Oscar Hammerstein II, foreground, right

Oscar Hammerstein II (IPA: /ˈhæmɚstaɪn/) (born Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein^[1]) (July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American writer, producer^[2], and (usually uncredited) director of musicals for almost forty years. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The City of New York Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Doylestown is a Borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 34 miles (55 km north of Philadelphia. A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing The title of music director or musical director is used by many Symphony orchestras to designate the primary conductor and artistic leader of the orchestra Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He was twice awarded an Oscar for "Best Original Song", and much of his work has been admitted into the unofficial Great American Songbook. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Great American Songbook (sometimes abbreviated as "GAS" is a term referring to the interrelated music of Broadway musical theater

Youth and early career

Born in New York City, his father, William, was from a non-practicing Jewish family; his mother, née Alice Nimmo, was the daughter of Scottish immigrants and their children were raised as Christians. The City of New York PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ His grandfather was the opera impresario and theater builder Oscar Hammerstein I. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Oscar Hammerstein I ( 8 May 1847 - 1 August 1919) was a Theater impresario in New York City.

Although William, father of the younger Oscar, managed the Victoria Theatre for the elder Oscar and was an innovative producer of vaudeville (he is generally credited with inventing the "pie-in-the-face" routine), he was against his son's desire to participate in the arts. Oscar II entered Columbia University under its pre-law program and it was not until his father's death on June 10, 1914 that he went on to participate in his first play with the Varsity Show entitled On Your Way. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University and certainly its oldest performing arts presentation

Throughout the rest of his college career the younger Hammerstein wrote and performed in several Varsity Shows. After quitting law school to pursue theater, Hammerstein began his first real collaboration with Herbert Stothart, Otto Harbach, and Frank Mandel. Herbert Stothart ( September 11 1885 – February 1 1949) was a Song writer, Arranger, and Composer. Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach ( August 18, 1873 - January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist He began as an apprentice, and went on to form a 20 year collaboration with Harbach. Out of this collaboration came his first musical, Always You, for which he wrote the book and lyrics. It opened on Broadway in 1921. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located

Throughout the next forty years of his life, Hammerstein teamed with many other composers, including Jerome Kern, with whom Hammerstein enjoyed a highly successful collaboration. Jerome David Kern ( January 27, 1885 &ndash November 11, 1945) was an American Composer of popular music In 1927, Kern and Hammerstein had their biggest hit, Show Boat, which is often revived and is still considered one of the masterpieces of the American musical theatre. Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book (based on a novel by Edna Ferber) and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein Other Kern-Hammerstein musicals include Sweet Adeline, Music In the Air, Three Sisters, and Very Warm for May. "Sweet Adeline" is a ballad best known as a barbershop standard Very Warm for May opened at the Alvin Theatre on November 17, 1939. Hammerstein also collaborated with Vincent Youmans (Wildflower), Rudolf Friml (Rose Marie), and Sigmund Romberg (The Desert Song and The New Moon). Vincent Youmans ( September 27, 1898 - April 5, 1946) was an American popular composer and Broadway producer A wildflower (or wild flower) is a Flower that grows wild meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted Rudolf Friml ( December 7, 1879 - November 12, 1972) was a Composer of Operettas musicals and songs as well Rose Marie (born August 15, 1923) is an American actress who had a successful singing career as Baby Rose Marie, but is perhaps best known Sigmund Romberg, born Zsigmond Romberg ( July 29, 1887, Nagykanizsa − November 9, 1951 The Desert Song is an Operetta with Music by Sigmund Romberg and Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and The New Moon is the name of an Operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and

Rodgers and Hammerstein

Hammerstein's most successful and sustained collaboration,^[3] however, came in 1943 when he teamed up with Richard Rodgers to write a musical adaptation of the play Green Grow the Lilacs. Richard Charles Rodgers ( June 28, 1902, Arverne Queens, New York City &ndash December 30, 1979, New York This article is about the folk song For the stage play see ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Rodgers' first partner, Lorenz Hart, was originally going to join in the collaboration but was too deeply entrenched in alcoholism to be of any use. Lorenz "Larry" Hart ( May 2, 1895 &ndash November 22, 1943) was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team The result of the new Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration was Oklahoma!, a show which revolutionized the American musical theatre by tightly integrating all the aspects of musical theater, with the songs and dances arising out of the plot and characters. Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 &ndash 1960 were a well-known American songwriting duo Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. It also began a partnership which would produce such classic Broadway musicals as Carousel, Allegro, South Pacific, The King and I, Me & Juliet, Pipe Dream, Flower Drum Song, and The Sound of Music as well as the musical film State Fair (and its stage adaptation of the same name) and the television musical Cinderella, all of which were featured in the revue A Grand Night for Singing. Carousel is a musical by Richard Rodgers (music and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics that was adapted from Ferenc Molnar Allegro is a theatre musical by Richard Rodgers (music and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics their fourth collaboration together South Pacific is a musical, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and book by both Hammerstein and Joshua The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Me and Juliet is a musical comedy written by Richard Rodgers (music and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics and book Pipe Dream is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. Flower Drum Song is a musical written by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein, based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Chinese American The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay State Fair is a 1945 film directed by Walter Lang. The film is a Remake of the 1933 film of the same name. State Fair is a musical with a book by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and music by Richard Rodgers. Cinderella ( French: Cendrillon, Slovak: Popoluška, German: Aschenputtel, Spanish: Cenicienta A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical Entertainment that combines Music, dance and sketches. A Grand Night for Singing is a musical revue showcasing the music of Richard Rodgers and the lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II. Hammerstein also produced the book and lyrics for Carmen Jones, an adaptation of Georges Bizet's opera Carmen with an all-black cast. Carmen Jones is a 1943 Broadway musical, later made into a 1954 Musical film; the play also ran for a season in 1991 at London Georges Bizet (25 October 1838 – 3 June 1875 was a French Composer and Pianist of the Romantic era Carmen is a French Opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The Libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based

Oscar Hammerstein II is today considered one of the most important figures in the history of American musical theater. He was probably the best "book writer" in Broadway history - he made the story, not the songs or the stars, central to the musical, and brought it to full maturity as an art form. His reputation for being "sentimental", is based largely on the movie versions of the musicals, especially The Sound of Music, in which a song sung by those in favor of pacification with the Nazis, No Way to Stop It, was cut. "No Way to Stop It" is a Show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, but not included in As recent revivals of Show Boat, Oklahoma!, Carousel, and The King and I in London and New York show, Hammerstein was one of the more tough-minded and socially conscious American musical theater artists. Oscar Hammerstein believed in love; he did not believe that it would always end happily.

Death and honors

Hammerstein is the only person named Oscar ever to win an Oscar (Academy Award). "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. He won two Oscars for best original song—in 1941 for "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in the film Lady Be Good, and in 1945 for "It Might As Well Be Spring" in State Fair. Lady Be Good is the title of an MGM Musical film which was released in 1941 State Fair is a 1945 film directed by Walter Lang. The film is a Remake of the 1933 film of the same name. In 1950, the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York. The Hundred Year Association of New York, founded in 1927 is a Non-profit organization in New York City aimed at recognizing and rewarding dedication and service "

Hammerstein died of stomach cancer in his home in Doylestown, Pennsylvania at the age of 65, shortly after the opening of The Sound of Music on Broadway, thus ending one of the most remarkable collaborations in the history of the American musical theatre. Stomach or gastric cancer can develop in any part of the Stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs particularly the Esophagus and Doylestown is a Borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 34 miles (55 km north of Philadelphia. The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay The final song he wrote was "Edelweiss" which was added during rehearsals near the end of the second act. "Edelweiss" is a Show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. To this day, many think it is an Austrian folk song. Sadly, he never lived to see The Sound of Music made into the 1965 film adaptation which became internationally loved, won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and became perhaps his most well-known legacy. The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film.

Universally mourned, with the lights of Times Square and London's West End being dimmed in recognition of his contribution to the musical, he was interred^[4] in the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Times Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West The West End of London is an area of Central London, England, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions businesses headquarters and the commercial Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, about Hartsdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place (CDP located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County New York. He was survived by his second wife Dorothy Blanchard Jacobson and his three children, William and Alice by first wife Myra Finn and James by Jacobson. James Hammerstein ( March 23, 1931 - January 7, 1999) was an American Theatre director and producer.

Hammerstein's name is often mispronounced as "HAM-err-steen" (IPA: [ˈhæmɚstiːn]). Hammerstein himself, however, pronounced it as "HAM-err-styne" (IPA: [ˈhæmɚstaɪn]).

External links

1. ^ Biography of Hammerstein
2. ^ The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization
3. ^ Musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein
4. ^ Oscar Hammerstein's Gravesite