Oscar Hammerstein II
Lyricist
Name at birth: Oscar Greeley Clendinning Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II was one of the 20th century's most influential writers of musical plays, the lyricist who collaborated with composer Richard Rodgers on some of the most successful musicals in U.S. history, including Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music. The son of a noted New York opera impresario, Hammerstein began writing plays and librettos in 1917. Early in his career he worked with Jerome Kern and George Gershwin and made a name for himself with musicals such as Rose Marie and Showboat. In the early 1940s he began a long collaboration with Rodgers that resulted in many successful stage musicals and movies, including Carousel, South Pacific, Flower Drum Song and The King and I. Hammerstein won Oscars for the songs "The Last Time I Saw Paris" (from 1941's Lady Be Good) and "It Might As Well Be Spring" (from 1945's State Fair), but his most famous song is probably "Ol' Man River."
Other musical theater stars include choreographer and director Bob Fosse, actors Ethel Merman and Shirley Jones, and composer Irving Berlin.
Four Good Links
The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization
Official site that keeps tabs on their productions
Oscar Hammerstein
Profile from the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Oscar Hammerstein
Reprinted bio from The Gale Group
Oscar Hammerstein on Broadway
Production details from the Internet Broadway Database
Vital Stats
Birth
Birthplace
Death
1960
(age 64)
Best Known As
Co-writer of Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music
