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Biographies

Reading and Viewing

Frederick Nolan

Lorenz Hart: A Poet on Broadway

Oxford University Press; New Ed edition


Dorothy Hart

Thou Swell, Thou Witty: The Life and Lyrics of Lorenz Hart

Harper & Row; 1st ed edition


Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart

Rodgers and Hart: A Musical Anthology

Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation


Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak

Pal Joey

Sony Pictures

DVD


Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming

A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court/The Emperor Waltz - Double Feature (1949)

DVD


June Allyson, Perry Como

Words and Music

MGM (Video & DVD)

VHS

Listening

Denis Quilley, Bob Monkhouse, Maggie Fitzgibbon, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers

The Boys from Syracuse (1963 London Cast) [CAST RECORDING]


Lorenz Hart, Christine Andreas, Richard Rodgers

On Your Toes (1983 Broadway Revival Cast)


Bobby Short

Bobby Short Celebrates Rodgers & Hart


Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Doris Day

Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962 Film Soundtrack) [SOUNDTRACK]

Biography

Lorenz Hart

Larry Hart

Lyricist

(1895 - 1943)

Lorenz Hart , with his partner Richard Rodgers, wrote over 1,000 songs, many of them considered among the top 100 standards. Their collaboration began in 1919 but success came in 1925 with Garrick Gaieties. They were most prolific between 1935 and their last show, By Jupiter (1942). Their influence on musical theater was profound, and with Pal Joey (1941), a gritty story of lowlifes, they brought reality to Broadway.

Hart’s lyrics ranged from the romantic “With a Song in My Heart” (1929) to the exuberant “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” (1935) to the cynical “Falling in Love with Love” (1938) to the sorrowful “It Never Entered My Mind” (1940). The remorseful “He Was Too Good to Me” (1930) and the playful “Johnny One-Note” (1937) can’t be overlooked. Hart was a well-read man whose lyrics reflected his sophistication. His grasp of poetic structure and ability to capture the intrinsic nature of a melody greatly contributed to the craftsmanship of Rodgers’ songs.

While Hart could be endearing, his alcoholism and his inferiority over his small stature created emotional problems that were problematic. But genius won out. To select even a partial list of their best songs is a challenge. From 1925 to 1931 Broadway shows produced consecutive hits: “Manhattan,” “Mountain Greenery,” “My Heart Stood Still,” “You Took Advantage of Me,” “Spring Is Here,” “Ten Cents a Dance,” and “I’ve Got Five Dollars.” Then came “Blue Moon” (1934) and “Little Girl Blue” (1935). The years 1936 to 1939 brought “Where or When,” “There’s a Small Hotel,” “This Can’t Be Love,” and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.” And 1941 introduced “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and “I Could Write a Book.”

A film of the pair, Words and Music, came out in 1948 with Mickey Rooney as Hart.

- Sandra Burlingame

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