Arthur Hammerstein (December 21, 1872 – October 12, 1955) was an American songwriter, dramatist, playwright and theater manager.

Biography

Born and educated to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Hammerstein was the son of the theater impresario and composer

Oscar Hammerstein I Oscar Hammerstein I (8 May 18461 August 1919) was a German-born businessman, theater impresario, and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America. He was ...

. Arthur started out as a bricklayer and plasterer, working on projects with his father including the Victoria Theater and

Manhattan Opera House The Manhattan Center is a building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street, it houses Manhattan Center Studios, the location of two recording studios; its Grand Ballroom; and the Hammerstein Ballroo ...

. In 1908 Hammerstein started working on becoming a producer, signing Italian singer

Luisa Tetrazzini Luisa Tetrazzini (June 29, 1871 in Florence – April 28, 1940 in Milan) was an Italian dramatic coloratura soprano of great international fame. Tetrazzini "had a scintillating voice with a brilliant timbre and a range and agility well b ...

to the family's Manhattan Center and negotiating with

Otto Kahn Otto Hermann Kahn (February 21, 1867 – March 29, 1934) was a German-born American investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Kahn was a well-known figure, appearing on the cover of '' Time'' magazine and was sometim ...

before moving to London in 1910. While there Arthur and his father had a disagreement with money spending and Arthur vowed never to speak to him again. With his father's support, Arthur embarked on his first production, ''Naughty Marietta''. Arthur's brother

Willie Hammerstein William Hammerstein (September 26, 1875 – June 10, 1914) was an American theater manager. He ran the Victoria Theatre on what became Times Square, Manhattan, presenting very popular vaudeville shows with a wide variety of acts. He was known fo ...

died in June 1914, and Arthur took over management of the family's Victoria Theater. However, the theater was not financially viable and would be closed the next year. On its site, the first movie palace in Times Square, the Rialto Theatre, was built. Hammerstein was the producer of the

Rudolf Friml Charles Rudolf Friml"Mrs. Rudolf Friml to Receive Divorce"
...

operettas '' The Firefly'' (1912), '' Katinka'' (1915) and '' Rose-Marie'' (1924), which he collaborated on with his nephew,

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight ...

. Arthur produced almost 30 musicals in 40 years in show business. During a performance of ''

Tickle Me ''Tickle Me'' is a 1965 American musical comedy western film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley as a champion rodeo bull rider and bronco buster. Presley won a 1966 Golden Laurel Award as best male actor in a musical film fo ...

'' in 1920, Hammerstein was arrested for possessing what was thought to be whiskey during the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...

, which later turned out to be iced tea. In 1930 Hammerstein was accused by a dance director George Haskell for assault but the charges were later dropped and the two reconciled. To search for better business opportunities, Hammerstein went to Hollywood to produce his one and only film ''The Lottery Bride'', which was a failure and he returned to Broadway again. Hammerstein's last productions were ''Luana'' and ''Ballyhoo'' in 1930, which were considered failures. Hammerstein suffered bankruptcy in 1931 due to some musical failures and went into retirement. In 1925-1927 Hammerstein had built what is now known as the

Ed Sullivan Theater The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3, and CBS Studio 50) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway, between 53rd and 54th Streets, in the Theater ...

at 1697 Broadway in Manhattan. Hammerstein made an appearance as himself in an episode of the film series ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

'' in 1949. He was one of the writers of the song " Because of You," a major hit (#1 for 10 weeks) for

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

in 1951. Hammerstein wrote the song in 1940. It was used in the film '' I Was an American Spy'' (1951).

Personal life

Hammerstein was married four times. He married Jean Allison in 1893. They had a daughter, actress Elaine Hammerstein, and were divorced in 1910. He remarried to Grace Weir months later; they divorced in 1915. His marriage to actress Claire Nagle in 1919 ended with her death in 1921. In 1924 Hammerstein was married to silent film actress and stage personality Dorothy Dalton. Hammerstein died on October 12, 1955, from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at age 82. He is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, New York City. The Arthur and Dorothy Dalton Hammerstein House, the couple's former residence in

Beechhurst, Queens Beechhurst is a neighborhood in the northeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is northeast of Whitestone, bordered by the East River to the north, the Cross Island Parkway to the south, and the approaches to the Throgs Neck ...

, is a

New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammerstein, Arthur 1872 births 1955 deaths American male songwriters Hammerstein family (show business) Jewish American dramatists and playwrights American people of German-Jewish descent