FACTOID # 139: If you are looking for work, just go to the Falkland Islands! They have full employment and a labor shortage.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS   

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin
In 1948
In 1948
Background information
Birth name Israel Isidore Beilin
Born May 11, 1888(1888-05-11)
Mogilev, Russian Empire (now Belarus)
Died September 22, 1989 (aged 101)
New York City, New York, United States
Genre(s) Broadway musicals, revues, show tunes
Occupation(s) Songwriter, composer, lyricist
Years active 1911 – 1962

Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born naturalized American composer and lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters in history. Berlin was one of the few Tin Pan Alley/Broadway songwriters who wrote both lyrics and music for his songs. Although he never learned to read music beyond a rudimentary level, with the help of various uncredited musical assistants or collaborators, he eventually composed over 3,000 songs, many of which (e.g. "God Bless America", "White Christmas", "Anything You Can Do", "There's No Business Like Show Business") left an indelible mark on American music and culture. He composed seventeen film scores and twenty-one Broadway scores. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1221x1791, 273 KB) High resolution version from http://memory. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Mogilev, or Mahilyow (Belarusian: ; Russian: , translit. ... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... This article is about the state. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Note on spelling: While most Americans use er (as per American spelling conventions), the majority of venues, performers and trade groups for live theatre use re. ... The Black Crook (1866), considered by some historians to be the first musical[1] Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. ... A revue is a type of theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches that satirize contemporary figures, news, or literature. ... A show tune is a song designed and written for a musical theater production, such as the songs from: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammersteins Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, Flower Drum Song, The Sound of Music Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewes Brigadoon, Paint Your... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. ... Note on spelling: While most Americans use er (as per American spelling conventions), the majority of venues, performers and trade groups for live theatre use re. ... Sight reading is reading and performing a work of music without having seen it before. ... God Bless America is an American patriotic song originally written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. ... White Christmas is an Irving Berlin song whose lyrics reminisce about White Christmases. ... Perhaps one of the most famous, and recognizable, show-tunes ever is Theres No Business Like Show Business. This Irving Berlin marvel was written for Annie Get Your Gun and has two reprises within the show. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ...

Contents

Biography

Early life

Berlin was born Israel Isidore Beilin[1] to an Ashkenazi-Jewish family in Mogilev, now Belarus (according to other sources possibly in Tyumen, Russia).[2] His family immigrated to the United States in 1893. His parents were Leah (Lena) Yarchin and Moses Beilin; his father was a cantor who obtained work certifying kosher meat.[3] Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים Standard Hebrew, Aškanazi,Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew, ʾAškănāzî, ʾAškănāzîm, pronounced sing. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Mogilev, or Mahilyow (Belarusian: ; Russian: , translit. ... Tymen in the 1680s Tyumen (Тюме́нь) is a city in Russia, administrative center of Tyumen Oblast in the Urals Federal District . ... Look up cantor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The circled U indicates that this can of tuna is certified kosher by the Union of Orthodox Congregations. ...


Following the death of his father in 1896, Irving found himself having to work to survive. He did various street jobs, including selling newspapers and busking. The harsh economic reality of having to work or starve was to have a lasting effect on the way Berlin treated money. While working as a singing waiter at Pelham's Cafe in Chinatown, Berlin was asked by the proprietor to write an original song for the cafe because a rival tavern had had their own song published. "Marie from Sunny Italy," with music by Nick Nicholson, the cafe's pianist, was the result, and it was soon published. Although it only earned him 37 cents, it gave him a new career, and a new name: Israel Beilin was misprinted as "I. Berlin" on the sheet music. * It has also been suggested that his name was changed at Ellis Island in error by immigration officials when his family immigrated to the US and the official refused to change it, so Irving Berlin became his name. Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Busking is the practice of doing live performances in public places to entertain people, usually to solicit donations and tips. ... This article is about sections of an urban area associated with a large number of Chinese residents or commercial activities. ... Ellis Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, was at one time the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States from January 1, 1892 until November 12, 1954. ...


Berlin first worked solely as a lyricist and only began to attempt to compose music when a misunderstanding arose concerning his lyric "Dorando." He tried to sell the lyric to someone who assumed he had music to go with it. Although at the time he could play no instrument at all, he endeavored to come up with something with the help of an arranger. Throughout his career Berlin relied on musical assistants or collaborators. Cliff Hess worked for Berlin in this way from approximately 1912 to 1917 and was succeeded by Arthur Johnston and then Helmy Kresa. None of these musicians were ever credited as co-composers. Arthur Johnston (January 10, 1898 - May 1, 1954) was a composer known for such works as “Mandy, Make Up Your Mind,” Pennies from Heaven, and many others. ...


Berlin was a self-taught pianist and one who reputedly restricted himself mainly to the black keys of the piano. Eventually he bought a special piano with a lever under the keyboard, enabling him to transpose his music mechanically.[4] He once explained his compositional method thus: "I get an idea, either a title or a phrase or a melody, and hum it out to something definite. When I have completed a song and memorized it, I dictate it to an arranger."


Many of his earliest songs, among them "Sadie Salome (Go Home)," "That Mesmerizing Mendelssohn Tune," and "Oh How That German Could Love," enjoyed modest success in sheet music form, as recordings, on the vaudeville stage, or as interpolations into stage shows, but it was "Alexander's Ragtime Band," written in 1911 with the help of Alfred Doyle, that launched his career as one of Tin Pan Alley's brightest stars. Richard Corliss, in a Time magazine profile of Berlin in 2001, wrote: Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a song by Irving Berlin. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...

Alexander's Ragtime Band (1911). It was a march, not a rag, and its savviest musicality comprised quotes from a bugle call and Swanee River. But the tune, which revived the ragtime fervor that Scott Joplin had stoked a decade earlier, made Berlin a songwriting star. On its first release, four versions of the tune charted at # 1, # 2, # 3 and # 4. Bessie Smith, in 1927, and Louis Armstrong, in 1937, made the top 20 with their interpretations. In 1938 the song was # 1 again, in a duet by Bing Crosby and Connee Boswell; another Crosby duet, this time with Al Jolson, hit the top 20 in 1947. Johnny Mercer charted a swing version in 1945, and Nellie Lutcher put it on the R&B charts (# 13) in 1948. Add Ray Charles' brilliant big-band take in 1959, and "Alexander" had a dozen hit versions in a bit under a half century.[5] Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a song by Irving Berlin. ... For other uses, see March (disambiguation). ... Look up ragtime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. ... Old Folks at Home, as sung by Christys Minstrels in 1851. ... Look up ragtime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (born between June 1867 and January 1868,[1] died April 1, 1917) was an American musician and composer of ragtime music. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Louis[1] Armstrong[2] (4 August 1901[3] – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo[4] and Pops, was an American jazz musician. ... Duet may refer to: Duet, musical form Duet, Fox sitcom This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. ... Al Jolson (May 26, 1886–October 23, 1950) was a highly acclaimed American singer, comedian and actor of Jewish heritage whose career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950. ... John Herndon Johnny Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was a popular American songwriter and singer. ... Nellie Lutcher (born October 15, 1915) was an African-American jazz singer and pianist who achieved some prominence in the late 1940s and early 1950s. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... For Ray Charles, the composer and conductor of the Ray Charles Singers, see Ray Charles (composer). ... A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s, although there are many big-bands around nowadays. ...

Works for the Musical stage

After the success of "Alexander", Berlin was rumored to be writing a "ragtime opera," but instead he produced his first full-length work for the musical stage, Watch Your Step (1914), starring Vernon and Irene Castle, the first musical comedy to make pervasive use of syncopated rhythms. A similar show entitled Stop! Look! Listen! followed in 1915. Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers of the early 20th century. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...


In 1917, during World War I, he entered the United States Army and staged a musical revue, Yip Yip Yaphank, while at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York. Billed as "a military mess cooked up by the boys of Camp Upton," the cast of the show consisted of 350 members of the armed forces. The revue was a patriotic tribute to the United States Army, and Berlin composed a song entitled "God Bless America" for the show, but decided against using it. When it was released years later, "God Bless America" proved so popular that suggestions were made that it should become the National Anthem. It remains to this day one of his most successful songs and one of the most widely-known in the United States. A particularly famous rendition occurred after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when members of the United States Congress stood together on the steps of the United States Capitol and sang Berlin's song.[5] Some songs from the Yaphank revue were later included in the 1943 movie This Is the Army featuring other Berlin songs, including the famous title piece, as well as a rendition of "God Bless America" by Kate Smith. Berlin himself sang "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning". His natural singing voice was so soft that the recording volume had to be increased significantly in order to record acceptably. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Yip Yip Yaphank was the name of musical revue composed and produced by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1917 while he was a recruit in the United States Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York. ... This Is the Army is a 1943 American motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz. ... Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American singer (born in Washington, D.C.), best known for her rendition of Irving Berlins God Bless America. She was one of Americas most beloved entertainers, with a radio, TV and recording career that spanned five decades...


After the war, Berlin built his own theater, the Music Box, as a showplace for annual revues featuring his latest songs; the first of these was "The Music Box Revue of 1921". The theater is still in use, incidentally. Though most of his works for the Broadway stage took the form of revues — collections of songs with no unifying plot — he did write a number of book shows. The Cocoanuts (1925) was a light comedy, with a cast featuring, among others, the Marx Brothers. Face the Music (1932) was a political satire with a book by Moss Hart, and Louisiana Purchase (1940) was a satire of a Southern politician, obviously based on the exploits of Huey Long. As Thousands Cheer (1933) was a revue, also with book by Moss Hart, with a theme: each number was presented as an item in a newspaper, some of them touching on issues of the day. The show yielded a succession of hit songs, including "Easter Parade", "Heat Wave" (presented as the weather forecast), "Harlem on My Mind", and "Supper Time", a song about racial bigotry that was sung by Ethel Waters. Cover of sheet music for When My dreams Come True The Cocoanuts (1929) is the first released Marx Brothers film. ... This article is about the comedian siblings. ... Face the Music was a 1932 Broadway musical revue. ... Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright and director of plays and musical theater. ... The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane) was the acquisition by the United States of America of 828,000 square miles (2,140,000 km²) of French territory (Louisiana) in 1803. ... Huey Pierce Long, Jr. ... As Thousands Cheer is a Broadway revue that opened September 30, 1933, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by Moss Hart. ... (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave (or Heat Wave for short) is a 1963 soul single by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas on the Gordy (Motown) label. ... Supper Time is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical As Thousands Cheer, where it was introduced by Ethel Waters. ... Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896–September 1, 1977) was an Oscar-nominated American blues vocalist and actress. ...


During World War II, after receiving permission from General George Marshall, Berlin organized an all-soldier revue in the spirit of Yip Yip Yaphank. This Is the Army opened on July 4, 1942, with a cast of over 300 servicemen, and ran for three years, first on Broadway, then on tour in the United States, and then abroad. The US Army Soldier Show still exists today. For other persons named George Marshall, see George Marshall (disambiguation). ... Yip Yip Yaphank was the name of musical revue composed and produced by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1917 while he was a recruit in the United States Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York. ... This Is the Army is a 1943 American motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...


Berlin's most successful Broadway musical was Annie Get Your Gun (1946), produced by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley, the music and lyrics were written by Berlin, with a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. Berlin had taken on the job after the original choice, Jerome Kern, died suddenly. At first he refused to take on the job, claiming that he knew nothing about "hillbilly music", but the show ran for 1,147 performances. It is said that the showstopper song, "There's No Business Like Show Business", was almost left out of the show altogether because Berlin wrongly got the impression that Rodgers and Hammerstein did not like it. Annie Get Your Gun is considered to be Berlin's best musical theatre score not only because of the number of hits it contains, but because its songs successfully combine character and plot development. Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. ... Rodgers (left) and Hammerstein (right), with Irving Berlin and Helen Tamiris, watching auditions at the St. ... This article is about the sharpshooter. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Dorothy Fields was immortalised on a USPS postage stamp. ... Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of popular music. ... Hillbilly is a term, often considered pejorative but sometimes endearing, referring to people who dwell in remote, rural, mountainous areas. ... Perhaps one of the most famous, and recognizable, show-tunes ever is Theres No Business Like Show Business. This Irving Berlin marvel was written for Annie Get Your Gun and has two reprises within the show. ... Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. ...


Berlin's next show, Miss Liberty (1949), was a relative flop. Call Me Madam (1950), with Ethel Merman portraying the famous Washington hostess Perle Mesta, fared better, giving him his second greatest success, but his last show, Mr. President (1962), received unfavorable reviews and was a commercial failure. At this point, Berlin essentially retired from the public eye. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Call Me Madam is one of Irving Berlins last musical comedies. ... Ethel Merman (January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was a Tony Award- and Grammy Award-winning American star of stage and film musicals, well known for her powerful voice, often hailed by critics as The Grande Dame of the Broadway stage. // Merman was born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann in her maternal... Perle Mesta (October 12, 1889, Sturgis, Michigan - March 16, 1975, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) was an American society figure, political hostess, and ambassador to Luxembourg (1949 - 1953). ... Mr. ...


Berlin and Hollywood

In 1927, one of Berlin's songs, "Blue Skies," a hit from 1926, was featured in the first feature-length talkie (motion picture with sound) (previous talkies were shorts only), The Jazz Singer, in which it was sung by Al Jolson. Top Hat (1935) was the first of a series of distinctive film musicals pioneered by Berlin that featured popular and attractive performers (such as Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Ginger Rogers), light romantic plots, and a seemingly endless string of his new and old songs. Other films of this sort included On the Avenue (1937), Holiday Inn (1942), Blue Skies (1946), and Easter Parade (1948). The film version of This Is the Army (1943), which featured Berlin himself singing "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," was a success, but film versions of several of his stage musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and Call Me Madam (1953), were somewhat less successful than his written-for-Hollywood shows. Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... The Jazz Singer (1927) is a U.S. movie musical and the first feature-length motion picture with talking sequences. ... Duke Ellington wearing a top hat. ... Holiday Inn is a 1942 film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, which featured the music of Irving Berlin. ... Blue Skies is a 1946 musical film. ... Easter Parade is a 1948 musical film starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. ... This Is the Army is a 1943 American motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz. ... Annie Get Your Gun is a 1950 American musical film loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. ... Call Me Madam is one of Irving Berlins last musical comedies. ...


White Christmas

The cover of White Christmas
The cover of White Christmas

The 1942 film, Holiday Inn, introduced "White Christmas," one of the most-recorded songs in history. First sung in the film by Bing Crosby, it sold over 30 million copies when released as a record. The song was re-used as the title theme of the 1954 musical film, White Christmas, which starred Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. Crosby's single of "White Christmas" was recognized as the best-selling single in any music category for more than fifty years. Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has sold additional millions of copies as part of numerous compilation albums, including his best-selling album Merry Christmas, which was first released as an LP in 1949. White Christmas album cover, 1995 CD release, deemed fair use This work is copyrighted. ... White Christmas album cover, 1995 CD release, deemed fair use This work is copyrighted. ... Holiday Inn is a 1942 film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, which featured the music of Irving Berlin. ... White Christmas is an Irving Berlin song whose lyrics reminisce about White Christmases. ... Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. ... Kaye entertaining U.S. troops at Sasebo, Japan, 25 Oct 1945 David Daniel Kaminsky, known as Danny Kaye (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer and comedian. ... Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American popular singer and actress. ... Vera-Ellen Westmeyer Rohe (February 16, 1921 - 30 August 1981) was an American actress and dancer known best by just her hyphenated first name. ... See the following lists for the best-selling singles of each country: United Kingdom (also by year) United States of America See also List of Christmas number one singles UK Singles Chart RIAA certification Record company Record industry Categories: Lists of songs ... A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...


The most familiar version of "White Christmas" is not the one Crosby originally recorded for Holiday Inn. Crosby was called back to the Decca studios on March 19, 1947, to re-record "White Christmas" as a result of damage to the 1942 master due to its frequent use. Every effort was made to reproduce the original Decca recording session, once again including the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers. The resulting re-issue is the one that has become most familiar to the public. It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Audio mastering is the process of preparing and transfering recorded audio to a medium for future duplication. ... Ken Darby is an Academy Award winning composer, he has shared in winning an Academy Award for Original Music Score 3 times and being nominated for three others: Awarded Scoring of a Musical Picture The King and I (1956) (with Alfred Newman) Nominated Scoring of a Musical Picture Gigi (1958...


"White Christmas" won Berlin the Academy Award for Best Music in an Original Song, one of seven Oscar nominations he received over the course of his career. He is the only winner in the history of the award to find his own name in the envelope on Oscar night. Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...


His friend and fellow songwriter Jule Styne said of him, "It's easy to be clever. But the really clever thing is to be simple."[6] Asked to define Berlin's place in American music, Jerome Kern said he had none: "Irving Berlin is American music." Jule Styne (December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was a British-born American songwriter, especially famous for a series of Broadway Musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows. ...


Personal life

Dorothy Goetz's grave (Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY)
Dorothy Goetz's grave (Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY)

Berlin was married twice. His first wife, singer Dorothy Goetz, sister of songwriter E. Ray Goetz, contracted pneumonia and typhoid fever on their honeymoon to Cuba, and died five months after their wedding in 1912 at the age of twenty. Her death inspired Berlin's song "When I Lost You", which became one of his earliest hits. Curiously, a year before Dorothy Berlin's death, Irving Berlin, E. Ray Goetz, and Ted Snyder co-wrote a song called "There's a Girl in Havana". Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2152x2314, 798 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Irving Berlin Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2152x2314, 798 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Irving Berlin Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York was founded in 1849. ... This article is about human pneumonia. ... For a similar disease with a similar name, see typhus. ... Ted Snyder (August 15, 1881 - July 16, 1965), was a Jewish-American Hall of Fame lyricist and composer. ...


His second wife was Ellin Mackay, a devout Irish-American Catholic and heiress to the Comstock Lode mining fortune, as well as an avant-garde writer who had been published in The New Yorker. They were married in 1926, against the wishes of both his family, who objected to religious intermarriage, and her father, Clarence Mackay, a prominent Roman Catholic layman, who disinherited her.[7] Without a dispensation from the Church, the two were joined in a civil ceremony on January 4, 1926, and were immediately snubbed by society: Ellin was immediately disinvited from the wedding of her friend Consuelo Vanderbilt, although Vanderbilt was not a Catholic. Finances were not a problem, however: Berlin assigned her the rights to his song "Always" which yielded her a huge and steady income. Miner working in the Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. deposit of silver ore, discovered under what is now Virginia City, Nevada on the eastern slope of Mt. ... For other uses, see New Yorker. ... Clarence Mackay was the son of John Mackay, the silver miner turned telegraph mogul. ... Dispensation is the act of distributing goods or services, especially those that are regulated, as in the practice of pharmacists. ... is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... For other uses, see Society (disambiguation). ... Consuelo Vanderbilt, (March 2, 1877 – December 6, 1964), was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt Family, as well as an English aristocrat. ... Always is a classic ballad written by Irving Berlin. ...


The couple had three daughters—Mary Ellin Barrett, Linda Emmett, and Elizabeth Peters — and a son, Irving Berlin, Jr., who died as an infant on Christmas Day. Mary Ellin Barrett, oldest daughter of composer Irving Berlin, was born on November 25, 1926. ...


Berlin's patriotism was real, and deep. Too old for military service when his country entered World War II in 1941, he devoted his time and energy to writing new patriotic songs, such as "Any Bonds Today?", donating the proceeds from This Is the Army to the army itself, and entertaining the troops with a road company of that show, in which he was a member of the cast. After performances in the United States, the show played in London in 1943, at a time when the city was still under air attack from Germany. After a tour of the British Isles, the show went on to North Africa and then Italy, playing in Rome only weeks after that city was liberated. Next came the Middle East and the Pacific, where performances often took place in close proximity to battle zones. In recognition of this important and courageous contribution to troop morale, at war's end Berlin was awarded the Medal of Merit by President Truman. For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... This Is the Army is a 1943 American motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...


A political conservative, Berlin supported the presidential candidacy of General Dwight Eisenhower, and his song "I Like Ike" featured prominently in the Eisenhower campaign. In his later years he became conservative in his views on music, as well; he had no use for the new styles sweeping through American popular music in the 1950s and 1960s, such as rock 'n' roll, and he virtually gave up songwriting after the failure of Mr. President in 1962. In 1968, Berlin was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Becoming a virtual recluse in his last years, Berlin did not attend the 100th birthday party held in his honor. However, he did attend the centennial celebrations for the Statue of Liberty in 1986. Rock and roll - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Mr. ... The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording [1]. This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and... President Ronald Reagan on Governors Island delivering a speech; First Lady Nancy Reagan is to the left. ...


Death

Berlin died of a heart attack in New York City at the age of 101 and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York. Heart attack redirects here. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... A centenarian is a person who has attained the age of 100 years or more. ... Located in The Bronx, Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City. ... For other uses, see The Bronx (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state. ...


Media

I Image File history File links IrvingBerlin-FollowtheCrowd. ... Image File history File links IrvingBerlin-OhHowThatGermanCouldLove. ...


Partial list of Berlin's songs

Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a song by Irving Berlin. ... Always is a classic ballad written by Irving Berlin. ... Blue Skies is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin. ... Cheek to Cheek is a song written by Irving Berlin, and first performed by Fred Astaire in the movie Top Hat (1935). ... Doin What Comes Naturlly is a popular song. ... God Bless America is an American patriotic song originally written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. ... (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave (or Heat Wave for short) is a 1963 soul single by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas on the Gordy (Motown) label. ... Im Putting all My Eggs in One Basket is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. ... Ive Got My Love to Keep Me Warm is a popular song. ... Lets Face the Music and Dance is a notable song, written by Irving Berlin, made particularly notable by a famous dance by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the film Follow the Fleet. ... Lets Have Another Cup of Coffee was a song by Irving Berlin appearing in the musical comedy Face the Music, which opened in 1932. ... Play a Simple Melody is a song from the 1914 musical, Watch Your Step, words and music by Irving Berlin. ... Puttin on the Ritz is a popular song written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin on the Ritz (1930). ... Stay Down Here Where You Belong was a pacifist song written by Irving Berlin in 1914. ... Steppin Out With My Baby is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and introduced in the 1948 musical film Easter Parade. ... Whatll I Do is the name of a song written by Irving Berlin in 1923. ... White Christmas is an Irving Berlin song whose lyrics reminisce about White Christmases. ...

References

  • Barrett, Mary Ellin (1994). Irving Berlin: A Daughter's Memoir. ISBN 0-671-72533-5. 
  • Bergreen, Laurence (1991). As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin. ISBN 0-670-81874-7. 
  • Hamm, Charles (1997). Irving Berlin: Songs from the Melting Pot. ISBN 0-19-507188-3. 
  • Hischak, Thomas S. (1991). Word Crazy, Broadway Lyricists from Cohan to Sondheim. ISBN 0-275-93849-2. 
  • Leopold, David (2005). Irving Berlin's Show Business : Broadway - Hollywood - America. ISBN 0-8109-5891-0. 
  • Rosen, Jody (2002). White Christmas: The Story of an American Song. ISBN 0-743-21875-2. 

Additional Reading

Footnotes

  1. ^ Famous Ellis Island passenger arrivals
  2. ^ Bloom, Nate (2006-12-19). The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs. InterfaithFamily. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
  3. ^ New York Daily News archive
  4. ^ Wodehouse, P. G., Bring on the Girls, page 132 as reprinted in The Theatre Omnibus, (1994), Hutchinson, London
  5. ^ That Old Christmas Feeling: Irving America. Richard Corliss remembers Irving Berlin, whose career was more than "White Christmas" and "God Bless America" TIME Magazine. December 24, 2001
  6. ^ Media met its match by Mark Steyn (Washington Times)
  7. ^ NY Daily News archives

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) (IPA: ) was a comic writer who has enjoyed enormous popular success for more than seventy years. ... Bring on the Girls is a semi-autobiographical collaboration between P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton, first published in the United States on October 5, 1953 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDb) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... Great Performances was a television series devoted to the performing arts which ran on the US television station PBS from 1972. ... Cecil Adams is the pen name of the author of The Straight Dope since 1973, a popular question and answer column published in The Chicago Reader, syndicated in thirty newspapers in the United States and Canada, and available online. ...

  Results from FactBites:
 
Irving Berlin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1742 words)
Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989), born Israel Isidore Beilin (as per [1]), in Tyumen, Russia (or possibly Mogilev, now Belarus), was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history.
Irving Berlin died of a heart attack in New York City at the age of 101 and was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York.
Berlin was the only person to ever find his own name on the winners' envelope at the Oscars, winning the award for best music in an original song for the song White Christmas in the film Holiday Inn in 1942.
Irving Berlin - definition of Irving Berlin in Encyclopedia (564 words)
Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888–September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist.
Irving Berlin's first credited song lyrics were for "Marie from Sunny Italy" in 1907, the year he changed his name.
Curiously, a year before Dorothy Berlin's death, Irving Berlin, E. Ray Goetz, and Ted Snyder cowrote a song called "There's a Girl in Havana".) His second wife was Ellin Mackay, a Catholic heiress to the Comstock Lode mining fortune as well as a writer who was published in "The New Yorker".
  More results at FactBites »

 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your location
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.