Frederick Loewe | |
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.jpg) Loewec. 1962 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Friedrich "Fritz" Löwe (1901-06-10)June 10, 1901 Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 14, 1988(1988-02-14) (aged 86) Palm Springs, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Broadway theatre musicals |
| Occupations |
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Frederick Loewe (/loʊ/LOH;[1] bornFriedrich "Fritz"Löwe,[2]German:[ˈfʁiːdʁɪçfʁɪtsˈløːvə]; June 10, 1901 – February 14, 1988[3]) was an American composer. Hecollaborated with lyricistAlan Jay Lerner on a series ofBroadway musicals, includingBrigadoon,Paint Your Wagon,My Fair Lady, andCamelot, all of which were made into films, as well as the original film musicalGigi (1958), which was firsttransferred to the stage in 1973.
Loewe was born inCharlottenburg, Berlin, Germany, toViennese parents Edmund and Rosa Loewe. His father was a Jewishoperetta star who performed throughout Europe and inNorth and South America; he starred as Count Danilo in the 1906 Berlin production ofThe Merry Widow.[4]
Loewe grew up in Berlin and attended aPrussian cadet school from the age of five until he was thirteen. At an early age Loewe learned to play piano by ear and helped his father rehearse, and he began composing songs at age seven. He eventually attended theStern Conservatory in Berlin,[5] one year behindClaudio Arrau, and studied withFerruccio Busoni andEugene d'Albert. He won the coveted Hollander Medal awarded by the school and gave performances as a concert pianist while still in Germany. At 13, he was the youngest piano soloist ever to appear with theBerlin Philharmonic.
In 1924, his father received an offer to appear in New York City, and Loewe traveled there with him, determined to write forBroadway. This proved to be difficult. He eventually found work playing piano in German clubs inYorkville and in movie theaters as the accompanist for silent films. In 1931, he married Ernestine Zerline. Childless, they divorced in 1957.[6]
Loewe began to visit theLambs Club, a hangout for theater performers, producers, managers and directors. He credited The Lambs for keeping him working until his career expanded, and left a share of his royalties ofBrigadoon to The Lambs Foundation.[7] He metAlan Jay Lerner there in 1942. Their first collaboration was a musical adaptation of Barry Connor's farceThe Patsy, calledLife of the Party, for a Detroitstock company.[8] It enjoyed a nine-week run and encouraged the duo to join forces withArthur Pierson forWhat's Up?, which opened on Broadway in 1943.[8] It ran for 63 performances and was followed byThe Day Before Spring, which ran on Broadway from November 1945 to April 1946.[9]
Their first hit wasBrigadoon, a romantic fantasy set in a mystical Scottish village, directed byRobert Lewis with choreography byAgnes de Mille.[8] The musical ran on Broadway from March 1947 to July 1948 and won the 1947New York Drama Critics' Circle award as Best Musical.[10] It spawned the songs "Almost Like Being in Love" and "The Heather on the Hill", both of which became standards. It was followed in 1951 by the less successfulGold Rush storyPaint Your Wagon,[8] which despite its lukewarm critical reception included several songs which went on to become popular, including "Wand'rin' Star" and "They Call the Wind Maria".
In 1956, Lerner and Loewe'sMy Fair Lady was produced onBroadway. Their adaptation ofGeorge Bernard Shaw'sPygmalion, with the leads, Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, being played originally byRex Harrison andJulie Andrews, was a huge hit on Broadway and in London. The musical won theTony Award for Best Musical.[8]Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer took notice and commissioned them to write the film musicalGigi (1958), which won nineAcademy Awards, including Best Picture.[8]
Their next Broadway musical wasCamelot in 1960. The production starredRichard Burton, Julie Andrews andRobert Goulet.[8][11] According toPlaybill, "The show achieved an unprecedented advance sale of three and a half million dollars, propelled in part by a preview on the Ed Sullivan Show that featured its stars, Richard Burton and Julie Andrews."[12]Camelot ran for 873 performances.[13]
Loewe then decided to retire toPalm Springs, California, where he bought a home in 1960.[14] For many years he did not write anything until he was approached by Lerner to augment theGigi film score with additional tunes for a1973 stage adaptation, which won him his second Tony, this time for Best Original Score.[15][8]
In 1974, they collaborated on a musical film version ofThe Little Prince, based on the classic children's tale byAntoine de Saint-Exupéry.[8][16] This film was a critical failure, but the soundtrack recording and the film itself are in print on CD and DVD. Loewe and Lerner were nominated for the 1974 Academy Award for Best Song and Best Adapted or Original Song Score (withAngela Morley andDouglas Gamley).[17]
Loewe was inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. Seven years later, in 1979, he was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[18]
Loewe remained in Palm Springs until his death at 86.[19] The cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to John F. Morris, an artist and longtime friend.[20] He had a Golden Palm Star on thePalm Springs Walk of Stars dedicated to him in 1995.[21] He was buried in theDesert Memorial Park inCathedral City, California.[3][22]
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