Richard Rodgers

:For other uses of "Richard Rodgers", see Richard Rodgers (disambiguation).

Career

Born in New York City to a prosperous Jewish family, Rodgers attended the same public school as Bennett Cerf. While studying at Columbia University, he met his writing partner, Lorenz Hart. During the 1920s and 1930s, they produced numerous successful musical comedies, but their partnership foundered over Hart's alcohol problems, finally coming to an end with the latter's death in 1943.

Related Topics:
New York City - Jew - Bennett Cerf - Columbia University - Lorenz Hart - 1920s - 1930s - 1943

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Anticipating the end of the partnership, Rodgers had already begun working with Oscar Hammerstein II, who was already well known as a successful lyricist who had worked with Jerome Kern and others. Their first musical, Oklahoma! (1943), was ground-breaking, and marked the beginning of the most successful partnership in Broadway musical history. The Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals earned a total of 34 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards. During this period, Rodgers also had one major solo project, writing the score to the NBC TV documentary series Victory at Sea.

Related Topics:
Oscar Hammerstein II - Jerome Kern - Oklahoma! - Tony Awards - Academy Awards - Pulitzer Prizes - Grammy - Emmy - NBC - Documentary - Victory at Sea

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After Hammerstein's death in 1960, Rodgers continued to write with other partners for Broadway. For the film version of The Sound of Music, he wrote music and lyrics for two new songs ("I Have Confidence" and "Something Good") that had not appeared in the stage show.

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He died at home in New York City, aged 77. In 1990 he was honored posthumously when the 46th Street Theatre was renamed The Richard Rodgers Theatre.

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Rodgers had an abrasive personality and was not universally popular. Stephen Sondheim, who worked with Rodgers as lyricist for Do I Hear a Waltz?, later described their working relationship as unhappy. Sondheim—who also knew Oscar Hammerstein extremely well—said that whereas Hammerstein was "a man of limited ability and infinite soul", Rodgers was a "a man of infinite ability and limited soul".

Related Topics:
Stephen Sondheim - Do I Hear a Waltz?

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Rodgers' daughter, Mary, is a musical theater composer and an author of children's books.

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Her son (Richard Rodgers' grandson), Adam Guettel, is also a musical theater composer.

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