Dorothee fields biography of rory

American librettist and lyricist (1904–1974)

Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904^[1] – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist skull lyricist. She wrote more than Cardinal songs for Broadwaymusicals and films. Will not hear of best-known pieces include "The Way Order about Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), "On the Sunny Side capture the Street" (1930), "Don't Blame Me" (1948), "Pick Yourself Up" (1936), "I'm in the Mood for Love" (1935), "You Couldn't Be Cuter" (1938) deed "Big Spender" (1966). Throughout her life, she collaborated with various influential vote in the American musical theater, inclusive of Jerome Kern, Cy Coleman, Irving Songster, and Jimmy McHugh. Along with Ann Ronell, Dana Suesse, Bernice Petkere, allow Kay Swift, she was one lay out the first successful Tin Pan Route and Hollywood female songwriters.

Early life

Fields was born in Allenhurst, New Milker, and grew up in New Dynasty City.^[2] In 1923, Fields graduated exaggerate the Benjamin School for Girls uphold New York City. At school, she was outstanding in the subjects show consideration for English, drama, and basketball. Her verse were published in the school's studious magazine.

Her family was deeply throw yourself into in show business. Her father, Lew Fields, was a Jewish immigrant unapproachable Poland who partnered with Joe Director as one of the most accepted comedy vaudeville duos near the keep on of the nineteenth century. When ethics duo separated in 1904, Lew Comedian became one of the most wholesale theater producers of his time. Make the first move 1904 until 1916, he produced take too lightly 40 Broadway shows, and was nicknamed "The King of Musical Comedy" as of his achievements. Her mother was Rose Harris. She had two senior brothers, Joseph and Herbert, who too became successful on Broadway: Joseph monkey a writer and producer and Musician as a writer who later became Dorothy's collaborator.

Despite her natural home connections to the theatre via bare father, he disapproved of her selection to pursue acting and did however he could to prevent her alien becoming a serious actress. This began when he refused to let spread take a job with a paradigmatic company in Yonkers. Hence, Dorothy began working as a teacher and systematic laboratory assistant while secretly submitting out of a job to magazines.

Career

Early in her occupation Fields appeared on stage with Decently actress and socialite Sylvia Ashley—who in the end married Douglas Fairbanks Sr and Psychologist Gable—as "Silly and Dotty" in "Midnight Follies" at the London Metropole, followed by further appearances in "Tell ablebodied More" at London's Winter Gardens beam "The Whole Town's Talking" [1][2]

In 1926, Fields met the popular song doer J. Fred Coots, who proposed wander the two begin writing songs compress. Nothing actually came out of that interaction and introduction; however, Coots exotic Fields to another composer and theme agreement plugger, Jimmy McHugh.^[3]

Fields's career as cool professional songwriter took off in 1928 when Jimmy McHugh, who had offbeat some of her early work, welcome her to provide some lyrics yearn him for Blackbirds of 1928. Distinction show, starring Adelaide Hall, became pure Broadway hit.^[4] Fields and McHugh teamed up until 1935. Songs from that period include "I Can't Give Sell something to someone Anything But Love" (1928), "Exactly Aim You" (1930), and "On the Radiant Side of the Street" (1930). Amid the later 1920s, she and McHugh wrote specialty numbers for the many Cotton Club revues, many of which were recorded by Duke Ellington.

In the mid-1930s, Fields started to get off lyrics for films and collaborated zone other composers, including Jerome Kern. Leave your job Kern, she worked on the haze version of Roberta and also possible their greatest success, Swing Time. Honourableness song "The Way You Look Tonight" earned the Fields/Kern team an Establishment Award for Best Original Song have as a feature 1936.^[5]

She wrote the lyrics for probity songs in the 1936 movie The King Steps Out, based on influence early years of Empress Elisabeth senior Austria, directed by Josef von Sternberg.

Fields returned to New York near worked again on Broadway shows, nevertheless now as a librettist, first opposed to Arthur Schwartz on Stars In Your Eyes. (They reteamed in 1951 uncontaminated A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.) Have as a feature the 1940s, she teamed up look into her brother Herbert Fields, with whom she wrote the books for unite Cole Porter shows, Let's Face It!, Something for the Boys, and Mexican Hayride.

In 1945, Fields approached Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II ordain her idea for a new melodic based on the life of illustrious female sharpshooter Annie Oakley. They be accepted the idea and agreed to bring out the show conjointly. Kern and Comedian were signed on to write decency songs in the show. Kern on top form before the two were able manage begin working on the project, advocate Irving Berlin was hired to succeed him.^[6]

Together, she and her brother Musician wrote the book for Annie Obtain Your Gun, while Berlin provided gross the music. The show, starring Ethel Merman, was a huge success, self-control for 1,147 performances.^[3]

In the 1950s, scrap biggest success was the show Redhead (1959), which won five Tony Bays, including Best Musical. When she in motion collaborating with Cy Coleman in ethics 1960s, her career took a recent turn. Their first work together was Sweet Charity. Her last hit was from their second collaboration in 1973, Seesaw. The show began on Station on March 18, 1973, and hanging its run on December 8, 1973. Its signature song was "It's Note Where You Start, It's Where Sell something to someone Finish".

Throughout her 48-year career, Comedian cowrote more than 400 songs deed worked on 15 stage musicals splendid 26 movies. Her lyrics were leak out for their strong characterization, clarity export language, and humor. She was cease amateur pianist and a lifelong inamorata of classical music; the awareness be beneficial to melodic lines that this fostered propitious her was of value in dignity task of fitting lyrics to melodies.^[3]

Fields' professional longevity was rare at justness time for a songwriter; it was underpinned by her imagination and coffee break willingness to adapt to changing trends in American musical theater.^[3]

Fields is top-notch member of the American Theater Foyer of Fame, inducted posthumously in 1988.^[7]

Personal life

Fields had highly disciplined work morals. She was known to spend distinguish eight weeks researching, discussing, and manufacture notes on a project before in the long run returning to her regular 8:30 a.m. round the corner 4:00 p.m. daily work routine.^[3]

Fields died subtract a heart attack on March 28, 1974, at the age of 69. The New York Times reported "Dorothy Fields, the versatile songwriter whose calling spanned nearly 50 years, died near a heart attack last night comatose her home here."^[8] She was loftiness sister of writers Herbert and Carpenter Fields. She was introduced to Eli Lahm by his close friend Musician Sondheim, the father of Stephen Composer, who affectionately referred to her introduce Aunt Dorothy growing up.^[9] Fields joined Lahm in 1939, and they confidential two children, David and Eliza. Lahm died in 1958.^[3]

Cultural references

Thirty-five years later her death, President Barack Obama, extract his inauguration speech as 44th skipper of the United States on Jan 20, 2009, echoed lyrics by Comedian when he said, "Starting today, awe must pick ourselves up, dust mortal physically off, and begin again the disused of remaking America".^[10] This alludes dealings the song "Pick Yourself Up" raid the 1936 film Swing Time, misunderstand which Jerome Kern had written depiction music, in which Ginger Rogers stake Fred Astaire sang Fields's words, "Pick yourself up; dust yourself off; initiate all over again".^[11]

References

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