Herbert Fields (July 26, 1897March 24, 1958) was an American

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Biography

Born 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 ...

, Fields began his career as an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

, then graduated to

choreography Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and

stage direction In theatre, blocking is the precise staging of actors to facilitate the performance of a play, ballet, film or opera. Historically, the expectations of staging/blocking have changed substantially over time in Western theater. Prior to the moveme ...

before turning to writing. From 1925 until his death, he contributed to the libretti of many

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals Musical theatre is a form of 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, movemen ...

. He wrote the book for most of the

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart' ...

musicals of the 1930s and later collaborated with his sister Dorothy on several musicals, including '' Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Something for the Boys'', ''Up in Central Park'', and ''Arms and the Girl''. He won the 1959

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the ...

for '' Redhead''. Fields wrote the screenplays for a string of mostly

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...

s, including ''Let's Fall in Love'' (1933), ''Hands Across the Table'' (1935), ''Love Before Breakfast'' (1936), ''Fools for Scandal'' (1938), ''Honolulu'' (1939), and ''Father Takes a Wife'' (1941). He was also one of several writers who worked on '' The Wizard of Oz'', although he did not receive a screen credit for his contribution. Herbert Fields was the son of

Lew Fields Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager, and producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber. He also produced shows on his own and starred in ...

and brother of Dorothy and

Joseph Fields Joseph Albert Fields (February 21, 1895 – March 4, 1966)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, Californiaancestry.com/ ...

. Herbert is a member of the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

. He never married and seems to have lived comfortably as an openly gay man, at least within the worlds of Broadway and Hollywood.

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

once wrote a letter to his brother Ira in which he mentions that he attended a party in NY and that “Herbie Fields was there with his (male) sweetheart”. And author Frederick Nolan tells us that, “Herb was part of the gay scene, but also always maintained the fiction of straightness. He had a string of statuesque chorus girls for whom he bought immensely ostentatious mink coats.”

Additional theatre credits

* ''

Dearest Enemy ''Dearest Enemy'' is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. This was the first of eight book musicals written by the songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart and writer Herbert Fields, and the ...

'' (1925) * ''

The Girl Friend ''The Girl Friend'' is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. This was the longest running show for the trio to that date.Secrest, Meryle. ''Somewhere for me:a biography of Richard Rodgers ...

'' (1926) * ''

Peggy-Ann ''Peggy-Ann'' is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields, based on the 1910 musical '' Tillie’s Nightmare'' by Edgar Smith. Production The musical opened on Broadway at the Vanderbilt The ...

'' (1926) * '' Hit the Deck'' (1927) * '' A Connecticut Yankee'' (1927) * '' Present Arms'' (1928) * '' Chee Chee'' (1928) * ''

Fifty Million Frenchmen ''Fifty Million Frenchmen'' is a musical comedy with a book by Herbert Fields and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It opened on Broadway in 1929 and was adapted for a film two years later. The title is a reference to the hit 1927 song "Fifty Milli ...

'' (1929) * '' The New Yorkers'' (1930) * '' America's Sweetheart'' (1931) * ''

Pardon My English ''Pardon My English'' is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Morrie Ryskind, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Set in 1933 Dresden, the farcical plot satirizes the Prohibition era. Production history Producers Alex ...

'' (1933) * '' Du Barry Was a Lady'' (1939) * ''

Panama Hattie ''Panama Hattie'' is a 1940 American musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. The musical is about a nightclub owner, Hattie Maloney, who lives in the Panama Canal Zone and ends up dealing with ...

'' (1940) * ''

Let's Face It! ''Let's Face It!'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields is based on the 1925 play ''The Cradle Snatchers'' by Russell Medcraft and Norma Mitchell. The 1941 Broadway and 1942 West End produc ...

'' (1941) * ''

Something for the Boys ''Something for the Boys'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical. P ...

(1943) * ''

Mexican Hayride ''Mexican Hayride'' is a 1948 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film is based on Cole Porter's Broadway musical '' Mexican Hayride'' starring Bobby Clark. No songs from the stage musical were used in the film. Plot Joe ...

'' (1944) * ''

Up in Central Park ''Up in Central Park'' is a Broadway musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Sigmund Romberg. The musical, originally called "Central Park" before Broadway (see image of sheet music), was ...

'' (1945) * '' Annie Get Your Gun'' (1946) *'' Arms and the Girl'' (1950) * '' By the Beautiful Sea'' (1954)

References

External links

* * American male stage actors American theatre directors American male screenwriters American musical theatre librettists Jewish American male actors Tony Award winners 1897 births 1958 deaths American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American gay actors LGBT theatre directors LGBT choreographers LGBT Jews 20th-century American Jews 20th-century LGBT people {{US-dramatist-stub