Fred Ebb | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | (1928-04-08)April 8, 1928 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 11, 2004(2004-09-11) (aged 76) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Musical theatre, film, television |
| Occupation | Lyricist |
| Years active | 1956–2004 |
Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004)[1] was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composerJohn Kander. TheKander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers asLiza Minnelli andChita Rivera.
He worked during the early 1950s bronzing baby shoes, as a trucker's assistant, and was also employed in a department store credit office and at a hosiery company. He graduated fromNew York University with a bachelor's degree inEnglish Literature, and also earned his master's degree in English fromColumbia University.[2]
One of his early collaborators wasPhilip Springer, and a song they wrote together ("I Never Loved Him Anyhow") was recorded byCarmen McRae in 1956.[3] Another song Ebb wrote with Springer was "Heartbroken" (1953), which was recorded byJudy Garland, the mother of his future protégée,Liza Minnelli. Other Springer-Ebb tunes include "Nevertheless I Never Lost the Blues". "Don't Forget", which he wrote with Norman Leyden, was recorded by singerEddy Arnold in 1954.[4]
On his first theatrical writing job, he co-wrote the lyrics for the musical revueBaker's Dozen in 1951.[5] He wrote songs with Norman Martin for the Off-Broadway revuePut It in Writing (1962).[6] He also worked with composer Paul Klein from the early 1950s onward,[7] contributing songs to the cabaret revueIsn't America Fun (1959)[8] and the Broadway revueFrom A to Z (1960), directed byChristopher Hewett.
Fred Ebb was the voice of the "Little Blue Man", on Betty Johnson's novelty song from 1958, repeating the words: "I Rov You... to Bits".
With Klein, Ebb wrote his first book musical,Morning Sun. Originally,Bob Fosse was attached as director. Fosse eventually withdrew from the project, and the show ran for 6 performances Off-Broadway in October 1963.[9][10]
Music publisherTommy Valando introduced Ebb to Kander in 1962. After a few songs such as "My Coloring Book", Kander and Ebb wrote a stage musical,Golden Gate, that was never produced. However, the quality of the score convinced producerHarold Prince to hire them for their first professional production, theGeorge Abbott-directed musicalFlora the Red Menace (1965), based onLester Atwell's novelLove is Just Around the Corner. Although it won starLiza Minnelli aTony Award, the show closed after only 87 performances.[11]
Their second collaboration,Cabaret, was considerably more successful, running for 1,165-performances. Directed by Prince and based on theJohn Van Druten playI Am a Camera (which, in turn, was based on the writing ofChristopher Isherwood), the musical starredJill Haworth asSally Bowles,Bert Convy as Clifford Bradshaw,Lotte Lenya as Fräulein Schneider andJoel Grey as the emcee. The original Broadway production opened on November 20, 1966 and won eight of the 11 Tony Awards for which it was nominated, includingBest Musical and Best Score.[12] Adapted into a film byBob Fosse, it won eight Academy Awards, though not Best Picture. It was revived three times, first in 1987 with Grey reprising his role and again in 1998 in a long-running revival, originally starringAlan Cumming as the emcee andNatasha Richardson as Sally Bowles. The third revival began in 2014 and also starredAlan Cumming this time alongsideMichelle Williams.[13]
Their next few works were less successful:The Happy Time (1968), directed byGower Champion and starringRobert Goulet, ran for less than a year.[14]Zorba (1968), directed by Prince, also ran less than a year, though it was more successful in its 1983 revival;[15] and70, Girls, 70 (1971), which was originally intended as an off-Broadway production, closed after 35 performances.[16]
In 1972, he wrote the television special,Liza with a Z for Liza Minnelli.[17][18] In 1974, Kander, Ebb and Fosse contributed to a concert for Liza Minnelli on Broadway. In 1973 Ebb wrote the television special that markedFrank Sinatra's comeback from retirement,Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra (also known asOl' Blue Eyes Is Back). The show featured Sinatra and guest starGene Kelly in duet on the song "Can't Do That Anymore", written by Ebb for his abandoned musical with Kander andDale Wasserman,Wait for Me, World!.[19] In 1975, the team wrote the score toFunny Lady, the sequel toFunny Girl.
Chicago (1975) had mixed reviews but ran for more than two years on Broadway. StarringChita Rivera,Jerry Orbach andGwen Verdon in her last Broadway role, it suffered from a cynical attitude, which contrasted with the record-breaking popularity ofA Chorus Line. Though rumors of a film production directed again by Fosse were heard, the show was revived in 1996 as part of theEncores! staged concert series. A hit, the minimalist production transferred to Broadway, starringAnn Reinking (Roxie) andBebe Neuwirth (Velma).[20] The revival holds the record as the longest-running musical revival and the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. It is the second longest-running show in Broadway history, behind onlyThe Phantom of the Opera, having played its 7,486th performance on November 23, 2014, surpassingCats.[21][22]
Ebb wrote the book forShirley MacLaine’s Broadway solo revue in 1976.[23] The following year, Kander and Ebb worked with Minnelli and Martin Scorsese twice: first, in the filmNew York, New York, which had them write what is their best-known song, the title track; and, again inThe Act (1977) a musical about a fictional nightclub act. It ran for under ten months.[24] After contributing a song toPhyllis Newman’s one-woman musical,The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979),[25] the team wroteWoman of the Year (1981), which starredLauren Bacall and won the team their second Tony Award for Best Score.[26]
The Rink (1984) teamed Kander and Ebb again with Minnelli and Rivera. The cast also includedJason Alexander andRob Marshall.[27] Following the closure of the show after six months, Kander and Ebb would not produce new material, save for a song inHay Fever in 1985, for nine years.[28]
In 1991, the revueAnd The World Goes 'Round opened Off-Broadway, featuringKaren Ziemba,Susan Stroman andScott Ellis.[29] The team's musical adaptation ofKiss of the Spider Woman opened in 1993, starringChita Rivera. Reunited with directorHarold Prince, the show ran for more than two years and won them their third and last Tony Award for best score.[30]
The team's last original work to reach Broadway during Ebb's life opened in 1997.Steel Pier brought together Ziemba, Ellis and Stroman and though the show was nominated for 11 Tonys, it won none and closed after two months. It also featuredKristin Chenoweth. In 1997, Ebb reworked lyrics toRichard Rodgers' melody for the television production ofCinderella. Two decades earlier, Ebb refused the opportunity to write the musicalRex with Rodgers.[citation needed]
The team had two works produced outside New York.Over & Over, an adaptation of theThornton Wilder playThe Skin of Our Teeth, was performed at the Signature Theatre inArlington, Virginia in 1999[31] and was revamped for a 2007 staging by theWestport Country Playhouse under the titleAll About Us.[32]
The Visit, starring Chita Rivera andJohn McMartin, was presented by theGoodman Theatre in Chicago, as well as the Signature Theatre in Arlington (withGeorge Hearn replacing McMartin).[33]
The story of the long collaboration between Fred Ebb and John Kander is told in James Leve'sKander and Ebb (2009). Through in-depth primary research and interviews with writers, producers, and various musical theater collaborators, Leve introduces the writing process of Kander and Ebb and explores the many revisions and stagings of their shows as each work moved from tryouts to Broadway.[34]
Ebb died from a heart attack on September 11, 2004, atSt. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center inManhattan. He was 76.[2]
At the time of his death, Ebb was working on a new musical with Kander,Curtains: A Backstage Murder Mystery Musical Comedy. The project had already lost its book writer,Peter Stone, who died in 2003.[35] The show's orchestrator,Michael Gibson, also died (in 2005) while the project was underway.[36] Coincidentally, the show is about a series of deaths during the production of a Broadway musical.[37]
Kander continued working on the project with a new librettistRupert Holmes, writing new lyrics when necessary. The musical had its world premiere at theAhmanson Theater in Los Angeles in July 2006, and ran onBroadway at theAl Hirschfeld Theatre from March 2007 through June 2008.[38]
At its 2007 ceremony, the Drama Desk honored Kander and the late Ebb with a special award for "42 years of excellence in advancing the art of the musical theater."[39]
In 2010The Scottsboro Boys, a musical with lyrics by Ebb, music by Kander, and book byDavid Thompson premiered, first Off-Broadway at theVineyard Theatre, and then on Broadway at theLyceum Theatre.[40]
Ebb and Kander both were inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame in 1991.[41]
Ebb is interred in a mausoleum with Edwin “Eddie” Aldridge (1929–1997) and Martin Cohen (1926–1995) on the banks of Sylvan Water atGreen-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark inBrooklyn, New York. In addition to the names and dates of each man, the phrase, "Together Forever" is chiseled on the front of the mausoleum. On June 14, 2014, Ebb was featured in the first gay-themed tour of Green-Wood Cemetery.[42][43]
The Fred Ebb Foundation, established in 2005 by instruction of Ebb's will, presents an annual award to an up-and-coming musical theatre writer (or team). The award has been presented for 14 consecutive years, and awards a total of $60,000 to the winners each year.[44]
| Year | Winner(s)[45] |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Freya Catrin Smith, Jack Williams |
| 2022 | Julia Riew |
| 2021 | Isabella Dawis, Tidtaya Sinutoke |
| 2020 | Michael R. Jackson, Benjamin Bonnema, Christopher Staskel |
| 2019 | Benjamin Velez, Angela Sclafani |
| 2018 | Will Reynolds, Eric Price |
| 2017 | Shaina Taub |
| 2016 | Thomas Mizer, Curtis Moore |
| 2015 | Stacey Luftig, Phillip Palmer |
| 2014 | Chris Miller,Nathan Tysen |
| 2013 | Michael Kooman,Christopher Dimond |
| 2012 | Sam Willmott |
| 2011 | Jeff Blumenkrantz |
| 2010 | Douglas J. Cohen |
| 2009 | Marcy Heisler,Zina Goldrich |
| 2008 | Adam Gwon |
| 2007 | Peter Mills |
| 2006 | Robert L. Freedman,Steven Lutvak |
| 2005 | John Bucchino |
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