Jerry Herman

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Jerry Herman receiving the Kennedy Prize in the White House (2010)

Gerald "Jerry" Herman (born July 10, 1931 in New York City ; † December 26, 2019 in Miami , Florida ) was an American composer of the Broadway music theater and was one of its classics during his lifetime. He wrote the music for the Broadway musical hits Hello, Dolly! , Mame and La Cage aux Folles .

Life

As a child of music-loving parents, Herman learned to play the piano at an early age and showed an interest in the then famous Broadway musicals. He often spent summers at a summer camp in Berkshire County , western Massachusetts , run by his parents, a teacher couple. He directed the musicals Finian's Rainbow and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn , which was the first time he took part in a theater production.

At the age of 17, Herman Frank Loesser was introduced, a well-known composer and lyric poet who, after hearing his first compositions, encouraged him to continue working. Jerry Herman graduated from the Parsons School of Design , where he studied architecture, and enrolled at the University of Miami at Coral Gables , one of the most prestigious theater departments in the United States. There, the university theater The Ring (derived from the structural shape of the building) was renamed the Jerry Herman Ring Theater after him in the 1970s .

In 1960, Herman made his entry into Broadway with the revue From A to Z , which also featured newcomers Woody Allen and Fred Ebb . In the same year Herman was approached by the producer Gerard Oestreicher, who had seen the Revue Parade , and asked if he would be interested in writing a play about the establishment of the State of Israel . The result was his first mature Broadway musical Milk and Honey with Molly Picon in 1961. The musical was performed 543 times and received considerable reviews. In 2009 Jerry Herman received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. He died in Florida on December 26, 2019 at the age of 88.

Non-Broadway Revues

  • 1954: I Feel Wonderful
  • 1958: Nightcap
  • 1960: parade
  • 1961: Madame Aphrodite
  • 2003: Showtune

Broadway musicals

  • 1960: From A to Z
  • 1961: Milk and Honey
  • 1964: Hello, Dolly!
  • 1964: Ben Franklin in Paris
  • 1966: Mame
  • 1969: Dear World
  • 1974: Mack & Mabel
  • 1979: The Grand Tour
  • 1980: A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine
  • 1983: La Cage aux Folles
  • 1985: Jerry's Girls
  • 1998: An Evening with Jerry Herman

Movies

Television broadcasts

  • 1996: Mrs. Santa Claus

Other performances

  • 2003: Miss Spectacular (recorded but not produced)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Herman, Jerry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Herman, Gerald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer of the Broadway Music Theater
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH December 26, 2019
Place of death Miami , Florida