IRA GERSHWIN, LYRICIST, DIES IRA GERSHWIN, LYRICIST, DIES; SONGS EMBODIED BROADWAY By JOHN S. WILSON Published: August 18, 1983 Ira Gershwin, the lyricist who collaborated with his brother, George, on the scores for Broadway musicals that included Porgy and Bess and Of Thee I Sing, died yesterday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 86 years old. Mr. Gershwin, who wrote the lyrics of such Gershwin brothers songs as Embraceable You, Strike Up the Band, The Man I Love, S Wonderful, Somebody Loves Me and I Got Rhythm, had a heart disease and had been in frail health for several years. He died in his sleep. His biographer, Robert Kimball, said yesterday that Mr. Gershwin had been unable to attend the Broadway opening last spring of the hit musical My One and Only, whose score relies entirely on George and Ira Gershwin songs from other shows. Pleased With New Success But he was greatly pleased with this new success so late in his life, Mr. Kimball said, and he made suggestions of songs to include in the show, and even made slight changes in some lyrics to fit the new plot lines. Francine Lefrak, a co-producer of My One and Only, said that among the adjustments made or authorized by Mr. Gershwin were changes here and there to clarify or update lyrics for Blah Blah Blah and Strike Up the Band, the latter of which also got a change in tempo for Tommy Tunes first act finale rendition of it. Mr. Gershwin, she added, also supervised the reorchestration of S Wonderful and had a substantial input in the overall creation of the show. Mr. Gershwin watched this years live telecast of the Antoinette Perry awards, which featured, from My One and Only, the Kicking the Clouds Away number. In the course of the telecast from the Uris Theater, the Uris was officially renamed the Gershwin Theater in honor of the brothers. Although he was best known for his collaboration with his brother, Mr. Gershwin also furnished lyrics for Kurt Weills songs for Lady in the Dark, Harold Arlens compositions for the musical remake of the movie A Star Is Born, and Jerome Kerns songs for the movie Cover Girl. The Gershwin brothers Of Thee I Sing, in 1932, was the first musical, and Mr. Gershwin the first lyricist, to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama. The shows memorable score included the songs Who Cares? and Love Is Sweeping the Country. Mr. Gershwin was also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The words written by Mr. Gershwin to accompany the music of some of the leading song composers of the time had a wit, polish, freshness and depth of feeling that set them far above the ordinary run of popular lyrics. Arthur Francis Pseudonym Collaborating with his brother, Mr. Gershwin wrote the words for such songs as Our Love Is Here to Stay, Oh, Lady Be Good, They Cant Take That Away From Me and Funny Face. With Kurt Weill, in addition to Lady in the Dark, he wrote the musical show The Firebrand of Florence, and with Arthur Schwartz he wrote Park Avenue. In Hollywood, he worked with Jerome Kern on the outstanding score for Cover Girl For many years, Mr. Gershwin lived in the shadow of his younger brother, whose music had captured the imagination of America. Ira used the name Arthur Francis to avoid confusing matters. For five years, beginning in 1920, whenever anyone wanted to meet the nebulous Arthur Francis who wrote such wonderful lyrics, George Gershwin would reply, Mr. Francis is too busy working to be disturbed, and let it go at that. A Team in 1924 But Mr. Francis still managed to do some work on his own, collaborating with such well known songwriters as B. G. De Sylva, Lew Gensler and Joe Meyers. Finally, in 1924, George Gershwin admitted that he had a brother who worked with him, and for the first time the billboards on Broadway proclaimed a show by the team of George and Ira Gershwin. It was the smash hit Lady Be Good. There followed in rapid succession Tip Toes, Oh Kay, Funny Face, Rosalie, Treasure Girl, Show Girl and Girl Crazy. The titles conformed to a George Gershwin superstition: They should have not more than two words and should, if possible, have something to do with a girl. The superstition was finally abandoned with the hits Strike Up the Band and Of Thee I Sing. Born in Manhattan Ira Gershwin was born on New Yorks lower East Side on Dec. 6, 1896. His father, originally a designer of uppers for womens shoes, took on a number of enterprises - but never for very long. These included work as proprietor of cigar stores, billiard parlors, Turkish baths and restaurants. Because the father liked to live where he worked, the family resided in 28 different homes during Mr. Gershwins youth - 25 in Manhattan and 3 in Brooklyn. The family happened to be living in Brooklyn when George was born on Sept. 26, 1898. Along with George, then 8 years old, Ira began taking piano lessons from an aunt when he was 10. But the elder boy, showing a literary bent, preferred nickel novels and soon let his brother monopolize the piano.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 07:10:09 +0000
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