![]() Their 1920s shows produced standards such as " Here in My Arms", " Mountain Greenery", " Blue Room", " My Heart Stood Still" and " You Took Advantage of Me". Throughout the rest of the decade, the duo wrote several hit shows for both Broadway and London, including Dearest Enemy (1925), The Girl Friend (1926), Peggy-Ann (1926), A Connecticut Yankee (1927), and Present Arms (1928). The two were now a Broadway songwriting force. The show's biggest hit-the song that Rodgers believed "made" Rodgers and Hart-was " Manhattan". Although it was meant to run only one day, the Guild knew they had a success and allowed it to re-open later. They wrote the songs for a benefit show presented by the prestigious Theatre Guild, called The Garrick Gaieties, and the critics found the show fresh and delightful. Rodgers was considering quitting show business altogether to sell children's underwear, when he and Hart finally broke through in 1925. Among the stars he accompanied were Nora Bayes and Fred Allen. ![]() ![]() When he was just out of college Rodgers worked as musical director for Lew Fields. Their next professional show, The Melody Man, did not premiere until 1924. ![]() Their first professional production was the 1920 Poor Little Ritz Girl, which also had music by Sigmund Romberg. They made their professional debut with the song "Any Old Place With You", featured in the 1919 Broadway musical comedy A Lonely Romeo. Rodgers and Hart struggled for years in the field of musical comedy, writing several amateur shows. In 1919, Richard met Lorenz Hart, thanks to Phillip Levitt, a friend of Richard's older brother. Richard Rodgers (seated) with Lorenz Hart in 1936 Rodgers was influenced by composers such as Victor Herbert and Jerome Kern, as well as by the operettas his parents took him to see on Broadway when he was a child.Ĭareer Rodgers and Hart In 1921, Rodgers shifted his studies to the Institute of Musical Art (now the Juilliard School). At Columbia, Rodgers joined the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and later collaborator Oscar Hammerstein II all attended Columbia University. Rodgers spent his early teenage summers in Camp Wigwam ( Waterford, Maine) where he composed some of his first songs. 166, Townsend Harris Hall and DeWitt Clinton High School. Rodgers began playing the piano at the age of six. William Abrahams Rodgers, a prominent physician who had changed the family name from Rogazinsky. ![]() īorn into a Jewish family in Queens, New York, Rodgers was the son of Mamie (Levy) and Dr. The music was co-written by Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and also included songs by Oscar Hammerstein II, making the show one of the first collaborations between the two men. The poster for Fly With Me, the 1920 Columbia University Varsity Show. In 1978, Rodgers was in the inaugural group of Kennedy Center Honorees for lifetime achievement in the arts. In addition, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, making him one of only two people to receive all five awards ( Marvin Hamlisch is the other). Rodgers was the first person to win all four of the top American entertainment awards in theater, film, recording, and television – a Tony, an Oscar, a Grammy, and an Emmy – now known collectively as an EGOT. His collaborations with Hammerstein, in particular, are celebrated for bringing the Broadway musical to a new maturity by telling stories that were focused on characters and drama rather than the earlier light-hearted entertainment of the genre. With Hammerstein he wrote musicals through the 1940s and 1950s, such as Oklahoma!, Flower Drum Song, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. With Hart he wrote musicals throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including Pal Joey, A Connecticut Yankee, On Your Toes and Babes in Arms. Rodgers is known for his songwriting partnerships, first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein II. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music. Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. ![]()
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