Manuel Joachim Klein (6 December 1876 – 1 June 1919) was an English-born composer of musical theatre and

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead ...

who worked primarily in New York City.

Biography

Klein was born in London, to parents Herman and Adelaide (née Soman). Apparently, the elder Klein emigrated from

Riga, Latvia Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Bal ...

.Stone, Christopher. "Herman Klein, July 23, 1856 – March 10, 1934", reprinted in Moran, p. 603 Once in Norwich, Hermann became a professor of foreign languages at the King Edward VI Grammar School, and Adelaide taught dance. The younger Klein's five brothers included Max, a violinist;

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, a playwright;

Herman Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minne ...

, a music critic and music teacher; Alfred, an actor; and Philip. They had a sister, Adelaide. He was the uncle of producer Philip Klein (1888–1935). Klein was educated in London and at Tivoli House Academy,

Gravesend, Kent Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it ...

, England. PiedPiperSweet

Career

Klein moved to the US on 11 April 1896. He was the music director for

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story '' Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of ...

's theatre company in New York City for several years before devoting himself to composing. His first Broadway success was the musical ''Mr. Pickwick'', starring

De Wolf Hopper William DeWolf Hopper (March 30, 1858September 23, 1935) was an American actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer. A star of vaudeville and musical theater, he became best known for performing the popular baseball poem "Casey at the Bat". ...

. Grant Stewart wrote the lyrics, and Klein's brother Charles wrote the book. He also conducted for

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

, with whom Klein's brother, Charles, was later killed on the

RMS Lusitania RMS ''Lusitania'' (named after the Roman province in Western Europe corresponding to modern Portugal) was a British ocean liner that was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 and that held the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlantic c ...

, among others.

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

songwriter and publisher Gus Edwards helped Klein to obtain the position of musical director of the prestigious

New York Hippodrome The Hippodrome Theatre, also called the New York Hippodrome, was a theater in New York City from 1905 to 1939, located on Sixth Avenue between West 43rd and West 44th Streets in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan. It was called the worl ...

theatre in 1905. Klein was soon composing songs and music for numerous spectacles presented at the Hippodrome consisting of different acts, each one with their own thematic musical concept. He collaborated with

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not inclu ...

on ''

The Tik-Tok Man of Oz ''The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' is a musical play with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by Louis F. Gottschalk that opened at the Majestic Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 31, 1913. It is loosely inspired by Baum's book ''Ozma o ...

'', beginning in 1909, which was finally produced in 1913 without Klein's music. He left the Hippodrome in 1915 after a disagreement with its manager,

Jacob J. Shubert Jacob J. Shubert (c. 1879 – December 26, 1963) was an American theatre owner/operator and producer and a member of the famous theatrical Shubert family. Biography Born in Vladislavov, in the Suwałki Governorate of Congress Poland, a part ...

, over the orchestra. Shubert asked Klein to send some drums, trumpets and other instruments over to the

Winter Garden Theater The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

, where he was producing another show. Klein refused to send them, as he needed them for his own orchestra. After an argument, Klein offered his resignation and Shubert accepted it. The Hippodrome company sided with Klein, and Shubert was forced to sell his interest. Klein went back to England the same year and became music director of the

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it became known ...

. He suffered a trauma at the bombing of the theatre during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

by the

Zeppelins A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

and never fully recovered."Death of Manuel Klein"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 2 June 1919, p. 15. Klein returned to New York and died in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York (state), New York, after New York City and Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. The popul ...

on 1 June 1919, as a result of the earlier trauma. After his death, the Klein family sued the German government for the loss of Manuel and his brother Charles (a victim of the sinking of the

Family life

Klein married his wife, Helen (born 16 September 1884 in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

), in approximately 1905. They had a daughter, Marjorie, born 28 March 1909 and a son, Gerald, born 18 March 1912.Information based on ''U.S. Passport Applications, 1795–1925'' at Ancestry.com. Klein became a naturalised American citizen on 9 August 1910. As of the 1930 United States Federal Census, the family had moved to

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

. Helen was working as a teacher, Marjorie as a stenographer for the movie industry, and Gerald as a radio repairman.

List of works

Music by Klein except as noted:This list is assembled from Gänzl and the Internet Broadway Database, http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=7484. *1899

Zaza Zaza may refer to: Ethnic group * Zazas, a group of people in eastern Anatolia (southeastern Turkey) * Zaza–Gorani languages, Indo-Iranian languages ** Zaza language, spoken by the Zazas People Given name * Zaza Sor. Aree (born 1993), Thai ...

*1899 Hope On! *1903 Mr. Pickwick (including "Boys Will Be Boys") *1903 Captain Barrington *1905 A Yankee Circus on Mars / The Raiders / Tomorrowland *1905 A Society Circus (including "Moon Dear"). Words by Manual Klein *1905 "I Want to Go Home Now". Words by

John Kendrick Bangs John Kendrick Bangs (May 27, 1862 – January 21, 1922) was an American author, humorist, editor and satirist. Biography He was born in Yonkers, New York. His father Francis N. Bangs was a lawyer in New York City, as was his brother, Francis S. ...

*1906 The Man from Now (including "The Dainty Music Maid"). Words by Bangs *1906 Pioneer Days / Circus Events *1906 Neptune's Daughter including "Lucia" ("My Italian Maid"). Words by Manuel Klein *1906 The Only Way to Love *1907 The Top O' Th' World *1907 The Auto Race. Words by Manuel Klein *1907 O'Neill of Derry *1907 If You Are True to Me *1907 Starlight Maid *1908 Sporting Days. Words by Manuel Klein *1908 The Battle in the Skies. Words by Manuel Klein *1908 The Pied Piper (including "I'm Looking For a Sweetheart, and I Think You'll Do" and "Tell Me, Whose Little Girl Are You"?) *1909 A Ballet of Jewels *1909 A Trip to Japan *1909 "Meet Me When the Lanterns Glow". Words and music by Klein. *1910 Ragged Robin *1910 The International Cup / Ballet of Niagra / The Earthquake *1910 "Love is Like a Rainbow". Words and music by Klein *1910 Loving ("Love Comes at Morning, Love Comes at Noon") *1911 It's a Long Lane That Has No Turning *1911 Bow Sing *1911 Around the World *1911 Undine. Words and music by Klein *1912 Under Many Flags (including "Sweetheart (Let's Go A-Walking)"). Words and music by Klein. *1912 "Home is Where the Heart Is". Words and music by Klein *1912 Fishing *1913 The Hippodrome Tango *1913 America (including "The Girl in the Gingham gown") *1913 Hop o' My Thumb *1914 The Wars of the World *1914 "In Siam". Words and music by Klein *1914 You're Just the One I've Waited For *1919 High and Dri *1920 It's Up to You (revised version of ''High and Dri'')

Legacy

Although many individual songs by Klein were published, much of his

remains in manuscript. Since he worked "for hire" at the Hippodrome, Charles Frohman and later R. H. Burnside retained his music manuscripts. They now form part of th
Burnside collection of American theater music manuscripts
in th
Music Division
o

Notes

References

* Gänzl, Kurt. ''The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre,'' 2nd ed. (New York: Schirmer Books, 2001), vol. 2 *Hines, Dixie and Harry Prescott Hanaford (eds.
''Who's Who in Music and Drama''
New York: H. P. Hanaford (1914) *Klein, Herman and William R. Moran
"Herman Klein and ''The Gramophone''"
Amadeus Press, 1990.

External links

*
Links to sheet music for several Klein songsBroadwayWorld profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Manuel 1876 births 1919 deaths American people of Latvian-Jewish descent English composers English emigrants to the United States English people of Latvian-Jewish descent Jewish American composers 19th-century English musicians