Milton Schafer (September 24, 1920 – April 12, 2020Broadway Composer Milton Schafer Has Passed Away
''Broadway World''. Retrieved May 12, 2020.) was an American composer and pianist. After being a runner-up for first prize in the Texas-based national guild of piano teachers competition, Schafer continued his studies for a year in Paris with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

. He returned to the U.S. to give his Town Hall début as a pianist in 1950, receiving very favorable reviews and performed there again in 1954. He worked as musical assistant (accompanist and adviser) to

Bob Merrill Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...

(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window? "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" is a popular novelty song. It was written by Bob Merrill and first registered on September 25, 1952, as "The Doggie in the Window". On January 27, 1953, its sheet music was published in New York as "( ...

") for two years and after a stint at MGM in Hollywood,

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/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 Can't ...

signed him as a composer with

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

's publishing company, Frank Music. His first (unproduced) musical was ''The Happy Time'' based on Samuel Taylor's play (and not Kander and Ebb’s later musical of the same name), for which he wrote both lyrics and music. This was followed by an album of children’s songs recorded by

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

, called ''Mommy Gimme a Drinka Water'' for which he also wrote music and lyrics. His first produced musical was ''

Bravo Giovanni ''Bravo Giovanni'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book by A. J. Russell, lyrics by Ronny Graham, and music by Milton Schafer. It is based upon Howard Shaw's 1959 novel, ''The Crime of Giovanni Venturi''. The musical was conceived as a vehicle ...

!'' which was nominated for a

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

in 1962, and which starred

Cesare Siepi Cesare Siepi (10 February 19235 July 2010) was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, a full, resonant, wide-ranging lower r ...

and

Michele Lee Michele Lee is an American actress, singer, dancer, producer, and director. She is known for her role as Karen Fairgate MacKenzie on the prime-time soap opera ''Knots Landing'' (1979–1993), for which she was nominated for a 1982 Emmy Award ...

. This was followed in 1965 by ''

Drat! The Cat! ''Drat! The Cat!'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Ira Levin and music by Milton Schafer. Originally called ''Cat and Mouse'', this spoof of late- Victorian melodrama has at its core Alice Van Guilder, who wants to be a career girl at a tim ...

'' starring

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s. Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...

and

Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...

, with lyrics and book by

Ira Levin Ira Marvin Levin (August 27, 1929 – November 12, 2007) was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels ''A Kiss Before Dying (novel), A Kiss Before Dying'' (1953), ''Rosemary's Baby (novel), Rosemary's Baby'' ...

, from which score

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 List ...

recorded “He Touched Me” (originally titled ''She Touched Me'').

Cultural legacy

Schafer's song "Crazy Barbara" was adapted as a children's picture book, ''That Crazy Barb'ra'', illustrated by G. Brian Karas (

Dial Press The Dial Press was a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with ''The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. R. Bu ...

2003; )

References

Additional references

* "Mommy, Gimme a Drinka Water!"/"Bathtub Admiral" b/w "Crazy Barbara"/"I'm Five!", 45 rpm single, performed by Danny Kaye, orchestration by

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...

. Capitol Records EAP 1-937

External links

Schafer at Musicalstonight website
*
Schafer at Allmusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Milton 1920 births 2020 deaths Place of birth missing American musical theatre composers American male songwriters American male pianists American expatriates in France