Morris Isaac "Moose" Charlap (December 19, 1928 – July 8, 1974) was an American
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 ...
composer best known for ''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
'' (1954), for which
Carolyn Leigh
Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". Wi ...
wrote the lyrics. The idea for the show came from
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.
Among his nu ...
, who planned to have a few songs by Charlap and Leigh. It evolved into a full musical, with additional songs by
Jule Styne
Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became ...
and
Betty Comden
Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned ...
and
Adolph Green
Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Ar ...
. The original run of ''Peter Pan'' on Broadway starred
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific'' (194 ...
as
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
and
Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...
as
Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is a fictional character and the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play '' Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate capt ...
.
Career
Charlap was also the composer for the 1969 television movie musical ''Hans Brinker,'' which had lyrics by
Alvin Cooperman
Alvin Cooperman (July 24, 1923 – August 11, 2006) was a television producer and entertainment executive.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, Cooperman began his work as an office boy at the age of 16 for the The Shubert Organization, Shubert Organiz ...
and starred
Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Jean Parker (June 26, 1922 – December 9, 2013) was an American actress. She was nominated for three Academy Awards for her roles in the films '' Caged'' (1950), '' Detective Story'' (1951), and '' Interrupted Melody'' (1955), the fir ...
(her singing voice was her own),
Richard Basehart
John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knight ...
,
John Gregson
Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.
He was cr ...
,
Robin Askwith
Robin Mark Askwith (born 12 October 1950) is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions.
Making his film debut as Keating in the film '' if....'' (1968), a role he would reprise in '' Brit ...
,
Roberta Tovey, Sheila Whitmill, and
Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard (1 December 1898 – 18 December 1977), known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in ...
. It was based on the novel by
Mary Mapes Dodge
Mary Elizabeth Mapes Dodge (January 26, 1831 – August 21, 1905) was an American children's author and editor, best known for her novel '' Hans Brinker''. She was the recognized leader in juvenile literature for almost a third of the nineteent ...
. Charlap also wrote the song "First Impression" with lyrics by
Carolyn Leigh
Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". Wi ...
. The song was dropped from the original 1954 production of ''Peter Pan'' but was recorded by
Eydie Gorme Eydie may refer to:
* Eydie Gormé (1928–2013), American singer.
* Steve and Eydie, an American pop vocal duet,
* Eydie Whittington, a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C.
* The World Of Steve & Eydie, a 1972 album released by Steve Lawr ...
in 1956. Other songs Charlap wrote that were not included in musicals include "English Muffins and Irish Stew," "Mademoiselle," "Great Day in the Morning," "My Favorite Song," and "Young Ideas."
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, i ...
recorded his "My Favorite Song" for
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...
with an orchestra directed by
Leroy Kirkland Leroy E. Kirkland (February 10, 1904 or 1906 – April 6, 1988) was an American arranger, bandleader, guitarist and songwriter whose career spanned the eras of big band jazz, R&B, rock and roll and soul.
Life and career
Born in Columbia, South Ca ...
. Charlap was also a recording artist and had a single, "Good Old Fashioned Lovin'/It Was My Father's Habit," released on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
9674 in 1956.
Family
Born Morris Isaac Charlip to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family
[Tampa Jewish Federation: "Jews in the News: Mike Nichols, Yael Grobglas and Dominic Fumusa"]
retrieved March 18, 2017 , "''The musical was penned by five Jewish theater legends, all now deceased. Lyrics by: BETTY COMDEN, ADOLPH GREENE, and CAROLYN LEIGH—with music by: MARK CHARLAP and JULE STYNE.''" in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, he married singer
Sandy Stewart, whose biggest hit was "
My Coloring Book
"My Coloring Book" is a song written by Fred Ebb and John Kander. First performed by Sandy Stewart in 1962 on the television program '' The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall'', she was one of the first artists to record the work in 1962 when it was rel ...
" in 1962. Jazz pianist
Bill Charlap is their son. They also had a daughter, Katherine. He and his first wife, Elizabeth, were the parents of a daughter, Anne, and son, Tom, a bass player.
Charlap, who lived with his wife and children on
Manhattan's East Side, died at
Lenox Hill Hospital
Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the region's many univ ...
in 1974 at the age of 45.
Work on Broadway
*''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...
'' (1954,
revivals in 1979, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999) –
musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
–
composer
*''
Whoop-Up
''Whoop-Up'' is a musical with music by Mark Charlap, lyrics by Norman Gimbel, and book by Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, based on ''Stay Away, Joe'' by Dan Cushman. It was directed by Cy Feuer, with sets and lighting by Jo Mielziner and choreogra ...
'' (1958) –
musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
–
composer
*''
The Conquering Hero'' (1961) –
musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
–
composer
*''
Kelly
Kelly may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kelly (Kelly Price album)
* Kelly (Andrea Faustini album)
* ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap
* "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland
* ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
'' (1965) –
musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
–
composer
*''
Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' (1989) –
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 du ...
– featured
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
for "Peter Pan"
* ''Clown Around'' (1972)
Work on Television
*''Through the Looking Glass'' (1966 musical) –
musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
–
composer''Alice Through the Looking Glass'' at ''Masterworks Broadway''
/ref>
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlap, Mark
American musical theatre composers
1928 births
1974 deaths
Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni
Musicians from Philadelphia
Jewish American composers
Jewish American songwriters
Songwriters from Pennsylvania
20th-century American composers
20th-century American Jews