- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJacob Gershowitz
- Height5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
- He was born Jacob Gershowitz, 26 September 1898, in Brooklyn, New York, of Russian-Jewish immigrants. As a boy he could play popular and classical works on his brother Ira's piano by ear. In 1913 he quit school to study music and began composing for Tin Pan Alley; by 1919 he had his first hit "Swanee" and his first Broadway show "La, La, Lucille." In less than three weeks in 1924 he composed "Rhapsody in Blue," originally for Paul Whiteman's relatively small swing band and later orchestrated by Ferde Grofé. "Concerto in F" followed the next year, and his musical success "Oh, Kay!" (which included "Someone to Watch Over Me") the year after that. Success continued: "Funny Face" (1927), the tone poem "American in Paris" (1928), "Girl Crazy" (1929), "Of Thee I Sing" (1931 the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize), and the first true American opera: "Porgy and Bess" (1935). He moved to Hollywood were his songs were performed by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In 1937 he fell in love with Paulette Goddard, then married to Charlie Chaplin. He was heartbroken that she would not leave her husband for him. When he fell ill, that June, it was written off as stress. A month later he died of a brain tumor, five hours after a failed surgical attempt to remove it. Funerals were hold in both Hollywood and New York.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <[email protected]>
- George Gershwin is an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned both popular and classical genres.
Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs Swanee (1919) and Fascinating Rhythm (1924), the jazz standard I Got Rhythm (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935) which spawned the hit Summertime.
Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark, Henry Cowell, and Joseph Brody. He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and with Buddy G. DeSylva. He composed An American in Paris, returned to New York City and wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and DuBose Heyward. Initially a commercial failure, it came to be considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century and an American cultural classic.
Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores. His compositions have been adapted for use in film and television, with several becoming jazz standards recorded and covered in many variations.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
- RelativesIra Gershwin(Sibling)
- Wrote music to accompany lyrics by his brother Ira
- Jazzy compositions
- Was allergic to champagne.
- He is considered by some to be the greatest American composer of the twentieth century.
- His last words were, "Fred Astaire".
- His "Porgy and Bess" was the first American opera ever performed at La Scala Opera House, in Milan, Italy.
- Gershwin was only 25 years old when he composed his enduring masterpiece "Rhapsody in Blue" (1924).
- Why should I limit myself to only one woman when I can have as many women as I want?
- Life is a lot like jazz. It's best when you improvise.
- True music must repeat the thoughts and inspirations of the people and the time. My people are Americans and my time is today.
- [after completing "Porgy and Bess"] I think the music is so marvelous, I don't believe I wrote it.
- [to George Kaufman, who had expressed severe reservations about 'Of Thee I Sing'] George, you don't like to be sentimental. You hate love, and so forth. But the people believe that the President of the United states, even though he's going to be impeached, is not going to give up the girl he loves.
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