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Excitement is in the air in New York this spring. The family of Richard Rodgers, friends, and associates, including the Theatre District, will be celebrating Rodgers' Centennial Birthday throughout the year of 2002. In fact, two of Rodgers' shows are being produced on Broadway this year: "Oklahoma" and "The Boys From Syracuse", and television's PBS will be featuring Rodgers on their "American Masters Specials" this Season. | |
Rodgers was born one hundred years ago in Long Island, New York to William and Mamie Rodgers. They both loved the operetta which brought about Richard's love for music at an early age. He saw his first play, "Pied Piper", when he was only six years old, and he never forgot it. "The moment the curtain went up I was carried into a world of glamour and beauty I had never known existed," he commented. Richard attended Columbia University from 1919-1921 where he composed music for the Annual Varsity Show. Oddly enough, a law student named Oscar Hammerstein provided lyrics for this musical comedy as did a fellow classmate, Lorenz Hart. These lyricists were later to collaborate with Rodgers for the next 25 to 40 years; meanwhile, he attended the Institute of Musical Art (Juilliard) from 1921-1923. Rodgers' first partner was Hart. Later Rodgers would describe their first meeting at Hart's home, "I was enchanted by this little man and his ideas. Neither of us mentioned it, but we evidently knew we would work together and I left Hart's house, having acquired in one afternoon a career, a partner, a best friend and a permanent source of irritation." He wrote his first professional score with Hart, "Poor Little Ritz Girl", when he was 18 years old. The two gentlemen were polar opposites in personality. Rodgers was self-disciplined, courteous, and business-like. He was a man who frequently wore a business suite while working at his piano. On the other hand, Hart was a sophisticated perfectionist as a lyricist, but endearingly disorganized as a person. His pet name for Rodgers was "Principal", and Rodgers intensely disliked the role it implied. He took on the role only to help Hart and to maintain their partnership through the years. As a result, they were able to create such shows as "On Your Toes", Babes In Arms, "The Boys From Syracuse", "I Married An Angel", "A Connecticut Yankee", and "Pal Joey". The years between 1936 and 1942 saw a stream of Rodgers and Hart successes, but by the end of 1942 the gradual breakdown of their partnership was becoming evident. Their relationship had been torn apart by Hart's increasing personal problems such as alcoholism. In 1943, one last attempt was made by reworking their earlier show, "A Connecticut Yankee", but it was too late. That spring Rodgers had already begun a new partnership with Oscar Hammerstein II in the block buster, "Oklahoma!", and Hart's health was quickly waning. He died on November 22nd, 1943; only five days after the premier of "A Connecticut Yankee" on Broadway. | ||
The partnership of Rodgers and Hart created a milestone in the Broadway musical. They challenged the accepted norms of musical comedy by setting new standards for wit and sophistication. |  | |
| They brought to Broadway a new quality of song, innovative use of incidental music and ballet sequences, variety of subject matter, and an increased integration of music and plot. In total, Rodgers worked on 40 Broadway Musicals, 1 Broadway play, 3 London musicals, 10 film musicals, 2 television musicals, 2 television documentaries, 1 night club revue, and 1 ballet. By 1980, the total number of performances of Rodgers' work totaled a phenomenal 18,126. | ||
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| 1949 | Columbia University Medal for Excellence |
| Drury College Honorary LL.D. | |
| 1950 | 100 year Association Gold Medal |
| 1951 | Connecticut State Bar Assn. Distinguished Public Service Award |
| 1952 | Columbia College Outstanding Achievement Award |
| U.S. Navy Distinguished Public Service Medal | |
| 1954 | Columbia University Honorary Mus. D. |
| University Of Massachusetts Honorary DHL | |
| 1955 | Elected to National Institute of Arts and Letters, Dept. of Music (American Academy of Arts & Letters) |
| 1956 | Columbia College Alexander Hamilton Medal |
| 1957 | Dutch Treat Club Distinguished Achievement Award |
| 1959 | National Conference of Christians and Jews Human Relations Award |
| New England Theatre Conference Award | |
| 1960 | Advertising Federation of America Award |
| Poor Richard Club Gold Medal | |
| Texas Music Educators Award | |
| 1961 | Broadway Association Gold Medal |
| 1962 | American Theatre Wing Special "Tony" Award |
| University of Bridgeport Honorary Mus.D. | |
| University of Maryland Honorary Mus.D. | |
| 1963 | Holland Society Gold Medal |
| 1964 | Mary MacArthur Memorial Fund Award |
| 1965 | City of Boston Distinguished Achievement Award |
| Brandeis University Honorary Mus.D. | |
| Hamilton College Honorary Mus.D. | |
| 1966 | B'nai B'rith National Performing Arts Award |
| Sam S. Shubert Foundation Award | |
| 1967 | City of New York Handel Medalion |
| 1968 | Fairfield University Honorary Mus.D. |
| Brandeis University Creative Arts Award | |
| Lambs Club Award | |
| 1971 | New York University Honorary Mus.D. |
| Actors Fund Medal | |
| Elected to Songwriters Hall of Fame | |
| 1972 | Elected to Theatre Hall of Fame |
| League of N.Y. Theatres Special "Tony" Award | |
| 1975 | Dance Educators of America Award |
| Elected to Entertainment Hall of Fame | |
| 1976 | The New England Conservatory of Music Honorary Mus.D. |
| American Music Conference National Music Award | |
| 1978 | Stereo Review Certificate of Merit |
| Barnard Medal of Distinction | |
| Kennedy Center Honors | |
| 1979 | Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts Honorary Mus.D. |
| The Lawrence Langner "Tony" Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the theatre. |
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| Song | Play/Show/TV Title | Artist | "Lover Come Back To Me" | "New Moon", Film, 1935 Hammerstein & Romberg |
Jeanette MacDonald/ Nelson Eddy |
| "This Nearly Was Mine" | "South Pacific", Broadway | Emile de Becque: by Bryn Telfel |
| "Step-Sisters Lament" | "Cinderella", CBS-TV, 3/31/1957 | Kay Ballard & Alice Ghostley, Step-Sisters |
| "Impossible" | "Cinderella", CBS-TV, 3/31/1957 | Edith Adams, Fairy Godmother | "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful" | "Cinderella", CBS-TV, 3/31/1957 | Jon Cypher, Prince |
