Gary Geld (born October 18, 1935,

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

known for his work creating

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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

s and popular songs with his lyricist partner

Peter Udell Peter Udell (born 1934) is an American lyricist and writer, best known for his collaborations with composer Gary Geld. He started his career in popular music in the 1960s, writing lyrics for songs including " Sealed With A Kiss", " Save Your Heart ...

. Raised in

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As ...

, Geld graduated from Clifton High School, where he won a songwriting competition. A graduate of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, Geld composed the music to the popular songs " Sealed With A Kiss", " Save Your Heart for Me" and "

Hurting Each Other "Hurting Each Other" is a song popularized by the Carpenters in 1972. It was written in 1965 by Gary Geld and Peter Udell, and has been recorded many times by artists ranging from Ruby & the Romantics to Rosemary Clooney. Previous versions The o ...

" with Udell as lyricist. The two men also co-created the

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 ...

musicals ''

Purlie ''Purlie'' is a musical with a book by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose, and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell and music by Gary Geld. It is based on Davis's 1961 play ''Purlie Victorious'', which was later made into the 1963 film ''Gone Are the Days!'' and w ...

'' (1970, a nominee for the

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical play, musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The awa ...

), '' Shenandoah'' (1975), and ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

'' (1978). His music for ''Shenandoah'' was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical theatre, musical or Play (theatre), play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be ...

in 1975. Geld and Udell also contributed songs to the musical dance revue ''

American Dance Machine The American Dance Machine was a theatrical dance company created by Lee Theodore, which played on Broadway at the Century Theatre, opening Jun 14, 1978 and in total running 199 performances. It was duplicated with a second cast for the American D ...

'' (1978).

References

1935 births Living people Clifton High School (New Jersey) alumni Songwriters from New Jersey People from Clifton, New Jersey People from Paterson, New Jersey 20th-century American composers American musical theatre composers Broadway composers and lyricists New York University alumni {{US-composer-20thC-stub