Oscar Hammerstein II | |
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 Hammersteinc. 1940 | |
| Born | Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (1895-07-12)July 12, 1895 Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 23, 1960(1960-08-23) (aged 65) Doylestown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) |
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| Years active | 1914–1960 |
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| Father | Willie Hammerstein |
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| Musical career | |
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Musical artist | |
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (/ˈhæmərstaɪn/; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eightTony Awards and twoAcademy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists andjazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs.
He is best known for his collaborations with composerRichard Rodgers, as the duoRodgers and Hammerstein, whose musicals includeOklahoma!,Carousel,South Pacific,The King and I,Flower Drum Song, andThe Sound of Music. Described by his protégéStephen Sondheim as an "experimental playwright",[1] Hammerstein helped bring the American musical to new maturity by popularizing musicals that focused on stories and character rather than the lighthearted entertainment that the musical had been known for beforehand.
He also collaborated withJerome Kern (with whom he wrote the 1927 musicalShow Boat),Vincent Youmans,Rudolf Friml,Richard A. Whiting, andSigmund Romberg.
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was born on West 125th Street inHarlem, New York.[2][3] The son of theatrical managerWilliam Hammerstein and his wife Alice (née Nimmo).[4] His grandfather was theGerman theaterimpresarioOscar Hammerstein I. His father was from aJewish family, and his mother was the daughter of British parents.[5] He attended the Church of the Divine Paternity, now theFourth Universalist Society in the City of New York.[6]
Although Hammerstein's father managed the Victoria Theatre and was a producer ofvaudeville shows, he was opposed to his son's desire to participate in the arts.[7]
Hammerstein attendedColumbia University (1912–1916)[8] and studied atColumbia Law School until 1917.[9] As a student, he maintained high grades and engaged in numerous extracurricular activities. These included playing first base on the baseball team, performing in theVarsity Show and becoming an active member ofPi Lambda Phi fraternity.[10]
After his father's death, in June 1914, when he was 19, he participated in his first play with the Varsity Show, entitledOn Your Way. Throughout the rest of his college career, Hammerstein wrote and performed in several Varsity Shows.[9][11] Following his graduation, he sat on the judging committee for the show and continued to contribute to several musicals, includingFly With Me, written byRichard Rodgers andLorenz Hart.[12]
After quitting law school to pursuetheater, Hammerstein began his first professional collaboration, withHerbert Stothart,Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel.[13] 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 thebook and lyrics. It opened onBroadway in 1920.[14] In 1921 Hammerstein joinedThe Lambs club.[15]
Throughout the next forty years, Hammerstein teamed up with many other composers, includingJerome Kern, with whom Hammerstein enjoyed a highly successful collaboration. In 1927, Kern and Hammerstein wrote their biggest hit based onEdna Ferber's bestselling eponymous novel,Show Boat, which is often revived, as it is considered one of the masterpieces of American musical theater. "Here we come to a completely new genre—the musical play as distinguished from musical comedy. Now ... the play was the thing, and everything else was subservient to that play. Now ... came complete integration of song, humor and production numbers into a single and inextricable artistic entity."[16] Many years later, Hammerstein's wifeDorothy bristled when she overheard someone remark that Jerome Kern had written "Ol' Man River". "Indeed not", she retorted. "Jerome Kern wrote 'dum, dum, dum-dum'. My husband wrote 'Ol' Man River'."[17]
Other Kern–Hammerstein musicals includeSunny,Sweet Adeline,Music in the Air,Three Sisters, andVery Warm for May. Hammerstein also collaborated withVincent Youmans (Wildflower),Rudolf Friml (Rose-Marie), andSigmund Romberg (The Desert Song andThe New Moon).[18]
Hammerstein's most successful and sustained collaboration began when he teamed up with Rodgers to write a musical adaptation of the playGreen Grow the Lilacs.[19] Rodgers' first partner,Lorenz Hart, originally planned to collaborate with Rodgers on this piece, but his alcoholism had spiraled out of control, rendering him incapacitated.[20] Hart was also not certain that the idea had much merit, and the two therefore separated.[21] The adaptation became the first Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration, titledOklahoma!, which opened on Broadway in 1943.[20] It furthered the revolution begun byShow Boat, by thoroughly integrating all the aspects of musical theater, with the songs and dances arising out of and further developing the plot and characters.[16]
William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird wrote that this was a "show, that, likeShow Boat, became a milestone, such that subsequent historians writing about important moments in twentieth-century theater began to identify eras according to their relationship toOklahoma!"[22] AfterOklahoma!, Rodgers and Hammerstein were the most important contributors to the musical-play form—with such masterworks asCarousel,The King and I andSouth Pacific. "The examples they set in creating vital plays, often rich with social thought, provided the necessary encouragement for other gifted writers to create musical plays of their own".[16]
The partnership went on to produce not only the aforementioned, but also other Broadway musicals such asAllegro,Me and Juliet,Pipe Dream,Flower Drum Song, andThe Sound of Music, as well as the musical filmState Fair (and itsstage adaptation of the same name), and the television musicalCinderella, all featured in therevueA Grand Night for Singing. Hammerstein also wrote the book and lyrics forCarmen Jones, an adaptation ofGeorges Bizet's operaCarmen, with an all-black cast that became a 1943 Broadway musical anda 1954 film, starringDorothy Dandridge.[23]
An active advocate for writers' rights within thetheater industry, Hammerstein was a member of theDramatists Guild of America. In 1956, he was elected as the eleventh president of thenonprofit organization.[24] He continued his presidency at the Guild until 1960; he was succeeded byAlan Jay Lerner.[25]
Hammerstein married his first wife, Myra Finn, in 1917; the couple divorced in 1929.[11][26] He married his second wife, the Australian-bornDorothy (Blanchard) Jacobson (1899–1987), in 1929.[27] He had three children: William Hammerstein (1918–2001)[28] and Alice Hammerstein Mathias (1922–2015)[29] by his first wife, andJames Hammerstein (1931–1999)[30] by his second wife, with whom he also had a stepson, Henry Jacobson, and a stepdaughter,Susan Blanchard.[27] His son William married the screenwriterJane-Howard Hammerstein.[31]
Hammerstein died ofstomach cancer on August 23, 1960, at his homeHighland Farm inDoylestown, Pennsylvania, aged 65,[32] nine months after the opening ofThe Sound of Music on Broadway.[33] The final song he wrote was "Edelweiss", which was added near the end of the second act during rehearsal.[34][35] The lights ofTimes Square were turned off for one minute,[36] and London'sWest End lights were dimmed in recognition of his contribution to the musical.[37] He was cremated, and his ashes were buried at theFerncliff Cemetery inHartsdale, New York.[38] A memorial plaque was unveiled atSouthwark Cathedral, England, on May 24, 1961.[39]
After Hammerstein's death,The Sound of Music was adapted asa 1965 film, which won theAcademy Award forBest Picture.[33][40]
Hammerstein was one of the most important "book writers" in Broadway history—he made the story, not the songs or the stars, central to the musical and brought musical theater to full maturity as an art form.[11][41] According toStephen Sondheim, "What few people understand is that Oscar's big contribution to the theater was as a theoretician, as aPeter Brook, as an innovator. People don't understand how experimentalShow Boat andOklahoma! felt at the time they were done. Oscar is not about the 'lark that is learning to pray'—that's easy to make fun of. He's aboutAllegro", Hammerstein's most experimental musical.[42]
His reputation for being sentimental is based largely on the movie versions of the musicals, especiallyThe Sound of Music, in which a song sung by those in favor of reaching an accommodation with the Nazis, "No Way to Stop It", was cut. As recent revivals ofShow Boat,Oklahoma!,Carousel, andThe King and I in London and New York show, Hammerstein was one of the more tough-minded and socially conscious American musical theater artists. According to Richard Kislan, "The shows of Rodgers and Hammerstein were the product of sincerity. In the light of criticism directed against them and their universe of sweetness and light, it is important to understand that they believed sincerely in what they wrote."[43] According to Marc Bauch, "The Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals are romantic musical plays. Love is important."[44]
According toThe Rodgers and Hammerstein Story byStanley Green,
For three minutes, on the night of September first, the entire Times Square area in New York City was blacked out in honor of the man who had done so much to light up that particular part of the world. From 8:57 to 9:00 p.m., every neon sign and every light bulb was turned off and all traffic was halted between 42nd Street and 53rd Street, and between eighth Ave and the Avenue of the Americas. A crowd of 5,000 people, many with heads bowed, assembled at the base of the statue of Father Duffy on Times Square where two trumpeters blew taps. It was the most complete blackout on Broadway since World War II, and the greatest tribute of its kind ever paid to one man.[45]
| Year | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Oklahoma! | |
| 1945 | Carousel | |
| 1945 | State Fair | |
| 1947 | Allegro | |
| 1949 | South Pacific | |
| 1951 | The King and I | |
| 1953 | Me and Juliet | |
| 1955 | Pipe Dream | |
| 1957 | Cinderella | |
| 1958 | Flower Drum Song | |
| 1959 | The Sound of Music |
According toThe Complete Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II, edited by Amy Asch, Hammerstein contributed the lyrics to 850 songs,[46] including "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" and "Make Believe" fromShow Boat;[47] "Indian Love Call" fromRose-Marie;[48] "People Will Say We're in Love"[citation needed] and "Oklahoma" (which has been the official state song of Oklahoma since 1953) fromOklahoma!;[49] "If I Loved You" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" fromCarousel, "Some Enchanted Evening", fromSouth Pacific; "Getting to Know You"[50] and "Shall We Dance" fromThe King and I; andthe title song as well as "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" fromThe Sound of Music.[citation needed]
Several albums of Hammerstein's musicals were named to the "Songs of the Century" list as compiled by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), theNational Endowment for the Arts, andScholastic Corporation:[51]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Academy Awards | Best Song | "A Mist over the Moon"(fromThe Lady Objects) | Nominated | [52] |
| 1941 | "The Last Time I Saw Paris"(fromLady Be Good) | Won | [53] | ||
| 1945 | "It Might as Well Be Spring"(fromState Fair) | Won | [54] | ||
| 1946 | "All Through the Day"(fromCentennial Summer) | Nominated | [55] | ||
| 1951 | "A Kiss to Build a Dream On"(fromThe Strip) | Nominated | [56] | ||
| 1960 | Grammy Awards | Best Show Album (Original Cast) | The Sound of Music | Won | [57] |
| 1992 | Trustees Award | — | Won | [58] | |
| 1944 | Pulitzer Prize | Special Citations and Awards | Oklahoma! | Won | [59] |
| 1950 | Drama | South Pacific | Won | [60] | |
| 1950 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Won | [61] | |
| Best Libretto | Won | ||||
| Producers (Musical) | Won | ||||
| 1952 | Best Musical | The King and I | Won | [62] | |
| 1956 | Pipe Dream | Nominated | [63] | ||
| 1959 | Flower Drum Song | Nominated | [64] | ||
| 1960 | The Sound of Music | Won[a] | [65] | ||
| 1996 | Best Original Score | State Fair | Nominated | [66] |
His advice and work influencedStephen Sondheim, a friend of the Hammerstein family from childhood. Sondheim has attributed his success in theater, and especially as a lyricist, directly to Hammerstein's influence and guidance.[11]
TheOscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theater is presented annually. The York Theatre Company of New York City is the administrator of the award.[69] Past awardees are composers such asStephen Sondheim and performers such asCarol Channing.[70]
Oscar Hammerstein was a member of theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[71]
Oscar went to Columbia University in preparation for a career in law. It was at Columbia, however, that Oscar's career in theater actually began when, at age 19, he joined the Columbia University Players as a performer in the 1915 Varsity review "On Your Way". He participated heavily in the Varsity shows for several years, first as a performer and later as a writer. .... In 1929 Oscar divorced his wife of 12 years, Myra Finn, and married Dorothy Blanchard Jacobson.
The winner of the Golden Globe for the Best Comedy/Musical Picture of 1954 was Carmen Jones. The film, an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was an adaptation of Georges Bizet's famous opera "Carmen," respected the music, but used a script and new English lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical fame.
Hammerstein was a member of the Dramatists' Guild of America and was elected its eleventh president in 1956. He died of stomach cancer in 1960.
... Lerner was elected president of the Dramatists Guild on February 18, replacing Oscar Hammerstein. .... The reason for Hammerstein's need to stand down as president, however, was sad: he was suffering from cancer....
... m. Myra Finn, Aug. 22. 1917, N. Y. C. (div. May 13, 1929); (2) May 14, 1929, Dorothy Blanchard in Baltimore: ch.: William, Alice, James. ...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences loved the movie big time, festooning it with 10 nominations and five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the 1966 ceremony. ..... Though Hammerstein died at 65 in 1960, nine months into The Sound of Music's Broadway run, the movie has proved how lasting that heritage would be. .....
Mrs. Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, widow of the lyricist, unveiled a plaque today to his memory in Southwark Cathedral .... Mr. Hammerstein's will provided £2000 to support two choir-boys at Southwark Cathedral.
People underestimate what [Hammerstein] did in the way of musical theater. He was primarily an experimental writer, and what he was doing was marrying the traditions of opera and American musical comedy, using songs to tell a story that was worth telling. The first real instance of that is Show Boat, which is a watershed show in the history of musical theater, and Oklahoma!, which is innovative in different ways ... Now, because of the success of Oklahoma!, and subsequent shows, most musical theater now tells stories through songs. But that was not true prior to 1943, the year of Oklahoma!
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