Hammerstein, Oscar (Greeley Clendenning), II

Hammerstein, Oscar [Greeley Clendenning], II (1895–1960), librettist and lyricist. The grandson of the first Oscar Hammerstein and the nephew of Arthur Hammerstein, he was educated at Columbia, where he wrote lyrics for collegiate musicals, and began his professional career as stage manager for his uncle's production of Sometime (1918). After attempting a serious drama, which quickly failed, Hammerstein wrote the book and lyrics for Always You (1920) and in that same year came under the tutelage of Otto Harbach. Together they wrote libretto and lyrics for such shows as Wildflower (1923), Rose‐Marie (1924), Sunny (1925), Song of the Flame (1925), and The Desert Song (1926). Many critics consider Hammerstein's masterpiece to be Show Boat (1927), which he wrote with composer Jerome Kern. The show was the first successful modern musical play with an American theme and employing American idioms. Another success was a more traditional operetta, The New Moon (1928), for which he created the book and lyrics to Sigmund Romberg's melodies. He returned to Kern to create Sweet Adeline (1929) and Music in the Air (1932). But much of the 1930s were barren years for Hammerstein, although one failure written with Kern, Very Warm for May (1939), produced the classic “All the Things You Are.” His greatest and best‐known successes came when he joined Richard Rodgers in 1943. Between then and 1959 they wrote nine shows, five of which were among the most towering triumphs of the American musical theatre: Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), and The Sound of Music (1959). Hammerstein's other collaborations with Rodgers were Allegro (1947), Me and Juliet (1953), Pipe Dream (1955), and Flower Drum Song (1958). At the time he resumed his collaboration with Rodgers, he also wrote on his own a modern version of Carmen, told in terms of contemporary black America and called Carmen Jones (1943). With Rodgers he also entered into a successful career as producer, mounting not only all their shows from South Pacific on but also such other hits as I Remember Mama (1944), Annie Get Your Gun (1946), Happy Birthday (1946), and John Loves Mary (1947). In his early career Hammerstein also directed such works as Show Boat, The New Moon, and Music in the Air. Although critics sometimes complained about his excessive sentimentality and preachiness, Hammerstein's best lyrics displayed a colloquial freshness and a recourse to genuinely poetic imagery rare in popular musical theatre. As a librettist he was respected for his sharp dialogue and superb ability to trim a cumbersome script. Biography: Getting to Know Him, Hugh Fordin, 1977.