"Funny Face" is a 1927 song composed by

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was the title song of the stage musical ''

Funny Face ''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny ...

'', where it was introduced by

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

, and his sister,

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

. A 1957 film musical called ''

'' also featured the song, and also starred Fred Astaire, though the two had different stories. In the film, Fred Astaire's character was loosely based on the career of

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

, who provided a number of the photographs seen in the film, including its most famous single image: an intentionally overexposed close-up of Audrey Hepburn's face in which only her famous features—her eyes, her eyebrows, and her mouth—are visible. (This image is seen during the "Funny Face" musical number, which takes place in a darkroom).

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

performed several lines of this song in her "Medley" on her studio album ''

Color Me Barbra ''Color Me Barbra'' is the seventh studio album by singer Barbra Streisand released on Columbia Records in 1966. It reached number 3 in the US albums chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It was also the title of Streisand's second CBS TV sp ...

'' (1966).

Recordings

* Arden-Ohman Orchestra with Johnny Marvin, vocal - Victor 21114; Matrix BVE-41151 (rec. Dec 8, 1927) *

Whispering Jack Smith Jack Smith (born Jacob Schmidt, May 30, 1896 – May 13, 1950), known as "Whispering" Jack Smith, was an American baritone singer who was a popular radio and recording artist. He was at his most popular during the 1920s and 1930s, making a br ...

- HMV B2864 (rec. Sep 19, 1928) *

and

Adele Astaire Adele Astaire Douglass (born Adele Marie Austerlitz, later known as Lady Charles Cavendish; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville perfor ...

- English Columbia EC 5174 (rec. Nov 26, 1928) *

- '' Funny Face (soundtrack)'' (1957) *

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, in ...

- ''

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book'' is a box set by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald that contains songs by George and Ira Gershwin with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. It was produced by Norman Granz, Fitzgerald' ...

'' (1959) *

Joe Raposo Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH (February 8, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American composer, songwriter, pianist, singer and lyricist, best known for his work on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', for which he wrote the theme ...

- as the soundtrack of a film about monkeys on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'' (1969)

References

Songs with music by George Gershwin Songs with lyrics by Ira Gershwin Songs from Funny Face (musical) 1927 songs Barbra Streisand songs Fred Astaire songs {{Show-tune-stub