Sir Harry George Wakelyn Smith

Smith, Harry B[ache] (1860–1936), librettist and lyricist. The most prolific writer in the history of the American theatre, he was, by his own count, the author of some 300 librettos and 6,000 lyrics. Broadway saw 123 of his shows, while many others were mounted in Chicago and elsewhere. He was born in Buffalo but grew up in Chicago, then spent many years in a variety of capacities with Chicago newspapers and magazines, although he also gained some acting experience as a member of the Chicago Church Choir Opera Company. His friendship with Reginald De Koven led the pair to conclude they could write American comic operas the equal of Gilbert and Sullivan's. Their initial effort, The Begum (1887), had only small success, but with Robin Hood (1891) they created the first enduring work of our lyric stage, although, oddly, Smith did not write the lyric for “Oh, Promise Me,” that operetta's biggest hit song. Smith later provided the books and often the lyrics for such musicals as The Serenade (1897), The Fortune Teller (1898), The Singing Girl (1899), The Casino Girl (1900), The Little Duchess (1901), The Office Boy (1903), Babette (1903), The Free Lance (1906), The Rich Mr. Hoggenheimer (1906), the Ziegfeld Follies (1907–10, 1912), The Girl from Utah (1914), Watch Your Step (1914), Stop! Look! Listen! (1915), Angel Face (1919), Countess Maritza (1926), and his last, Marching By (1932). Although his work seems lackluster and often stilted when compared with later writers, Smith was a pioneer who was respected by his contemporaries for his excellent humor and style. He was also the earliest American lyricist to be honored with a published collection of his lyrics. Autobiography: First Nights and First Editions, 1931; biography: Harry B. Smith: Dean of American Librettists, John Franceschina, 2003.

Smith, Harry B. (1860–1936), American playwright and lyricist. The most prolific of all American theatre librettist/lyricists, Smith wrote 123 Broadway musicals and operettas between 1887 and 1932, often with such distinguished composers as Victor Herbert and Jerome Kern. Among his works that dramatized fairy tales and used fantasy extensively were a version of Kinder‐ und Hausmärchen called The Crystal Slipper (1888), Robin Hood (1891), Jupiter (1892), The Wizard of the Nile (1895), The Caliph (1896), Sinbad, or The Maid of Balsora (1898), Maid Marian (1902), The White Cat (1905), and The Enchantress (1911).

— Thomas S. Hischak

• Active: '20s, '30s, '40s
• Genres: Jazz
• Instrument: Clarinet

Biography