Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

, writer, and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

'' Annie.''

Life and career

Charnin was born in New York City, the son of Birdie (Blakeman) and William Charnin, an opera singer. His family was Jewish. Charnin graduated from The High School of Music & Art and then from The Cooper Union, where he earned a BFA."Martin Charnin Biography".
FilmReference.com, accessed July 11, 2012 Charnin began his theatrical career as a performer, appearing as "Big Deal", one of the Jets in the original production of '' West Side Story''. He played the role for 1,000 performances on Broadway and on the road. He wrote music and lyrics for numerous

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 ...

and cabaret revues, many of them for Julius Monk. He then went on to write, direct, and produce nightclub acts for

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

, Nancy Wilson, Mary Travers, Larry Kert, Jose Ferrer, and Leslie Uggams. The first Broadway musical for which he wrote the lyrics was the 1963 musical '' Hot Spot'' starring Judy Holliday, with music by Mary Rodgers."Martin Charnin Biography".
MasterWorksBroadway.com, accessed July 11, 2012 He contributed lyrics to

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I ...

's musical '' Zenda'' which ran in California in 1963 but did not reach Broadway. In 1967, he wrote the lyrics for ''Mata Hari'', which was produced by David Merrick. He wrote lyrics to

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

' music and

Peter Stone Peter Stone may refer to: *Pete Stone, Australian footballer in the 1956 Summer Olympics *Peter G. Stone (born 1957), British archaeologist *Peter Stone (cricketer) (born 1938), New Zealand cricketer *Peter Stone (professor) (born 1971), professor ...

's book for the musical '' Two by Two'' (1970), which starred Danny Kaye and ran on Broadway for 10 months. In the early 1970s, he worked in television where he conceived, produced, wrote and directed six television variety specials. In 1971, he won the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for ''Annie, The Women in the Life of a Man'', which starred Anne Bancroft."Charnin Emmy Listing"
Emmys.com, accessed July 11, 2012 In 1972, he won two primetime Emmy Awards for ''S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Gershwin'', which starred, among others, Jack Lemmon, Fred Astaire,

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theatre, musical theater,Obituary ''Variety Obitua ...

, Larry Kert, and Robert Guillaume. His other television specials included ''Get Happy'' (starring Jack Lemmon, Johnny Mathis,

Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the P ...

), '' Dames at Sea'' (1971, starring Ann-Margret, Anne Meara, Ann Miller, Dick Shawn, Harvey Evans, and

Fred Gwynne Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author, who is widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms '' Car 54, Where Are You?'' (as Francis Muldoon) and '' The Munsters'' (as Herm ...

), ''Cole Porter in Paris'' (starring

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

, Twiggy, Louis Jourdan, Charles Aznavour), and a second Bancroft special titled ''Annie and the Hoods''. He supplied music and lyrics for the song "The Best Thing You've Ever Done", sung by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

on her multi-platinum album '' The Way We Were''. He made his Broadway directing debut in 1973, conceiving and directing the revue ''Nash at Nine'', based on the works of Ogden Nash and starring E.G. Marshall and running for 21 performances. He next directed the revue ''Music! Music!'', which had a libretto by Alan Jay Lerner and ran at City Center for 37 performances in 1974. He directed '' The National Lampoon Show'' (1975) and its road company. The New York version starred John Belushi, Gilda Radner,

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

, and other ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' performers. He then created, wrote the lyrics for and directed '' Annie'' at the Goodspeed Opera House. ''Annie'' moved to Broadway and ran for 2,327 performances, becoming one of the 25 longest running musicals in Broadway history. His collaborators were

Charles Strouse Charles Louis Strouse (June 7, 1928 – May 15, 2025) was an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to the Broadway musicals ''Bye Bye Birdie'', ''Applause (musical), Applause'', and ''Annie (musical), Annie''. Backgrou ...

and Thomas Meehan. He went on to direct the five U.S. national companies of '' Annie'' and three productions in the West End in London. While in London, he directed '' Bar Mitzvah Boy'' (1978), which had music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Don Black. He wrote the lyrics for '' I Remember Mama'' (1979) with music by Richard Rodgers, and directed, wrote the lyrics for, and co-wrote the book for '' The First'' (1981), a musical about Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball, for which he was nominated for two Tony Awards. He directed ''A Little Family Business'' on Broadway in 1982, which starred Angela Lansbury and John McMartin, and

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

and Anne Jackson in ''The Flowering Peach'' for Tony Randall's National Theatre, on Broadway. He wrote additional lyrics for '' La Strada'' (1969) and '' The Madwoman of Central Park West'' (1979). He directed ''Cafe Crown'' in 1988 at the Off-Broadway Public Theater, which subsequently transferred to Broadway in 1989. In 1989 he directed ''Sid Caesar & Company'' on Broadway. He directed ''Laughing Matters'' in 1989 at the Theater at St. Peter's Church, New York, a revue written by and starring Peter Tolan and Linda Wallem. He directed ''Jeanne La Pucelle'' (1997) in Montreal, with book and lyrics by Vincent de Tourdonnet and music by Peter Sipos. In the 1990s, he directed dozens of companies of ''Annie'', and its sequel '' Annie Warbucks''; in 1997, he directed three additional companies of ''Annie'' in London, Australia and Amsterdam. He directed the 20th anniversary production of ''Annie'' on Broadway, and in 2004, he directed the 30th anniversary production of ''Annie'', produced by Ken Gentry and Networks. It ran for three and a half years all over the U.S. He conceived and directed the cabaret revue ''Upstairs at O'Neals'', which ran Off-Broadway from October 1982 to July 1983 at O'Neal's restaurant. He directed and wrote the book with Douglas Bernstein and Denis Markell and music with Marvin Hamlisch, Thomas Meehan, Billy Weeden and David Finkle for ''The No Frills Revue''; sketches were written by Ronny Graham among others. The revue featured his daughter, Sasha Charnin Morrison. The revue opened Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theater in October 1987. He directed the premiere stage adaptation of

Jules Feiffer Jules Ralph Feiffer ( ; January 26, 1929 – January 17, 2025) was an American cartoonist and author, who at one time was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for Pulitzer Prize for Editori ...

's ''Carnal Knowledge'' Off-Broadway at the Kaufman Theatre in 1990 and Wallach and Jackson in ''In Persons''. In regional theatre, he directed ''Robin Hood: The Legend Continues'' which ran at the Village Theatre, Issaquah, Washington in December 2004. He also wrote the lyrics, with music by Peter Sipos and the book by Thomas Meehan, and the cast featured Shelly Burch. He directed A.R. Gurney's ''Later Life'' in Orlando in 2005, featuring Shelly Burch. He created, wrote or directed regional shows including '' Love is Love'', '' Shadowlands'', and in 2010, '' Sleuth'', all for the Village Theatre in Issaquah. He moved back to the East Coast for the 35th Anniversary revival of ''Annie'', which opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in November 2012 and ran until January 2014. He created, produced and directed night club acts for his wife, Shelly Burch, and prepared a new one-woman theatrical entertainment for her for Fall 2014. He directed the revival of '' Two by Two'', starring

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor and comedian. Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Golden Globe ...

as Noah, and Tovah Feldshuh as Noah's wife. It was performed at the York Theatre in 2014 and a new Broadway production was being planned. Charnin moved to Issaquah, Washington after directing ''Robin Hood'' and stayed there until he returned to New York in 2012. He was Artistic Director of Showtunes!, a theatre company in Seattle, Washington, devoted to resurrecting forgotten and unsung musicals, and celebrating the works of composers, including

and Irving Berlin, and producing them in concert at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

Personal life and death

He and his wife, Shelly Burch, lived in New York. He suffered a heart attack on July 3, 2019 and died on July 6, 2019, aged 84, following a period of hospitalization. The marquee lights of Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre (known as the Alvin Theatre when ''Annie'' debuted there in 1977) were dimmed in his honor in tribute on July 13, 2019.

Works

Stage

* ''Fallout (Revue)'' (1958) * ''Kaleidoscope (Revue)'' (1960) * ''Pieces of Eight'' (1961) - for Julius Monk * ''Upstairs at the Downstairs'' (1961) - for Julius Monk * ''The Littlest Revue'' (1961) - for Ben Bagley * '' Zenda'' (1963) - co-lyricist, music by

* '' Hot Spot'' (1963) - lyricist; music by Mary Rodgers * '' Mata Hari'' (1967) - lyricist; music by Edward Thomas, book by Jerome Coopersmith * ''Ballad for a Firing Squad'' evision of ''Mata Hari''(1968) * '' La Strada'' (1969) – additional lyrics; Music by Eliot Lawrence * '' Two by Two'' (1971) – lyricist; music by

, book by

* ''Nash at Nine'' (1973) - director; music by Milton Rosenstock * ''Music! Music!'' (1974) - director; book by Alan Jay Lerner, various composers * '' Annie'' (1977) - conceived, director and lyricist; music by Charles Strouse, book by Thomas Meehan * '' Bar Mitzvah Boy'' (1979) – director; music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Don Black, book by Jack Rosenthal * '' I Remember Mama'' (1979) – lyricist; music by

, book by Thomas Meehan * '' The Madwoman of Central Park West'' (1979) – additional lyrics * '' The First'' (1981) – lyricist, director; co-book writer with Joel Siegel, music by Bob Brush * ''A Little Family Business'' (1982) – director, Written by Jay Presson Allen * ''Upstairs at O'Neal's'' (1982) – creator and director * ''Jokers'' (1986) – director, Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam * ''The No-Frills Revue'' (1987) – creator and director * '' Cafe Crown'' (1989) – director * '' Sid Caesar & Company'' (1989) - director * ''Laughing Matters'' (1989) - director, St. Peter's Church, New York City * ''Carnal Knowledge'' (1990) – director; Written by Jules Feiffer; Kaufman Theater * '' Annie Warbucks'' (1993) – director, lyricist; music by Charles Strouse, book by Thomas Meehan * ''Starcrossed: The Trial of Galileo'' (1994) – director; lyrics by Keith Levenson, music by Jeanine Tesori at Goodspeed/Norma Terris Theatre, Connecticut * '' Can-Can'' (1995) – director; music and lyrics by Cole Porter, Book by Abe Burrows, revised by Martin Charnin at Goodspeed Opera House, Connecticut * '' The Flowering Peach'' (1997) – director; Written by Clifford Odets * '' Annie'' (1997) Broadway Revival – director, lyricist * ''Jeanne La Pucelle'' (1997) - director; book & lyrics by Vincent de Tourdonnet, music by Peter Sipos * '' Two by Two'' (2004) director, lyricist. Revised book by

* ''Robin Hood: The Legend Continues'' (2004) - director, lyricist; music by Thomas Meehan * ''Later Life'' (2005) director (Orlando, Florida) * '' Annie'' (2005) 30th Anniversary Production – director, lyricist * '' Shadowlands'' (2006) – director; written by William Nicholson (writer)">William Nicholson * ''Annie Warbucks'' (2008) - director, lyricist (For Showtunes) * ''Rodgers &...'' (2009) - writer, director, lyricist (Lyrics and Lyricists, 92nd Street Y, New York City) * ''Love Is Love'' (2009) Musical Revue - director, lyricist; music by Richard Gray (Florida) * ''Follies'' (2010) - Artistic Director, Concert (For Showtunes Theatre Company, Seattle.) * '' Sleuth'' (2010) - director; written by Anthony Shaffer * ''The Melody Lingers On: The Songs of Irving Berlin'' (2011) - director, author. (For Showtunes Theatre Company, Seattle.) * ''Real to Reel'' (Songs that went from stage to screen) (2012) - director, author. (For Showtunes Theatre Company, Seattle.) * ''The Broadway Revues'' (A Tribute to the Great Revues from The Follies to Sugar Babies) (2012) - director, author. (For Showtunes Theatre Company, Seattle.) * ''Rodgers &'' (2013) The Emelin Theatre * ''Real to Reel'' (2014) The Emelin Theatre * ''Something Funny's Going On'' (revue) 54Below, New York City *“I Happen To Like New York” (2015) Emelin Theatre starring Shelly Burch *”In The Secret Sea” (2016)Theatre Row *”Incurably Romantic”(2016)starring Burch *”Forgotten Broadway” (2017)-Emelin Theatre

Television and film

* ''Feathertop'' (1961) ABC - (lyricists; music by Mary Rodgers) * '' The Jackie Gleason Show'' (1961) CBS - (lyricist; music by Mary Rodgers) * ''Annie, The Woman in the Life of a Man'' (1971) - (conceived; produced; wrote; and directed) * ''S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Gershwin'' (1972) - (conceived; produced; wrote; and directed) * ''Get Happy'' - (conceived; produced; wrote; and directed) * '' Dames at Sea'' - (conceived; produced; wrote; and directed) * ''Cole Porter in Paris'' - (conceived; produced; wrote; and directed) * ''Annie and the Hoods'' - (conceived; produced; wrote; and directed) * ''The Annie Christmas Show'' (1977) CBS - (director, producer) * '' Annie'' (1982)

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

(starring Carol Burnett, Albert Finney, Bernadette Peters) * '' Annie'' (1999)

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

(starring Kathy Bates, Audra McDonald, Victor Garber, Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth) * '' Annie'' (2014) Columbia Pictures (starring Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale)

Awards and nominations

;Awards *1971

for Outstanding Single Program-Variety or Musical-Variety and Popular Music – ''Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man'' *1972

for Outstanding Single Program-Variety or Musical-Variety and Popular Music – ''S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Gershwin'' *1973

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

for Broadcasting – ''S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Gershwin'' *1977

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Director of a Musical – ''Annie'' *1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics – ''Annie'' *1977 Tony Award for Best Original Score – ''Annie'' *2006 The Richard Rodgers Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Performing Arts *2011 Goodspeed Musical Award for Outstanding Contribution to the American Musical Theatre"'Annie' is celebrated at Goodspeed - where it all began".
TheDay.com, June 5, 2011 *2013 The first George M. Cohan Ascap Award ;Nominations *1972 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety, or Music – ''S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Gershwin'' *1973 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy, Variety, or Music – ''Get Happy'' *1977 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – ''Annie'' *1982 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical – ''The First'' *1982 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – ''The First''

Miscellaneous

;Miscellaneous *Member of ASCAP, The Writers Guild, The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. *Author: ''Annie: A Theatrical Memoir'' (1977) - Published E.P. Dutton, *Author: ''The Giraffe who Sounded like Ol' Blue Eyes'' (illustrated by Kate Draper - Published by E.P. Dutton) *Album: ''Nancy Wilson Live at the Sands'' (1969) *Album: ''Annie'' Original Broadway recording (1977 Columbia Records) *Album: ''Upstairs at O'Neal's'' Original New York Company (1982 Bruce Yeko Records) *Album: ''Incurably Romantic'' (seventeen lyrics; various composers) *Album: ''Annie'' 30th Anniversary Original recording (2005 Time-Life Records) *Album: ''Second Coming'' - Shelly Burch live at the Metropolitan Room in New York City *Songs recorded by: Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Rod McKuen, Grace Jones, Jay-Z, Nancy Wilson, Andrea McArdle, Shelly Burch, and others *Unproduced musical - ''Softly'' - lyricist, music by Harold Arlen, book by Hugh Wheeler *Cabaret Acts - Nancy Wilson, Diahann Carrol, Leslie Uggams, Jose Ferrer, Tom Poston, Larry Kert, Andrea McArdle, and Shelly Burch.

Notes

References

* Bloom, Ken. ''American Song: The Complete Musical Theater Companion 1877–1995'', Vol. 2, 2nd edition, Schirmer Books, 1996. * Green, Stanley; Taylor, Deems. ''The World of Musical Comedy: The Story of the American Musical Stage'', A. S. Barnes, 1980. * Larkin, Colin. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', 3rd edition, Macmillan, 1998. * Press, Jaques Cattell (ed.). ''ASCAP Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors and Publishers'', 4th edition, R. R. Bowker, 1980

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charnin, Martin 1934 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers American musical theatre lyricists American theatre directors Broadway composers and lyricists Broadway theatre directors Cooper Union alumni Drama Desk Award winners Grammy Award winners Jewish American songwriters Male actors from New York City Musicians from New York City The High School of Music & Art alumni Tony Award winners Writers from New York City