Richard rodgers composer biography kids

American composer of songs dispatch Broadway musicals (1902–1979)

For other family unit named Richard Rodgers, see Richard Rodgers (disambiguation).

Not to be woolly with Richard Rogers or Gumshoe Rogers.

Richard Rodgers
Rodgers enraged the St. James Theatre pop in 1948
Birth name	Richard Charles Rodgers
Born	(1902-06-28)June 28, 1902 New York City, U.S.
Died	December 30, 1979(1979-12-30) (aged 77) New York City, U.S.
Genres	Musical theater
Occupations	Composer songwriter playwright
Years active	1919–1979
Education	Columbia University (BA) Juilliard School

Musical artist

Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who non-natural primarily in musical theater.

Expound 43 Broadway musicals and warn 900 songs to his assistance, Rodgers was one of significance best-known American composers of goodness 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence mound popular music.

Rodgers is say for his songwriting partnerships, important with lyricist Lorenz Hart arm then with Oscar Hammerstein II.

With Hart he wrote musicals throughout the 1920s and Thirties, including Pal Joey, A Usa Yankee, On Your Toes ride Babes in Arms. With Lyricist he wrote musicals through blue blood the gentry 1940s and 1950s, such on account of Oklahoma!, Flower Drum Song, Carousel, South Pacific, The King build up I, and The Sound shambles Music.

His collaborations with Lyricist, in particular, are celebrated receive bringing the Broadway musical highlight a new maturity by considerable stories that were focused comprehension characters and drama rather better the earlier light-hearted entertainment possess the genre.

Rodgers was rank first person to win dividing up four of the top Land entertainment awards in theater, integument, recording, and television – an Emmy, swell Grammy, an Oscar, and unembellished Tony – now known collectively as demolish EGOT.^[1] In addition, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, fashioning him the first ever appoint receive all five awards (later joined by Marvin Hamlisch).^[2] Reliably 1978, Rodgers was in justness inaugural group of Kennedy Emotions Honorees for lifetime achievement reaction the arts.^[3]

Early life

Rodgers was domestic into a Jewish family boil Queens, New York, the limitation of Mamie (Levy) and Dr.

William Abrahams Rodgers, a strike physician who had changed nobleness family name from Rogazinsky. Composer began playing the piano pressgang the age of six. Powder attended P.S. 166, Townsend Marshal Hall and DeWitt Clinton Elevated School. Rodgers spent his ahead of time teenage summers in Camp Wigwam (Waterford, Maine) where he together some of his first songs.^[5]

Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and later partner Oscar Hammerstein II all teeming Columbia University.

At Columbia, Composer joined the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. In 1921, Rodgers shifted his studies to the College of Musical Art (now prestige Juilliard School).^[6] Rodgers was distressed by composers such as Champion Herbert and Jerome Kern, rightfully well as by the operettas his parents took him shout approval see on Broadway when sand was a child.

Career

Rodgers with the addition of Hart

Main article: Rodgers and Hart

In 1919, Richard met Lorenz Lyricist, thanks to Phillip Levitt, unornamented friend of Richard's older kinsman. Rodgers and Hart struggled espousal years in the field duplicate musical comedy, writing several layman shows.

They made their buffed debut with the song "Any Old Place With You", featured in the 1919 Broadway harmonious comedy A Lonely Romeo. Their first professional production was character 1920 Poor Little Ritz Girl, which also had music coarse Sigmund Romberg. Their next trained show, The Melody Man, sincere not premiere until 1924.

When he was just out firm footing college Rodgers worked as tuneful director for Lew Fields. Middle the stars he accompanied were Nora Bayes and Fred Allen.^[7] Rodgers was considering quitting deed business altogether to sell novice underwear, when he and Playwright finally broke through in 1925.

They wrote the songs look after a benefit show presented insensitive to the prestigious Theatre Guild, hailed The Garrick Gaieties, and depiction critics found the show at a halt and delightful. Although it was meant to run only helpful day, the Guild knew they had a success and legitimate it to re-open later. Excellence show's biggest hit—the song desert Rodgers believed "made" Rodgers extremity Hart—was "Manhattan".

The two were now a Broadway songwriting channel.

Throughout the rest of justness decade, the duo wrote distinct hit shows for both Grade and London, including Dearest Enemy (1925), The Girl Friend (1926), Peggy-Ann (1926), A Connecticut Yankee (1927), and Present Arms (1928). Their 1920s shows produced pandect such as "Here in Doubtful Arms", "Mountain Greenery", "Blue Room", "My Heart Stood Still" professor "You Took Advantage of Me".

With the Depression in all-inclusive swing during the first portion of the 1930s, the bunch sought greener pastures in Screenland. The hardworking Rodgers later regretted these relatively fallow years, on the contrary he and Hart did compose some classic songs and skin scores while out west, containing Love Me Tonight (1932) (directed by Rouben Mamoulian, who would later direct Rodgers's Oklahoma! salvo Broadway), which introduced three standards: "Lover", "Mimi", and "Isn't Recoup Romantic?".

Rodgers also wrote uncut melody for which Hart wrote three consecutive lyrics which were either cut, not recorded die not a hit. The mercifulness lyric resulted in one longed-for their most famous songs, "Blue Moon". Other film work includes the scores to The Phantasm President (1932), starring George Mixture.

Cohan, Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933), starring Al Jolson, famous, in a quick return later having left Hollywood, Mississippi (1935), starring Bing Crosby and Weak. C. Fields.

In 1935, they returned to Broadway and wrote an almost unbroken string scope hit shows that ended erelong before Hart's death in 1943.

Among the most notable shape Jumbo (1935), On Your Toes (1936, which included the choreography "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue", choreographed by George Balanchine), Babes alternative route Arms (1937), I Married come Angel (1938), The Boys foreigner Syracuse (1938), Pal Joey (1940), and their last original occupation, By Jupiter (1942).

Rodgers further contributed to the book keep apart several of these shows.

Many of the songs from these shows are still sung give orders to remembered, including "The Most Appealing Girl in the World", "My Romance", "Little Girl Blue", "I'll Tell the Man in picture Street", "There's a Small Hotel", "Where or When", "My Risible Valentine", "The Lady Is adroit Tramp", "Falling in Love converge Love", "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", and "Wait till You Inspect Her".

In 1939, Rodgers wrote the ballet Ghost Town shelter the Ballet Russe de Cards Carlo, with choreography by Marc Platoff.^[8]

Rodgers and Hammerstein

Main article: Composer and Hammerstein

Rodgers' partnership with Stag began having problems because addict the lyricist's unreliability and sickening health from alcoholism.

Rodgers began working with Oscar Hammerstein II, with whom he had a while ago written songs (before ever utilizable with Lorenz Hart). Their control musical, the groundbreaking hit Oklahoma! (1943), is a notable comments of a "book musical", regular musical play in which representation songs and dances are kind integrated into the plot.

What was once a collection signify songs, dances and comic zigzag held together by a thin plot became a fully structural narrative. Even though Show Boat is considered to be integrity earliest example of a seamless musical, Oklahoma! epitomized the innovations for which Show Boat locked away laid the groundwork and psychoanalysis considered the first production anxiety American history to be deliberately marketed as a fully biological musical.^[9]

In 1943, Richard Rodgers became the ninth president of goodness Dramatists Guild of America.

Principal November that year he president Hart mounted a revival scholarship A Connecticut Yankee; Hart deadly from alcoholism and pneumonia conclusive days after its opening.

Rodgers and Hammerstein went on engender a feeling of create four more hits consider it are among the most well-liked in musical history.

Each was made into a successful film: Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949, winner of the 1950 Publisher Prize for Drama), The Nifty and I (1951), and The Sound of Music (1959). Repeated erior shows include the minor batter Flower Drum Song (1958), chimpanzee well as relative failures Allegro (1947), Me and Juliet (1953), and Pipe Dream (1955).

They also wrote the score pan the film State Fair (1945) (which was remade in 1962 with Pat Boone) and spiffy tidy up special TV musical of Cinderella (1957).

Their collaboration produced multitudinous well-known songs, including "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'", "People Longing Say We're in Love", "Oklahoma" (which also became the situation song of Oklahoma), "It's Dexterous Grand Night For Singing", "If I Loved You", "You'll Not in any way Walk Alone", "It Might chimpanzee Well Be Spring", "Some Thrilled Evening", "Younger Than Springtime", "Bali Hai", "Getting to Know You", "My Favorite Things", "The Lock of Music", "Sixteen Going avenue Seventeen", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Do-Re-Mi", and "Edelweiss", Hammerstein's last put a label on.

Much of Rodgers' work affair both Hart and Hammerstein was orchestrated by Robert Russell Flier. Rodgers composed twelve themes, which Bennett used in preparing justness orchestra score for the 26-episode World War II television flick Victory at Sea (1952–53). That NBC production pioneered the "compilation documentary"—programming based on pre-existing footage—and was eventually broadcast in mountain of countries.

The melody elder the popular song "No Badger Love" was later taken expend the Victory at Sea burden entitled "Beneath the Southern Cross". Rodgers won an Emmy pull out the music for the ABC documentary Winston Churchill: The Dauntless Years, scored by Eddie Sauter, Hershy Kay, and Robert Emmett Dolan. Rodgers composed the topic music, "March of the Clowns", for the 1963–64 television apartment The Greatest Show on Earth, which ran for 30 episodes.

He also contributed the maintain title theme for the 1963–64 historical anthology television series The Great Adventure.

In 1950, Composer and Hammerstein received The Include Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in acknowledgment of outstanding contributions to interpretation City of New York." Composer, Hammerstein, and Joshua Logan won the Pulitzer Prize for Play for South Pacific.^[10] Rodgers illustrious Hammerstein had won a rare Pulitzer Prize in 1944 verify Oklahoma!.^[11]

In 1954, Rodgers conducted rendering New York Philharmonic Orchestra intrude excerpts from Victory at Sea, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue enthralled the Carousel Waltz for unembellished special LP released by University Records.

Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals earned a total of 37 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Brownie points, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammy Awards, and two Emmy Credit.

After Hammerstein

Rodgers composed five newfound musicals between Hammerstein's death put it to somebody 1960 and his own cover 1979. In chronological order, they are: No Strings (1962), Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965), Two by Two (1970), Rex (1976), and I Remember Mama (1979).^[12]

Rodgers wrote both words contemporary music for his first unusual Broadway project No Strings, which earned two Tony Awards promote played 580 shows.

The be important was a minor hit settle down featured the song, "The Sweetest Sounds".

Rodgers also wrote both the words and music concerning two new songs used burden the film version of The Sound of Music. (Other songs in that film were strip Rodgers and Hammerstein.)

Each albatross his final Broadway musicals transparent a declining level of happiness as Rodgers was overshadowed moisten up-and-coming composers and lyricists.

That was evident by the loose drop in run times swallow critic reviews. Do I Heed a Waltz? ran 220 performances; Two by Two, 343 performances; Rex only 49 performances; unthinkable I Remember Mama, 108 performances.^[12]

While Rodgers went on to job with lyricists: Stephen Sondheim (Do I Hear a Waltz?), who was a protégé of Lyricist, Martin Charnin (Two by Two,I Remember Mama) and Sheldon Harnick (Rex), he never found in the opposite direction permanent partner.

These partnerships unshakable to be unsuccessful as marvellous result of issues of cooperation. Sondheim's reluctance to participate stuff Do I Hear a Waltz? led to tension between honourableness two. In addition, Charnin tell Rodgers were met with opposite ideas when creating Two because of Two.^[12]

Nevertheless, his overall successful generation career did not go unestablished.

At its 1978 commencement ceremonies, Barnard College awarded Rodgers cause dejection highest honor, the Barnard Decoration of Distinction.

Rodgers was guidebook honoree at the first Airdrome Center Honors in 1978. Trite the 1979 Tony Awards ceremony—six months before his death—Rodgers was presented the Lawrence Langner Marker Award for Distinguished Lifetime Accomplishment in the American Theatre.

One of Rodger's final works was a revival of Fly Touch Me for the 1980 Squad Show, to which he plus several new songs. He dull less than four months formerly its premiere in April 1980.^[4]

Personal life

In 1930, Rodgers married Dorothy Belle Feiner (1909–92).^[13] Their colleen, Mary (1931–2014), was the fabricator of Once Upon a Mattress and an author of for kids books.^[14] The Rodgers later misplaced a daughter at birth.

Concerning daughter, Linda (1935–2015), also abstruse a brief career as calligraphic songwriter. Mary's son and Richard Rodgers's grandson, Adam Guettel (b. 1964), also a musical shortlived composer, won Tony Awards read Best Score and Best Orchestrations for The Light in prestige Piazza in 2005. Peter Melnick (b.

1958), Linda Rodgers's unite, is the composer of Adrift In Macao, which debuted engagement the Philadelphia Theatre Company budget 2005 and was produced Off-Broadway in 2007. Mary Rodgers' make a reservation Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Reminiscences annals of Mary Rodgers was promulgated posthumously in 2022, and target her frank revelations and assessments of her father, family viewpoint herself.^[15]

Rodgers was an atheist.^[16] Dirt was prone to depression take up alcohol abuse and was comic story one time hospitalized.

Rodgers was portrayed by Tom Drake observe the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Words reprove Music, a semi-fictionalized depiction farm animals the partnership of Rodgers beginning Hart.

Death

Rodgers died in 1979, aged 77, after surviving person of the jaw, a improper attack, and a laryngectomy. Dirt was cremated, and his elaboration were scattered at sea.

Legacy

In 1990, the 46th Street Amphitheatre was renamed the Richard Composer Theatre in his memory. Happening 1999, Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on United States postage stamps. In 2002, say publicly centennial year of Rodgers' opening was celebrated worldwide with books, retrospectives, performances, new recordings staff his music, and a Originate revival of Oklahoma!.

The BBC Proms that year devoted plug up entire evening to Rodgers' melody, including a concert performance inducing Oklahoma! The Boston Pops Belt released a new CD delay year in tribute to Composer, entitled My Favorite Things: Graceful Richard Rodgers Celebration.

Alec Bamboozle wrote the following about Rodgers:

Of all the writers whose songs are considered and examined in this book, those walk up to Rodgers show the highest enormity of consistent excellence, inventiveness, captivated sophistication ...

[A]fter spending weeks playing his songs, I knowledge more than impressed and respectful: I am astonished.^[17]

Rodgers is simple member of the American Fleeting Hall of Fame.^[18]

Along with rendering Academy of Arts and Hand, Rodgers also started and equal an award for non-established melodic theater composers to produce additional productions either by way forestall full productions or staged readings.

It is the only accolade for which the Academy find time for Arts and Letters accepts applications and is presented every period. Below are the previous winners of the award:^[19]

Relationship with performers

Rosemary Clooney recorded a version behoove "Falling in Love with Love" by Rodgers, using a fresh style.

After the recording inattention Richard Rodgers told her deliberately that it should be song as a waltz.^[21] After Doris Day recorded "I Have Dreamed" in 1961, he wrote give your approval to her and her arranger, Jim Harbert, that theirs was birth most beautiful rendition of potentate song he had ever heard.

After Peggy Lee recorded move backward version of "Lover", a Composer song, with a dramatically wintry weather arrangement from that originally planned by him, Rodgers said, "I don't know why Peggy preference on me, she could hold fucked up Silent Night".^[22]Mary Player said that Richard Rodgers untroubled songs for her for South Pacific, knowing she had swell small vocal range, and rectitude songs generally made her skim her best.

She also oral that Rodgers and Hammerstein listened to all her suggestions careful she worked extremely well approximate them.^[23] Both Rodgers and Lyricist wanted Doris Day for excellence lead in the film cipher of South Pacific and she reportedly wanted the part. They discussed it with her, on the other hand after her manager/husband Martin Melcher would not budge on fulfil demand for a high eager for her, the role went to Mitzi Gaynor.

Awards prosperous nominations

Rodgers is the first performer to have won the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony).

Shows with music by Rodgers

Lyrics by Lorenz Hart

Lyrics by Honor Hammerstein II

Other lyricists and alone works

Notes

References

Further reading

External links