Harry Austin Tierney (May 21, 1890 – March 22, 1965) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

, best known for long-running hits such as ''

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

'' (1919), Broadway's longest-running show of the era (620 performances), ''

Kid Boots ''Kid Boots'' is a musical with a book by William Anthony McGuire and Otto Harbach, music by Harry Tierney, and lyrics by Joseph McCarthy. The show was staged by Edward Royce. Produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, the Broadway production, opened o ...

'' (1923) and'' Rio Rita'' (1927), one of the first musicals to be turned into a talking picture (and later remade starring

Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...

Life and career

Born in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in northeastern Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area, New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city' ...

, United States, he was most active between about 1910 and 1930, often collaborating with the lyricist

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

. His mother was a pianist, his father a trumpeter, and he himself toured as a concert pianist in his early years. After a brief spell working in London for a music publisher, he returned to the United States in 1916. Over the next couple of decades many of his songs were used in the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

'', and were performed by the premier singers of the day, such as

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

Anna Held Helene Anna Held (19 March 1872 – 12 August 1918) was a Polish-born French stage performer of Jewish origin on Broadway. While appearing in London, she was spotted by impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, who brought her to America as his common-law ...

and

Edith Day Edith Day (born Edith Marie Day; April 10, 1896 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress and singer best known for her roles in Edwardian musical comedies and operettas, first on Broadway theatre, Broadway and then in London's West End theatre, ...

. The year 1919 saw his greatest Broadway hit, the show ''Irene'', which contained perhaps his most well-known song, "

Alice Blue Gown "Alice Blue Gown" is a popular song written by Joseph McCarthy (lyricist), Joseph McCarthy and Harry Tierney. The song, which was inspired by Alice Roosevelt Longworth's signature gown, was first performed by Edith Day in the 1919 Broadway musica ...

", as well as "Castle of Dreams", an adaptation of Chopin's Minute Waltz. This same show was made into a film in 1926, then remade in 1940 with

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in British cinema for 2 ...

and

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. He is often remembered for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945), which wo ...

, and again for the stage in 1973 with

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer and entrepreneur. Her acting career spanned almost 70 years. Reynolds performed on stage and television and in films into her 80s. She was nom ...

. The original show broke the then record for the longest running show, at 620 performances. Harry Tierney footstone 800

Other shows followed with varying success, in particular, ''Rio Rita'' (collaborating with Joseph McCarthy, and one of

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

's first forays in converting a musical to the silver screen), and ''Kid Boots'', ''Dixiana'' (1929) and ''Half Shot at Sunrise'' (1930) were also made into films. Tierney's successes after this period were sketchy (apart from the film remakes of ''Irene''), but he was elected into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He died in March 1965, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, at the age of 74. Harry Tierney is interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

Shows

* ''Keep Smiling'' (1913) * ''

'' (1919) - including famous popular song "Alice Blue Gown" * ''The Broadway Whirl'' (1921) * ''Up she Goes'' (1922) * ''Glory'' (1922) * ''

'' (1923) * '' Rio Rita'' (1927) * ''Cross My Heart'' (1928) * ''Beau Brummell'' (1933)

Ragtime compositions

Ragtime pieces composed by Tierney included: * "The Bumble Bee" (1909) * "The Fanatic Rag" (1911) * "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1911) * "Dingle Pop Hop" (1911) * "Black Canary" (1911) * "Checkerboard" (1911) * "Crimson Rambler" (1911) * "William's Wedding" (1911) * "Rubies and Pearls" (1911) * "Fleur De Lys" (1911) * "Innocence Rag" (1911) * "Cabaret Rag" * "Variety Rag" (1912) * "Louisiana Rag" (1913) * "Chicago Tickle" (1913) * "1915 Rag" (1913)

References

External links

*
Harry Tierney recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

Harry Tierney Music Manuscripts
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tierney, Harry 1890 births 1965 deaths American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers Ragtime composers 20th-century American composers Burials at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (New Rochelle, New York)

Life and career

Shows

Ragtime compositions

See also

References

External links