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Irving Caesar
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Irving Caesar |
| American Theater Guide: [Isidor] Irving Caesar |
Caesar, [Isidor] Irving (1895–1996), lyricist. The native New Yorker came to the attention of Al Jolson when he won a contest for new lyrics to Jolson's World War I tongue twister, “Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers.” (The winning lyric was entitled “Brother Benny's Baking Buns for Belgians.”) A few seasons later Caesar wrote the lyrics for one of Jolson's most memorable hits, “Swanee,” with music by George Gershwin. After writing several Greenwich Village Follies, he created the lyrics to “I Want to Be Happy” and “Tea for Two” to Vincent Youmans's music for No, No, Nanette, as well as “Sometimes I'm Happy” and other songs for Youmans's Hit the Deck! (1926). Among his other shows were No Foolin' (1926), Yes, Yes, Yvette (1927), Here's Howe (1928), Americana (1928), Polly (1929), Ripples (1930), Nina Rosa (1930), The Wonder Bar (1931), Melody (1933), and White Horse Inn (1936). His last show was My Dear Public (1943), for which he served not only as lyricist but also as co‐librettist and producer. Caesar's lyrics were bright, often clever and colloquial, but rarely distinguished.
| Actor: Irving Caesar |
- Born: Jul 04, 1895
- Died: Dec 17, 1996 in New York City, New York
- Occupation: Actor
- Active: '30s-'70s
- Major Genres: Musical, Comedy
- Career Highlights: La Grande Vadrouille, The Kid from Spain, Rhapsody in Blue
- First Major Screen Credit: The Kid from Spain (1932)
Biography
American songwriter Irving Caesar worked with some of the century's great songwriters, most notably George Gershwin. A native of New York City, Caesar got his start working on Tin Pan Alley. He and Gershwin teamed up in 1916. One of their first songs was "Swanee." The song attracted some notice but did not become a hit until singer Al Jolson heard Gershwin perform it at a party. Jolson recorded it and the song became a million seller both in records and sheet music. The song was a bigger boost to Gershwin's career than Caesar's, but Caesar, while never as well known, went on to pen a few hits of his own including "Just a Gigolo" and the Shirley Temple hit "Animal Crackers in My Soup." Working with Vincent Youmans, Caesar also penned the classic Broadway musical No, No Nanette (1925), which included the hit "Tea for Two." In his latter years, Caesar appeared in a few documentaries. He died in New York City at the age of 101. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide| Filmography: Irving Caesar |
| Wikipedia: Irving Caesar |
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Irving Caesar (July 10, 1895 in New York – December 18, 1996 in New York), was a prominent American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for "Swanee," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Crazy Rhythm," and "Tea for Two," one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written.
Caesar was born Isidor Keiser (10 July 1895, NYC birth certificate number 29116) and died in New York City, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jew. His older brother Arthur Caesar was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. The Caesar brothers spent their childhood and teen years in Yorkville, the same Manhattan neighborhood where the Marx Brothers were raised. Caesar knew the Marx Brothers during his boyhood in NYC.
Broadway credits
Note: All productions are musicals unless otherwise stated.
- La La Lucille (1919) - additional lyrics
- Pins and Needles (1922) - revue - co-lyricist
- The Greenwich Village Follies of 1922 (1922) - revue - co-lyricist and co-bookwriter
- The Greenwich Village Follies of 1923 (1923) - revue - co-lyricist
- The Greenwich Village Follies of 1924 (1924) - revue - co-lyricist
- Betty Lee (1924) - co-lyricist
- No, No, Nanette (1925) - co-lyricist
- Charlot Revue (1925) - revue - featured lyricist for "Gigolette" and "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You"
- Sweetheart Time (1926) - co-lyricist
- Ziegfeld's Revue "No Foolin'" (1926) - revue - co-lyricist
- Betsy (1926) - co-bookwriter
- Talk About Girls (1927) - lyricist
- Yes, Yes, Yvette (1927) - story originator
- Here's Howe (1928) - lyricist
- Americana of 1928 (1928) - revue - co-lyricist
- Polly (1929) - co-composer and co-lyricist
- George White's Scandals of 1929 (1929) - revue - co-composer and co-lyricist
- Ripples (1930) - co-lyricist
- Nina Rosa (1930) - lyricist
- The Wonder Bar (1931) - play - co-playwright/adaptor of the original German
- George White's Scandals of 1931 (1931) - revue - co-bookwriter
- George White's Music Hall Varieties of 1932 (1932) - revue - co-composer and lyricist
- Melody (1933) - lyricist
- Shady Lady (1933) - reviser
- Continental Varieties (1934) - revue - dialogue-writer
- The White Horse Inn (1936) - English-version lyricist
- My Dear Public (1943) - co-composer, co-lyricist, and co-bookwriter
Post-retirement credits:
- The American Dance Machine (1978) - dance revue - featured lyricist
- Up in One (1979) - revue - featured songwriter
- Big Deal (1986) - featured English-version lyricist for "Just a Gigolo"
- Sally Marr...and her escorts (1994) - play - featured lyricist for "Tea for Two"
External links
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 | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Irving Caesar". Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Irving Caesar (Vocal Music Artist, '10s-'40s)
- La-la-Lucille, musical (Classical Work)
- Hit the Deck (1955 Musical Film)
- Tea for Two (1950 Musical Film)
- No, No, Nanette (American Theater)
- No, No, Nanette [Broadway Cast 1999 Reissue] (1999 Album by Broadway Cast Recording)
- No, No, Nanette [Broadway Cast] (1971 Album by Broadway Cast Recording)
- No, No, Nanette: The New 1925 Musical (Classical Album)
- Nobody but You, song (from La, La, Lucille, musical) (Classical Work)
- Otto Harbach (American theater)
- Ray Henderson (Vocal Music Artist, '20s-'40s)
- Charles E. King (Vocal Music Artist, '20s-'40s)
- Gerald Marks (Vocal Music Artist, '30s, '40s)
- Sammy Lerner (Vocal Music Artist)
