Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "

Sometimes I'm Happy "Sometimes I'm Happy" is a popular song. The music was written by Vincent Youmans, the lyrics by Irving Caesar. The song was originally published in 1923 under the title "Come On And Pet Me," with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and William Cary D ...

", " Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for Two", one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written. In 1972, he was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

Biography

Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jew, was born in New York City, United States. His older brother

Arthur Caesar Arthur Caesar (9 March 1892 – 20 June 1953) was a Romanian-American screenwriter and brother of the songwriter Irving Caesar. Caesar first started writing Hollywood films in 1924. Most of his films were in the B-movie category. He won an Academ ...

was a successful

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

screenwriter. The Caesar brothers spent their childhood and teen years in Yorkville, the same

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

neighborhood where the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

were raised. Caesar knew the Marx Brothers during his childhood. He was educated at Chappaqua Mountain Institute in

Chappaqua, New York Chappaqua ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metro-N ...

. In his career, Caesar collaborated with a wide variety of composers and songwriters, including

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

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 ' ...

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...

, Ted Koehler and

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...

. Two of his best known numbers, ''

I Want to Be Happy "I Want to Be Happy" is a song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar written for the 1925 musical ''No, No, Nanette''. Musical The song is used several times throughout the musical as a running theme representing the attempts ...

'' and ''Tea for Two'', were written with

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...

for the 1925 musical '' No, No, Nanette''. Another of his biggest hits, '' Animal Crackers in My Soup'', was popularized by

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

in her 1935 film ''

Curly Top Curly Top is a 1935 American musical romantic comedy film starring Shirley Temple, John Boles and Rochelle Hudson. Plot A bachelor wants to adopt an orphan, but she refuses to leave behind her older sister, so he adopts them both. The man eventu ...

.'' " Just a Gigolo", his 1929 adaptation of an Austrian song, was a hit for

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he forme ...

in the 1950s and again for

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

in the 1980s. In the late 1930s, he and composer Gerald Marks wrote a famous series of children's songs focusing on safety. Caesar made hundreds of appearances in schools performing the "Sing a Song of Safety," "Sing a Song of Friendship" (a United Nations-inspired series focusing on world peace, racial tolerance and friendship) and "Songs of Health" collections. Caesar served on the songwriters' performance-rights organization

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

board of directors from 1930 to 1946 and again from 1949 to 1966. He was a founder of the

Songwriters Guild of America The Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) is an organization founded in 1931, to help "advance, promote, and benefit" the profession of songwriters. It was founded as the Songwriters Protective Association by Billy Rose, George W. Meyer and Edgar Les ...

. He died, aged 101, in New York on December 18, 1996.

Broadway credits

Note: All productions are

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 ...

unless otherwise stated. * *''

La La Lucille ''La La Lucille'' is a musical with a book by Fred Jackson, primary lyrics by Arthur J. Jackson and Buddy DeSylva, additional lyrics by Lou Paley and Irving Caesar, and music by George Gershwin. Plot overview The plot involves a wealthy society m ...

'' (1919) - additional lyrics *''

Kissing Time ''Kissing Time'', and an earlier version titled ''The Girl Behind the Gun'', are musical comedies with music by Ivan Caryll, book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, and additional lyrics by Clifford Grey. The story is based on the 1910 ...

'' (1920) - adaptation of an earlier version of this musical - co-lyricist *''Pins and Needles'' (1922) -

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

- co-lyricist *''The Greenwich Village Follies of 1922'' (1922) -

- co-lyricist and co-bookwriter *''The Greenwich Village Follies of 1923'' (1923) -

- co-lyricist *''The Greenwich Village Follies of 1924'' (1924) -

- co-lyricist *''Betty Lee'' (1924) - co-lyricist *'' No, No, Nanette'' (1925) - co-lyricist *''Charlot Revue'' (1925) -

- featured lyricist for "Gigolette" and "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You" *''Sweetheart Time'' (1926) - co-lyricist *''

Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

's Revue "No Foolin'"'' (1926) -

- co-lyricist *''Betsy'' (1926) - co-bookwriter *''Talk About Girls'' (1927) - lyricist *''Yes, Yes, Yvette'' (1927) - story originator *''Here's Howe'' (1928) - lyricist *''Americana of 1928'' (1928) -

- co-lyricist *''Polly'' (1929) - co-composer and co-lyricist *''George White's Scandals of 1929'' (1929) -

- co-composer and co-lyricist *'' Ripples'' (1930) - co-lyricist *''Nina Rosa'' (1930) - lyricist *''The Wonder Bar'' (1931) - play - co-playwright/adaptor of the original German *''George White's Scandals of 1931'' (1931) -

- co-bookwriter *''George White's Music Hall Varieties of 1932'' (1932) -

- co-composer and lyricist *''Melody'' (1933) - lyricist *''Shady Lady'' (1933) - reviser *''Continental Varieties'' (1934) -

- dialogue-writer *'' The White Horse Inn'' (1936) - English-version lyricist *''My Dear Public'' (1943) - co-composer, co-lyricist, and co-bookwriter Post-retirement credits: *''The American Dance Machine'' (1978) - dance

- featured lyricist *''Up in One'' (1979) -

- featured songwriter *''Big Deal'' (1986) - featured English-version lyricist for "Just a Gigolo" *''Sally Marr...and her escorts'' (1994) - play - featured lyricist for "Tea for Two"

References

External links

* *
''New York Times'' obituary

Irving Caesar recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar, Irving Jewish American songwriters American lyricists American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American centenarians Men centenarians 1895 births 1996 deaths Townsend Harris High School alumni People from Yorkville, Manhattan People from Chappaqua, New York 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American Jews