened at another theatre before ''Very Good Eddie'' closed. The second played elsewhere during the long run of ''Oh Boy!'' An anonymous admirer wrote a verse in their praise that begins: :This is the trio of musical fame, :Bolton and Wodehouse and Kern. :Better than anyone else you can name :Bolton and Wodehouse and Kern.

In February 1918, Dorothy Parker wrote in ''Vanity Fair'':

''Oh, Lady! Lady!!'' was the last successful "Princess Theatre show". Kern and Wodehouse disagreed over money, and the composer decided to move on to other projects. Kern's importance to the partnership was illustrated by the fate of the last musical of the series, ''Oh, My Dear!'' (1918), to which he contributed only one song: "Go, Little Boat". The rest of the show was composed by Louis Hirsch, and ran for 189 performances: "Despite a respectable run, everyone realized there was little point in continuing the series without Kern."

Early 1920s

The 1920s were an extremely productive period in American musical theatre, and Kern created at least one show every year for the entire decade. His first show of 1920 was ''The Night Boat'', with book and lyrics by Anne Caldwell, which ran for more than 300 performances in New York and for three seasons on tour. Later in the same year, Kern wrote the score for ''Sally'', with a book by Bolton and lyrics by Otto Harbach. This show, staged by Florenz Ziegfeld, ran for 570 performances, one of the longest runs of any Broadway show in the decade, and popularized the song "Look for the Silver Lining" (which had been written for an earlier show), performed by the rising star Marilyn Miller. It also had a long run in London in 1921, produced by George Grossmith, Jr. Kern's next shows were ''Good Morning, Dearie'' (1921, with Caldwell) which ran for 347 performances; followed in 1922 by a West End success, ''The Cabaret Girl'' in collaboration with Grossmith and Wodehouse; another modest success by the same team, ''The Beauty Prize'' (1923); and a Broadway flop, ''The Bunch and Judy'', remembered, if at all, as the first time Kern and Fred Astaire worked together.

''Stepping Stones'' (1923, with Caldwell) was a success, and in 1924 the Princess Theatre team of Bolton, Wodehouse and Kern reunited to write ''Sitting Pretty'', but it did not recapture the popularity of the earlier collaborations. Its relative failure may have been partly due to Kern's growing aversion to having individual songs from his shows performed out of context on radio, in cabaret, or on record, although his chief objection was to jazz interpretations of his songs. He called himself a "musical clothier – nothing more or less," and said, "I write music to both the situations and the lyrics in plays." When ''Sitting Pretty'' was produced, he forbade any broadcasting or recording of individual numbers from the show, which limited their chance to gain popularity.

1925 was a major turning point in Kern's career when he met Oscar Hammerstein II, with whom he would entertain a lifelong friendship and collaboration. As a young man, Kern had been an easy companion with great charm and humor, but he became less outgoing in his middle years, sometimes difficult to work with: he once introduced himself to a producer by saying, "I hear you're a son of a bitch. So am I." He rarely collaborated with any one lyricist for long. With Hammerstein, however, he remained on close terms for the rest of his life. Their first show, written together with Harbach, was ''Sunny'', which featured the song "Who (Stole My Heart Away)?" Marilyn Miller played the title role, as she had in ''Sally''. The show ran for 517 performances on Broadway, and the following year ran for 363 performances in the West End, starring Binnie Hale and Jack Buchanan.

''Show Boat''

Because of the strong success of ''Sally'' and ''Sunny'' and consistent good results with his other shows, Ziegfeld was willing to gamble on Kern's next project in 1927. Kern had been impressed by Edna Ferber's novel ''Show Boat'' and wished to present a musical stage version. He persuaded Hammerstein to adapt it and Ziegfeld to produce it. The story, dealing with racism, marital strife and alcoholism, was unheard of in the escapist world of musical comedy. Despite his doubts, Ziegfeld spared no expense in staging the piece to give it its full epic grandeur. According to the theatre historian John Kenrick: "After the opening night audience filed out of the Ziegfeld Theatre in near silence, Ziegfeld thought his worst fears had been confirmed. He was pleasantly surprised when the next morning brought ecstatic reviews and long lines at the box office. In fact, ''Show Boat'' proved to be the most lasting accomplishment of Ziegfeld's career – the only one of his shows that is regularly performed today." The score is, arguably, Kern's greatest and includes the well-known songs "Ol' Man River" and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" as well as "Make Believe", "You Are Love", "Life Upon the Wicked Stage", "Why Do I Love You", and "Bill". The show ran for 572 performances on Broadway and was also a success in London. Although Ferber's novel was filmed unsuccessfully as a part-talkie in 1929 (using some songs from the Kern score), the musical itself was filmed twice, in 1936, and, with Technicolor, in 1951. In 1989, a stage version of the musical was presented on television for the first time, in a production from the Paper Mill Playhouse telecast by PBS on ''Great Performances''.

While most Kern musicals have largely been forgotten, except for their songs, ''Show Boat'' remains well-remembered and frequently seen. It is a staple of stock productions and has been revived numerous times on Broadway and in London. A 1946 revival integrated choreography into the show, in the manner of a Rodgers and Hammerstein production, as did the 1994 Harold Prince–Susan Stroman revival, which was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning five, including best revival. It was the first musical to enter a major opera company's repertory (New York City Opera, 1954), and the rediscovery of the 1927 score with Robert Russell Bennett's original orchestrations led to a large-scale EMI recording in 1987 and several opera-house productions. In 1941, the conductor Artur Rodziński wished to commission a symphonic suite from the score, but Kern considered himself a songwriter and not a symphonist. He never orchestrated his own scores, leaving that to musical assistants, principally Frank Saddler (until 1921) and Russell Bennett (from 1923). In response to the commission, Kern oversaw an arrangement by Charles Miller and Emil Gerstenberger of numbers from the show into the orchestral work ''Scenario for Orchestra: Themes from Show Boat'', premiered in 1941 by the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Rodziński.

Kern's last Broadway show in the 1920s was ''Sweet Adeline'' (1929), with a libretto by Hammerstein. It was a period piece, set in the Gay 90s, about a girl from Hoboken, New Jersey (near Kern's childhood home), who becomes a Broadway star. Opening just before the stock market crash, it received rave reviews, but the elaborate, old-fashioned piece was a step back from the innovations in ''Show Boat'', or even the Princess Theatre shows. In January 1929, at the height of the Jazz Age, and with ''Show Boat'' still playing on Broadway, Kern made news on both sides of the Atlantic for reasons wholly unconnected with music. He sold at auction, at New York's Anderson Galleries, the collection of English and American literature that he had been building up for more than a decade. The collection, rich in inscribed first editions and manuscript material of eighteenth and nineteenth century authors, sold for a total of $1,729,462.50 – a record for a single-owner sale that stood for over fifty years. Among the books he sold were first or early editions of poems by Robert Burns and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and works by Jonathan Swift, Henry Fielding and Charles Dickens, as well as manuscripts by Alexander Pope, John Keats, Shelley, Lord Byron, Thomas Hardy and others.

First films and later shows

In 1929 Kern made his first trip to Hollywood to supervise the 1929 film version of ''Sally'', one of the first "all-talking" Technicolor films. The following year, he was there a second time to work on ''Men of the Sky'', released in 1931 without his songs, and a 1930 film version of ''Sunny''. There was a public reaction against the early glut of film musicals after the advent of film sound; Hollywood released more than 100 musical films in 1930, but only 14 in 1931. Warner Bros. bought out Kern's contract, and he returned to the stage. He collaborated with Harbach on the Broadway musical ''The Cat and the Fiddle'' (1931), about a composer and an opera singer, featuring the songs "She Didn't Say Yes" and "The Night Was Made for Love". It ran for 395 performances, a remarkable success for the Depression years, and transferred to London the following year. It was filmed in 1934 with Jeanette MacDonald.

''Music in the Air'' (1932) was another Kern-Hammerstein collaboration and another show-biz plot, best remembered today for "The Song Is You" and "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star". It was "undoubtedly an operetta", set in the German countryside, but without the Ruritanian trimmings of the operettas of Kern's youth. ''Roberta'' (1933) by Kern and Harbach included the songs "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Let's Begin and "Yesterdays" and featured, among others, Bob Hope, Fred MacMurray, George Murphy and Sydney Greenstreet all in the early stages of their careers. Kern's ''Three Sisters'' (1934), was his last West End show, with a libretto by Hammerstein. The musical, depicting horse-racing, the circus, and class distinctions, was a failure, running for only two months, despite what seems to have been an excellent Kern score (it was never published and much of the original material is lost). Some British critics objected to American writers essaying a British story; James Agate, doyen of London theatre critics of the day, dismissed it as "American inanity," though both Kern and Hammerstein were strong and knowledgeable Anglophiles. Kern's last Broadway show (other than revivals) was ''Very Warm for May'' (1939), another show-biz story and another disappointment, although the score included the Kern and Hammerstein classic "All The Things You Are".

Kern in Hollywood

In 1935, when musical films had become popular once again, thanks to Busby Berkeley, Kern returned to Hollywood, where he composed the scores to a dozen more films, although he also continued working on Broadway productions. He settled permanently in Hollywood in 1937. After suffering a heart attack in 1939, he was told by his doctors to concentrate on film scores, a less stressful task, as Hollywood songwriters were not as deeply involved with the production of their works as Broadway songwriters. This second phase of Kern's Hollywood career had considerably greater artistic and commercial success than the first. With Hammerstein, he wrote songs for the film versions of his recent Broadway shows ''Music in the Air'' (1934), which starred Gloria Swanson in a rare singing role, and ''Sweet Adeline'' (1935). With Dorothy Fields, he composed the new music for ''I Dream Too Much'' (1935), a musical melodrama about the opera world, starring the Metropolitan Opera diva Lily Pons. Kern and Fields interspersed the opera numbers with their songs, including "the swinging 'I Got Love,' the lullaby 'The Jockey on the Carousel,' and the entrancing title song." Also with Fields, he wrote two new songs, "I Won't Dance" and "Lovely to Look At", for the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film version of ''Roberta'' (1935), which was a hit. The show also included the song "I'll Be Hard to Handle". This was given a 1952 remake called ''Lovely to Look At''.

Their next film, ''Swing Time'' (1936) included the song "The Way You Look Tonight", which won the Academy Award in 1936 for the best song. Other songs in ''Swing Time'' include "A Fine Romance", "Pick Yourself Up" and "Never Gonna Dance". ''The Oxford Companion to the American Musical'' calls ''Swing Time'' "a strong candidate for the best of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals" and says that, although the screenplay is contrived, it "left plenty of room for dance and all of it was superb. … Although the movie is remembered as one of the great dance musicals, it also boasts one of the best film scores of the 1930s." For the 1936 film version of ''Show Boat'', Kern and Hammerstein wrote three new songs, including "I Have The Room Above Her" and "Ah Still Suits Me". ''High, Wide, and Handsome'' (1937) was intentionally similar in plot and style to ''Show Boat''", but it was a box-office failure. Kern songs were also used in the Cary Grant film, ''When You're in Love'' (1937), and the first Abbott and Costello feature, ''One Night in the Tropics'' (1940). In 1940, Hammerstein wrote the lyric "The Last Time I Saw Paris", in homage to the French capital, recently occupied by the Germans. Kern set it, the only time he set a pre-written lyric, and his only hit song not written as part of a musical. Originally a hit for Tony Martin and later for Noël Coward, the song was used in the film ''Lady Be Good'' (1941) and won Kern another Oscar for best song. Kern's second and last symphonic work was his 'Mark Twain Suite'' (1942).

In his last Hollywood musicals, Kern worked with several new and distinguished partners. With Johnny Mercer for ''You Were Never Lovelier'' (1942), he contributed "a set of memorable songs to entertain audiences until the plot came to its inevitable conclusion". The film starred Astaire and Rita Hayworth and included the song "I'm Old Fashioned". Kern's next collaboration was with Ira Gershwin on ''Cover Girl'' starring Hayworth and Gene Kelly (1944) for which Kern composed "Sure Thing","Put Me to the Test," "Make Way for Tomorrow" (lyric by E. Y. Harburg), and the hit ballad "Long Ago (and Far Away)". For the Deanna Durbin Western musical, ''Can't Help Singing'' (1944), with lyrics by Harburg, Kern "provided the best original score of Durbin's career, mixing operetta and Broadway sounds in such songs as 'Any Moment Now,' 'Swing Your Partner,' 'More and More,' and the lilting title number." "More and More" was nominated for an Oscar.

Kern composed his last film score, ''Centennial Summer'' (1946) in which "the songs were as resplendent as the story and characters were mediocre. … Oscar Hammerstein, Leo Robin, and E. Y. Harburg contributed lyrics for Kern's lovely music, resulting in the soulful ballad 'All Through the Day,' the rustic 'Cinderella Sue,' the cheerful 'Up With the Lark,' and the torchy 'In Love in Vain.'" "All Through the Day" was another Oscar nominee. The music of Kern's last two films is notable in the way it developed from his earlier work. Some of it was too advanced for the film companies; Kern's biographer, Stephen Banfield, refers to "tonal experimentation ... outlandish enharmonics" that the studios insisted on cutting. At the same time, in some ways his music came full circle: having in his youth helped to end the reigns of the waltz and operetta, he now composed three of his finest waltzes ("Can't Help Singing", "Californ-i-ay" and "Up With the Lark"), the last having a distinctly operetta-like character.

Death and personal life

In the fall of 1945, Kern returned to New York City to oversee auditions for a new revival of ''Show Boat'', and began to work on the score for what would become the musical ''Annie Get Your Gun'', to be produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein. On November 5, 1945, at 60 years of age, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while walking at the south west corner of Park Avenue and 57th street, apparently in search of a drugstore for the pills he depended on, but had forgotten to bring with him. Identifiable only by his ASCAP card, Kern was initially taken to the indigent ward at City Hospital, later being transferred to Doctors Hospital in Manhattan. Hammerstein was at his side when Kern's breathing stopped. Hammerstein hummed or sang the song "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star" from ''Music in the Air'' (a personal favorite of the composer's) into Kern's ear. Receiving no response, Hammerstein knew Kern had died.

Kern is interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Westchester County, New York. He was survived by his wife Eva and their daughter, Betty Jane (1913–1996; she married Artie Shaw in 1942 and later Jack Cummings). Kern and his wife often vacationed on their yacht ''Show Boat''. He collected rare books and enjoyed betting on horses. At the time of Kern's death, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was filming a fictionalized version of his life, ''Till the Clouds Roll By'', which was released in 1946 starring Robert Walker as Kern. In the film, Kern's songs are sung by Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Dinah Shore, June Allyson, Lena Horne, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse and Angela Lansbury, among others. Rodgers and Hammerstein then assigned the task of writing the score for ''Annie Get Your Gun'' to the veteran Broadway composer Irving Berlin. Kern's wife eventually remarried, to a singer named George Byron.

Awards

Jerome Kern was nominated 8 times for an Academy Award, and won twice. Seven nominations were for Best Original Song; these included a posthumous nomination in each of 1945 and 1946. One nomination was in 1945 for Best Original Music Score. Kern was not eligible for any Tony Awards, which were not created until 1947. In 1976, ''Very Good Eddie'' was nominated for a Drama Desk Award as Outstanding Revival, and the director and actors received various Tony, Drama Desk and other awards and nominations. Elisabeth Welsh was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in ''Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood'' in 1986, and ''Show Boat'' received Tony nominations in both 1983 and 1995, winning for best revival in 1995 (among numerous other awards and nominations), and won the Laurence Olivier Award for best revival in 2008. In 1986, ''Big Deal'' was nominated for the Tony for best musical, among other awards, and Bob Fossee won as best choreographer. In 2000, ''Swing!'', featuring Kern's "I Won't Dance" was nominated for the Tony for Best Musical, among others. In 2002, ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', featuring Kern's "All in Fun", won the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. In 2004, ''Never Gonna Dance'' received two Tony nominations.

Kern was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame posthumously, in 1970. In 1985, the U.S. Post Office issued a postage stamp (Scott #2110, 22¢), with an illustration of Kern holding sheet music.

Academy Award for Best Original Song

1935 – Nominated for "Lovely to Look At" (lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh) from ''Roberta''

1936 – Won for "The Way You Look Tonight" (lyrics by Dorothy Fields) from ''Swing Time''

1941 – Won for "The Last Time I Saw Paris" (lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) from ''Lady Be Good''

1942 – Nominated for "Dearly Beloved" (lyrics by Johnny Mercer) from ''You Were Never Lovelier''.

1944 – Nominated for "Long Ago (and Far Away)" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin) from ''Cover Girl''

1945 – Posthumously nominated for "More and More" (lyrics by E. Y. Harburg) from ''Can't Help Singing''

1946 – Posthumously nominated for "All Through the Day" (lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) from ''Centennial Summer''.

Academy Award for Best Original Music Score

1945 – Posthumously nominated for ''Can't Help Singing'' (with H. J. Salter).

Selected works

Note: All shows listed are musical comedies for which Kern was the sole composer unless otherwise specified.

During his first phase of work (1904–1911), Kern wrote songs for 22 Broadway productions, including songs interpolated into British musicals or featured in revues (sometimes writing lyrics as well as music), and he occasionally co-wrote musicals with one or two other composers. During visits to London beginning in 1905, he also composed songs that were first performed in several London shows. The following are some of the most notable such shows from this period:

''Mr. Wix of Wickham'' (1904) – contributed most of the songs for this musical's New York production

''The Catch of the Season'' (1905) – contributor to this Seymour Hicks musical's New York production

''The Earl and the Girl'' (1905) – contributor of music and lyrics to this Hicks and Ivan Caryll musical's American productions

''The Little Cherub'' (1906) – contributor to this Caryll and Owen Hall musical's New York production

''The Rich Mr. Hoggenheimer'' (1906) – contributor of eight songs

''The Beauty of Bath'' (1906) – contributor to the original London production of this Hicks musical, with lyricist P. G. Wodehouse

''The Orchid'' (1907) – contributor to this Caryll and Lionel Monckton musical's New York production

''The Girls of Gottenberg'' (1908) – contributor of "I Can't Say That You're The Only One" to this Caryll and Monckton musical's New York production

''Fluffy Ruffles'' (1908) – co-composer for eight out of ten songs

''Our Miss Gibbs'' (1910) – contributor of four songs and some lyrics to this Caryll and Monckton musical's New York production

''La Belle Paree'' (1911) – revue – co-composer for seven songs; the Broadway debut of Al Jolson

From 1912 to 1924, the more-experienced Kern began to work on dramatically concerned shows, including incidental music for plays, and, for the first time since his college show ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'', he wrote musicals as the sole composer. His regular lyricist collaborators for his more than 30 shows during this period were Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Harry B. Smith, Anne Caldwell, and Howard Dietz. Some of his most notable shows during this very productive period were as follows:

''The "Mind-the-Paint" Girl'' (1912 play; starring Billie Burke) – incidental music

''The Red Petticoat'' (1912) – Kern's first complete score

''To-Night's the Night'' (1914) – contributor of two songs to this Rubens musical

''The Girl from Utah'' (1914) – added five songs to the American production of this Rubens musical

''Nobody Home'' (1915) – the first "Princess Theatre show"

''Very Good Eddie'' (1915; revived in 1975)

''Ziegfeld Follies of 1916'' (1916; a revue; the first of many) – contributed four songs

''Theodore & Co'' (1916) – contributed four songs to young Ivor Novello's London hit.

''Miss Springtime'' (1917) – contributor of two songs to this Emmerich Kalman success

''Have a Heart'' (1917) – composer and contributor of some lyrics

''Love o' Mike'' (1917)

''Oh, Boy!'' (1917) – the most successful Princess Theatre show

''Ziegfeld Follies of 1917'' (1917) – contributor of "Because You Are Just You (Just Because You're You)"

''Leave It to Jane'' (1917; revived in 1958 Off-Broadway)

''Oh, Lady! Lady!!'' (1918) – the last Princess Theatre hit

"Oh, My Dear" (1918) – contributed one song to this last "Princess Theatre show"

''The Night Boat'' (1920)

''Hitchy-Koo of 1920'' (1920) – revue

''Sally'' (1920; revived in 1923 and 1948) – one of Kern's biggest hits

''The Cabaret Girl'' (London 1922)

''The Bunch and Judy'' (1922) – Kern's first show with Fred Astaire

''Stepping Stones'' (1923)

During the last phase of his theatrical composing career, Kern continued to work with his previous collaborators but also met Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach, with whom Kern wrote his most lasting, memorable, and well-known works. The most successful of these are as follows:

''Sunny'' (1925) – a follow-up to ''Sally'' and almost as big a hit; first collaboration with Hammerstein and Harbach

''Criss Cross'' (1926) – with Harbach

''Show Boat'' (1927; revived frequently) – with Hammerstein

''Blue Eyes'' (1928; London)

''Sweet Adeline'' (1929) – with Hammerstein

''The Cat and the Fiddle'' (1931) – Kern collaborated with Harbach the music, book and lyrics

''Music in the Air'' (1932; revived in 1951) – composer and co-director with Hammerstein

''Roberta'' (1933) – with Harbach (remade as ''Lovely to Look At'' (1952))

''Three Sisters'' (1934; London)

''Mamba's Daughters'' (1939; revived in 1940) – play – featured songwriter

''Very Warm for May'' (1939) – with Hammerstein; Kern's last stage musical, and a failure

In addition to revivals of his most popular shows, Kern's music has been posthumously featured in a variety of revues, musicals and concerts on and off Broadway.

''Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood'' (1986) – Broadway revue consisting solely of Kern songs with lyrics by twelve different writers

''Big Deal'' (1986) – a Bob Fosse dance revue; includes "Pick Yourself Up"

''Something Wonderful'' (1995) – concert celebrating Oscar Hammerstein II's 100th birthday – featured composer

''Paul Robeson'' (1988; revived in 1995) – one-man play; included "Ol' Man River"

''Dream'' (1997) – revue – includes "You Were Never Lovelier", "I'm Old Fashioned", and "Dearly Beloved"

''Swing!'' (1999) – dance revue; includes "I Won't Dance"

''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' (2002) – one-woman show; included "All In Fun"

''Never Gonna Dance'' (2003) – musical consisting solely of songs composed by Kern, with lyrics by nine different writers

''Jerome Kern: All the Things You Are'' (2008) – K T Sullivan's revue biography of Kern featuring Kern's songs

''Come Fly Away'' – a Twyla Tharp dance revue; includes "Pick Yourself Up"

Kern's songs

Among the more than 700 songs by Kern are such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Who?".

Notes

References

Banfield, Stephen and Geoffrey Holden Block. ''Jerome Kern'', New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-300-11047-0

Blackman, Michael Ernest (1989). ''A short history of Walton-on-Thames'', Walton and Weybridge Local History Society. .

Block, G. "Show Boat: In the Beginning", ''Enchanted Evenings: the Broadway Musical from ‘Show Boat’ to Sondheim'' (New York, 1997), pp, 19–40; 319–24

Bloom, Ken and Vlastnik, Frank. ''Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of all Time.'' Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, New York, 2004. ISBN 1-57912-390-2

Bordman, Gerald. ''Jerome Kern: his Life and Music'' (New York, 1980)

Davis, L. ''Bolton and Wodehouse and Kern: the Men who made Musical Comedy'' (New York, 1993)

Denison, Chuck, and Duncan Schiedt. ''The Great American Songbook''. Bandon, Oregon, Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2004. ISBN 978-1-931741-42-2.

Ewen, D. ''The World of Jerome Kern'' (New York, 1960)

Fordin, Hugh. ''Jerome Kern: the Man and his Music'' Santa Monica, CA, 1975

Freedland, M. ''Jerome Kern: a Biography'' (London, 1978)

Green, Benny. ''P. G. Wodehouse – A Literary Biography'', Pavilion Books, London, 1981. ISBN 0-907516-04-1

Jasen, David. ''P. G. Wodehouse – Portrait of a Master'', Garnstone Press, London, 1972. ISBN 0-85511-190-9

Lamb, Andrew. ''Jerome Kern in Edwardian London'' (Littlehampton, 1981; 1985)

McLean, Lorraine Arnal. ''Dorothy Donnelly''. Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarlan, 1999. ISBN 978-0-7864-0677-7.

Wilder, A. ''American Popular Song: the Great Innovators, 1900–1950'' (New York, 1972)

External links

Jerome Kern's biography at the "Songwriters Hall of Fame".

"Dorothy Fields on Kern" at the Dorothy Fields website; describes circumstances of the composer's death.

Category:American Jews Category:American musicians of German descent Category:American musical theatre composers Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Category:Deaths from stroke Category:Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:Jewish classical musicians Category:People from Manhattan Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:University of Heidelberg alumni Category:1885 births Category:1945 deaths

ca:Jerome Kern da:Jerome Kern de:Jerome David Kern es:Jerome David Kern fa:جروم کرن fr:Jerome Kern id:Jerome Kern it:Jerome Kern he:ג'רום קרן la:Hieronymus Kern hu:Jerome Kern ja:ジェローム・カーン pl:Jerome Kern pt:Jerome Kern ru:Керн, Джером sh:Jerome Kern fi:Jerome Kern sv:Jerome Kern