Addison Burkhardt (August 12, 1879 – January 25, 1937) was a librettist and lyricist from about 1903 to 1922 and a Hollywood script and scenario writer thereafter.
Biography
Addison Burkhardt’s birth name was Abraham; he was the sixth of seven children of Ethel and Jacob Burkhardt, Russian Jews who immigrated to America in the late 1860s. Abraham was born in Washington, D. C., but he was raised first in New York and then, after 1884, in Chicago. Jacob Burkhardt died on January 16, 1893, and by 1895 Abraham had left school to work for a law firm, studying at night to qualify for the bar. At the turn of the century he gave up that profession for the entertainment business and, using the forename Addison, scored his first successes in 1902. He kept the new name for the rest of his life.
On January 8, 1907, Addison Burkhardt married Josephine Kasparek in Chicago; they had no children. Although much of his career was based in Chicago, Burkhardt had moved to New York before the marriage, and he continued to reside there until at least 1920. He traveled to Europe at least once, assessing and acquiring shows with the producer Mort Singer in 1912.
He worked closely with his brothers Charles and Max, both of whom were in the entertainment business; for Charles he wrote sketches, and with Max he briefly opened his own publishing house in 1918. The publishing venture failed, and Burkhardt’s New York career began to wane; in 1923 he was recruited by
Fox films and moved to California.
In Los Angeles Burkhardt anglicized his name further by dropping the “d”; he had done so occasionally before, but with increasing regularity after the start of World War I. Under his new name (sometimes also “Burkhard”) Burkhart worked for Fox for a few years; then he wrote scripts and adaptations for Warner Brothers and RKO, continuing to write and revise stage work occasionally. After 1932 his health declined, and Burkhart was in retirement at his death.
Career
Burkhardt’s career can be divided into three parts. The first, from 1902 until 1914, was centered in Chicago, where Burkhardt authored the librettos for a series of very successful productions. The second, based in New York, was devoted primarily to vaudeville routines, sketches, and lyrics for individual songs. The third was in California, where Burkhart worked primarily in film.
Burkhardt’s first libretto was for ''Chow Chow'', renamed
''The Runaways''; a substantial hit, the music was written by
Raymond Hubbell
John Raymond Hubbell (June 1, 1879 – December 13, 1954) was an American writer, composer and lyricist. He is best known for the popular song, "Poor Butterfly".
Life and career
Hubbell was born in Urbana, Ohio, Urbana, Ohio. He attended sc ...
and published by
Charles K. Harris
Charles Kassel Harris (May 1, 1867 – December 22, 1930) was a well regarded American songwriter of popular music. During his long career, he advanced the relatively new genre, publishing more than 300 songs, often deemed by admirers as ...
, to whom Burkhardt was already contracted. Then came ''The Jolly Baron'', with a score by
Harry Von Tilzer
Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer.
Early life
Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...
, also a success. Both shows opened in Chicago and then toured extensively. By 1907 Burkhardt had left Harris and joined the more prestigious firm of
M. Witmark & Sons. Now based in New York, he wrote lyrics and sketches for revues that included ''The Mimic World'' (1908 and 1909) and
Florenz Ziegfeld's ''Miss Innocence'' (1908). In Chicago he became associated with Harry Askin, who took over the
La Salle Theater in 1910. ''The Sweetest Girl in Paris'' opened the new house; a vehicle for
Trixie Friganza
Trixie Friganza (born Delia O'Callaghan; November 29, 1870February 27, 1955) was an American actress. She began her career as an operetta soubrette, working her way from the chorus to starring in musical comedies to having her own feature act o ...
, it had an impressive run and toured for two more years. It was followed by the even more successful ''Louisiana Lou'' (1912), with a cast led by
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...
. Both these shows, and many other of Burkhardt’s scripts and vaudeville routines, incorporated comic Jewish characters, depicted by stereotypical performers like Alexander Carr and Samuel Liebert. Quite possibly Burkhardt’s skill in delineating these derived from the cultural experiences of his youth. A final Chicago show, ''One Girl in a Million'' (1914) was also a success but effectively marked the end of Burkhardt's musical comedy career.
Thereafter Burkhardt wrote one-act plays, extended vaudeville sketches, and individual songs. He had written skits for his brother Charles from the beginning; a 1913 one-act, “The Cheap Skate,” proved especially popular. Other successes were the “Demi Tasse Review,” written for Isabelle D’Armond, and ''A Shattered Idol'', for Samuel Liebert, billed as “a one-act play of Jewish life.” Burkhardt had already written individual songs in collaboration with prominent figures like
Will Marion Cook
William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an American composer, violinist, and choral director.Riis, Thomas (2007–2011)Cook, Will Marion ''Grove Music Online.'' Oxford Music Online. Retrieved ...
and
Gus Edwards. In 1915 he wrote “Israel,” with
Fred Fisher
Fred Fisher (born Alfred Breitenbach, September 30, 1875 – January 14, 1942) was a German-born American songwriter and Tin Pan Alley music publisher.
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Fisher was born in Cologne, Germany. His parents were Max and Theodora Breitenba ...
, for ''Settling Accounts'', a play by
Clara Lipman
Clara Lipman (December 6, 1864 – June 22, 1952) was an American musical comedy actress and playwright whose career began in 1885 and continued on until her retirement in 1927. She was the wife of comedian Louis Mann and the sister of popular ...
and Samuel Shipman; and, with
Abe Olman
Abe Olman (December 20, 1887Many sources state his birth year as 1888, but this appears to be an error. – January 4, 1984), born Abraham Olshewitz, was an American songwriter and music publisher. He composed a number of successful ragtime an ...
, he wrote “All I Need is Just a Girl Like You,” which was popular enough to be interpolated in the London production of ''Louisiana Lou''. After 1917, Burkhardt, like many popular composers, turned to war-time themes; his “All Aboard for Home, Sweet Home,” with music by Tin Pan Alley stalwarts
Al Piantadosi
Al Piantadosi (born John Alberto Joseph Piantadosi; August 18, 1882 in New York City – April 8, 1955 in Encino, California) was an American composer of popular music during the of Tin Pan Alley. He started out as a saloon and vaudeville piani ...
and Jack Glogau, was a moderate success, while “Let’s Bury the Hatchet in the Kaiser’s Head,” to which he wrote his own music, was not. Thereafter Burkhardt (now often Burkhart) seems to have lost his touch. His publishing firm failed in less than a year, and a review of his 1918 sketch, “Work or Fight,” concluded that “the turn in its present form looks hopeless.”
With tastes changing, Burkhart, like many other entertainers, moved west. He worked on silent films for Fox for several years, culminating in the scenarios for eight short comedies directed by
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55.
One of the most influential film co ...
and starring
Edward Everett Horton
Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons.
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Horton was born in Kings County ...
. Then he moved into talkies, writing the scripts for two early
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...
features, ''The Home Towners'' and ''
Queen of the Night Clubs
''Queen of the Night Clubs'' is a 1929 American Pre-Code musical drama film produced and directed by Bryan Foy, distributed by Warner Bros., and starred legendary nightclub hostess Texas Guinan. The picture, which featured appearances by Eddi ...
''.
[”Cohanesque Era Slated for House”, ''Los Angeles Times'', December 7, 1928, p. A11; “Heartaches of Stage Depicted,” ''Los Angeles Times'', March 1, 1929, p. A11.] He also wrote at least three shorts, and he was active in the Los Angeles theatre community. He seemed poised for a new round of success when illness forced his retirement in 1932.
Burkhardt was not an innovator, but he worked consistently to maintain the high reputation gained with his early musical comedies. He showed remarkable flexibility in adjusting to shifts in taste and media, changing genre and location as circumstances required.
Shows authored or co-authored
* ''Chow Chow'' (book and lyrics; music by Raymond Hubbell). October 4, 1902, New Orpheon Music Hall (
La Salle Theater), Chicago, 127 performances.
*
''The Runaways'' (revision of ''Chow Chow''). May 11, 1903, Casino Theater, New York, 167 performances.
* ''The Jolly Baron; or, The Miller's Daughter'' (book, with Aaron S. Hoffman; lyrics by
Arthur J. Lamb, music by
Harry Von Tilzer
Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer.
Early life
Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...
; revision of ''The Fisher Maiden''). September 13, 1904, La Salle Theater, Chicago, 94 performances.
* ''The Sweetest Girl in Paris'' (book and lyrics; music by
Joseph E. Howard
Joseph Edgar Howard (February 12, 1870May 19, 1961) was an American Broadway composer, lyricist, librettist, and performer. A famed member of Tin Pan Alley along with wife and composer Ida Emerson as part of the song-writing team of Howard and E ...
). August 29, 1910, La Salle Theater, Chicago, 238 performances.
* ''Louisiana Lou'' (book and lyrics, with Frederick Donaghey; music by Ben Jerome). September 3, 1912, La Salle Theater, Chicago; 265 performances.
* ''One Girl in a Million'' (book and lyrics, with Charles W. Collins; music, with Frieda Hall). September 6, 1914, La Salle Theater, Chicago; 150 performances.
References
Further reading
* "Addison Burkhardt," ''The Music Trade Review'' XLIII:21 (November 24, 1906), p. 54.
* "Burkhart, Addison," in ''The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary'', 2nd edition, ed. Daniel I. McNamara; Binghamton, NY: The Vail-Ballou Press, Inc., 1952, p. 65–66.
* Tinee, Mae. "Addison Burkhardt, Librettist, Kindly Submits to an Interview." ''The Chicago Daily Tribune'', July 6, 1913, p. B2.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkhardt, Addison
1879 births
1937 deaths
American librettists
American lyricists