OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II (1885-1960)

OSCAR GREELEY CLENDENNING HAMMERSTEIN

Born: July 12th, 1985 (New York)

Died: August 23rd, 1960 (stomach cancer)

Marriages: Myra Finn (1917-1929), Dorothy Hammerstein (1929-His death)

Children: He had three children in all: William Hammerstein & Alice Hammerstein Mathias by first wife and James Hammerstein with Dorothy.

Interesting Fact: He would often write while standing on a bookkeepers desk given to him by his friend Jerome Kern to keep his creative juices flowing.

Successful Era: Though he began to have his lyrics in films as early as the 30's, it wasn't until the 50's and 60's that he became the legend he is known of today.

Awards: He has won two Oscars: Best Music for "Lady Be Good" (1941) & "State Fair" (1945). He was also nominated three other times for: "The Lady Objects" (1938), Centennial Summer" (1946) & "The Strip" (1951). He has also received five Tony Awards the Pulitzer Prize for Drama on "South Pacific" (1950).

My Favorite Film: "The Sound of Music" is my favorite of his work. Each song in the movie is still celebrated in our day and some of them have been redone. I can't express how much the song "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" made sense when I was that age.

Hammerstein is a true dreamer and it shows through his lyrics. He was very proper in giving credit where it was due and would often request that the ending credits be changed if he was not the sole author of the lyrics. He was also often frustrated by the talents of his collaborators who could write music to a lyric in a matter of hours that took him many weeks to prepare. He, with his composers, gave us some of the best music of the 50's & 60's.

The song "Edelweiss" would be the last song he would write before he died of cancer in 1960. Can you imagine writing the last words you would be remembered by, and pondering on what message to give the world. Can you imagine the trust he had in his friend Rogers to give it justice when put to music. The result is one of the sweetest and most tender lullaby's written in our day. A song of hope, a song of piece, a song to remind us of the small and beautiful things in life. The most notable lyric in the song is the last word "forever." 

Here is his last song "Edelweiss."

The applause at the end goes to Hammersein himself.

RICHARD HAYDN (1905-1985)

GEORGE RICHARD HAYDON

Born: March 10th, 1905 (London)

Died: April 25th, 1985 (heart attack)

Marriage: UNKNOWN

Children: UNKNOWN

Interesting Fact: He played the voice of the caterpillar in Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" (1951)

Awards: NONE

My Favorite Film: Even though he is most known for his part in "The Sound of Music" (1965), my favorite film with him is "And Then There Were None" (1945). In the middle of all the suspense and mystery is this lanky butler who soon becomes a prime suspect as a murderer.

Richard was not keen to interviews and kept to himself for the majority of his life. In fact, he was  found dead in his home all alone. Regardless of his shy tendencies, he was an amazing comedian and performed on Broadway, Radio, Television and the Big Screen. He had his own unique facial expressions and combined this with his voice which came through his nose. He is one of my favorite unknown comedians.

Here is the complete film of "And Then There Were None"

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Producer: Robert Wise

Director: Robert Wise

Music: Richard Rogers (Music/Lyrics), Oscar Hammerstein II (Lyrics) & Irwin Kostel (Score).

Awards: "The Sound of Music" was awarded five Oscars at the Academy Awards: Best director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Best Picture & Best Sound. It was also nominated for: Best Actress (Julie Andrews), Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Wood), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography & Best Costume Design. It has also been award ten other achievements with nominations for an additional five.

Interesting Fact: Jeanette MacDonald was considered for the role of Mother Abess, but her failing health did not allow her to participate. She died a month before the film was released.

My Favorite Scene: The sequence of "The Lonely Goatherd" is my favorite along with "So Long, Farewell" after the party. Putting the music aside, any scene involving the war and the influence of Nazi Germany is my favorite.

I must admit that the reason this is one of my favorite is the historical data that surrounds the singing and dancing. If there was a musical about D-day I would probably watch that too. The other aspect that I love is the size of the family and that they sang and performed together. I am also from a large family and we sang together many times, though they performed more before I was born.

Trailer

"The Lonely Goatherd"

MY TOP TEN MUSICALS

For this genre I haven't really gone outside of the box. The ones I have selected would be common among other lists. Some of my favorite Musicals that are not here would be one of Danny Kaye's "The Court Jester" (1959) or "Hans Christen Andersen" (1952),  Doris Day's "Calamity Jane" (1953), Astaire & Rogers "Top Hat" (1935), or even a MacDonald & Eddy "New Moon" (1940) or "Rose Marie" (1936). Not to mention any Eleanor Powell, Ester Williams, Jimmy Durante and Frank Sinatra film.

With so much to choose from I have stuck to the basics. The films listed below have tunes that sneak into my everyday life.

1. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

2. Brigadoon (1954)

3. My Fair Lady (1964)

4. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

5. West Side Story (1961)

6. The Sound of Music (1965)

7. The Music Man (1962)

8. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

9. Oklahoma (1955)

10. Mary Poppins (1964)