Milton Eric Blau (June 1, 1921 – February 17, 2009) was an author and is best known as the creator of the

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

show ''

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway produc ...

''.

Biography

Blau was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on June 1, 1921, to Hungarian immigrants who were residents of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

. He attended the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

, which he left before graduating following an argument with a professor about

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. Blau served in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in the

United States Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of ...

, where he wrote poems for French journals that he had translated into French. After completing his military service, he founded the journal '' Masses and Mainstream'' and worked as a writer and in public relations. He was a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders ofte ...

for sports instruction booklets on behalf of basketball player

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...

and baseball's

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 ...

. Together with cartoonist

Roy Doty Roy Doty (September 10, 1922 – March 18, 2015) was an American cartoonist, artist and illustrator. He created humorous cartoon illustrations for books, packaging, advertising, comic strips, television and not-for-profit organization campaigns. He ...

, he created '' The Adventures of Danny Dee'', an early show for children with animation that broadcast starting in 1953 on the New York City affiliate of the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of bein ...

. Although the similarity was lost as he grew older, Blau had an uncanny resemblance to Groucho Marx, and would often be approached by fans of the comedian. Among the books he authored was ''The hero of the Slocum disaster'', an historical novel exploring the infamous 1904 sinking of the ''

General Slocum The PS ''General Slocum''"PS" stands for " Paddle Steamer" was a sidewheel passenger steamboat built in Brooklyn, New York, in 1891. During her service history, she was involved in a number of mishaps, including multiple groundings and collisi ...

''. He received the

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for the mystery novel ''The Keys to Billy Tillio''.

''Jacques Brel''

Blau was introduced to the music of Belgian singer-songwriter

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

by his wife,

Elly Stone Elly Stone (May 30, 1927 – June 11, 2020) was an American singer and actress best known for her interpretations of the music of Jacques Brel. Biography Stone was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended the High School of Music & Art in Man ...

, who had first heard Brel's music through an acquaintance at a record company. Blau became infatuated with Brel's work and started translating his songs. Some of Blau's initial work appeared in ''O, Oysters!'', a musical revue. Together with composer

Mort Shuman Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including " Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such a ...

, Blau came up with the concept of a play that would feature a night of Brel's songs, and the two worked together to translate the songs into English and add material to wrap around the music. ''

'' featured Shuman and Stone as part of a cast of four. The play debuted at

The Village Gate The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Streets in Greenwich Village, New York. Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 160 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structu ...

in early 1968 and ran for more than four years. Thereafter, it was performed by what may be thousands of theaters around the world.

Personal

Blau wrote a number of works of poetry, novels and plays, but never again achieved the success of ''Jacques Brel''. He was never affected by the disappointments, with his son Matthew noting that he had many ideas and "was a man who moved on." A resident of

, Blau died there at age 87 on February 17, 2009, due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

, which he contracted following a stroke. He was survived by his wife, three sons, four grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. His first marriage had ended in divorce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blau, Eric United States Army personnel of World War II City College of New York alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Writers from Bridgeport, Connecticut United States Army soldiers 1921 births 2009 deaths American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers American people of Hungarian descent Novelists from Connecticut