Jerome Weidman

Weidman, Jerome (1913–98), librettist. A native New Yorker, who was educated at New York University Law School, Weidman made his Broadway debut as co‐author of the libretto for the Pulitzer Prize–winning musical Fiorello! (1959). He also co‐wrote Tenderloin (1960) and adapted his own novel about the garment industry into the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962). His son John WEIDMAN (b. 1946) is also a librettist. He was born in New York and educated at Harvard, where he wrote for the humor magazine Lampoon, and Yale to pursue a law career as well. But he soon turned to writing and was first represented on Broadway as the librettist for Pacific Overtures (1976), the experimental Stephen Sondheim musical about the opening of Japan. Weidman's other credits include the revised libretto for Anything Goes (1987); the bold, conceptual script for Sondheim's Assassins (1991); Big (1996); Contact (2000); and Bounce (2003).

• Born: April 4, 1913
• Birthplace: New York, NY
• Died: October 6, 1998

Jerome Weidman was born and grew up in New York City, and made a living writing about his old stomping grounds.

Weidman's first short story was published in the American Spectator magazine when he was 17. Having worked in the city's garment district, his first novel, I Can Get It For You Wholesale (1937), portrayed the garment trade with all its blemishes. The novel topped the bestseller lists for fourteen weeks and in 1962 was turned into a Broadway musical starring Barbra Streisand and Elliot Gould. He published a sequel in 1938, What's In It for Me? More novels and short stories followed, including many which appeared in The New Yorker magazine.

Weidman and George Abbot were corecipients of the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and that year's Tony Award for Fiorello!, the story of Fiorello Henry La Guardia, NY's mayor from 1934-45. Weidman's memoir, Praying for Rain, was published in 1986.

Weidman graduated from New York University and NYU Law School. Although he was admitted to the bar, Weidman never practiced law.

Most Famous Works

• I Can Get It For You Wholesale (1937)
• Fiorello (1959)

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