Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50
musical comedies and
operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading
Broadway composers of the early 20th century, including
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...
,
Louis Hirsch,
Herbert Stothart,
Vincent Youmans
Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer.
A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...
,
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 ' ...
, and
Sigmund Romberg. Harbach believed that music, lyrics, and story should be closely connected, and, as
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight ...
's mentor, he encouraged Hammerstein to write musicals in this manner. Harbach is considered one of the first great Broadway lyricists,
and he helped raise the status of the lyricist in an age more concerned with music, spectacle, and stars. Some of his more famous lyrics are "
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "
Indian Love Call" and "
Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine".
Early life and education
Otto Abels Hauerbach was born on August 18, 1873, in
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...
to
Danish immigrant parents. His family's original surname was Christiansen, but shortly after settling in the United States near Salt Lake City in the 1830s, they took the name of the farm on which they worked, Hauerbach, as their new surname.
He attended the
Salt Lake Collegiate Institute, transferring to
Knox College, in
Galesburg, Illinois
Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistic ...
, where he was a friend of
Carl Sandburg
Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...
, joined
Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Washington & Jefferson College, Jefferson C ...
fraternity, and graduated in 1895. Knox has since named its 599-seat Harbach Theatre in his honor. He then taught English and public speaking at
Whitman College in
Walla Walla,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
.
Beginning in 1901, he attended
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
with the goal of becoming an English professor. In the early 1900s, complaining of eye difficulties making prolonged reading uncomfortable, he became a newspaper reporter. He also worked at various advertising agencies, at an insurance firm, as a copywriter in advertising, and later as a journalist. He would have to pull out of Columbia when he could not financially support himself.
Early career (1902–1911)
In 1902, he spotted an advertisement for a new
Joe Weber and
Lew Fields
Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager, and producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber. He also produced shows on his own and starred in ...
musical with a picture of star
Fay Templeton
Fay Templeton (December 25, 1865 – October 3, 1939) was an American actress, singer, songwriter, and comedian.
Her parents were actors/vaudevillians and she followed in their footsteps, making her Broadway debut in 1900. Templeton excelled ...
.
He had not been interested in theatre but more in literary classics, but after seeing the show, realized he liked the lighthearted genre.
That same year, he met composer
Karl Hoschna
Karl Hoschna (1876–1911) was a Tin Pan Alley-era composer most noted for his songs "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine", " Every Little Movement" and " Yama Yama Man", and for a string of successful Broadway musicals.
Hoschna was born on 16 ...
.
They wrote a comic opera together, ''The Daughter of the Desert,'' but no producer was interested in producing the work.
Harbach and Hoschna continued to collaborate, writing songs to be interpolated into other Broadway shows. They received their first chance to have a complete show produced on Broadway when
Isidore Witmark asked Hoschna, his employee, to serve as composer for a musical version of
Mary Pacheco's play ''Incog''. Hoschna asked Harbach to write the lyrics. With Witmark and Charles Dickson writing the libretto, the resulting show was ''Three Twins'', which opened in 1908 and ran for 288 performances (Harbach was paid a hundred dollars for his work). The show starred Clifton Crawford. One of Hoschna and Harbach's songs for ''Three Twins'', "
Cuddle Up A Little Closer, Lovey Mine," became a popular hit.
Their next collaboration was ''Madame Sherry'' in 1910, an adaptation of a 1902 German operetta, which featured Jack Gardner in the lead role. Their score included the standard "
Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own) Sheet music cover, 1910
"Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own)" is a popular song. Its music was written by Karl Hoschna and its lyrics by Otto Harbach for their musical, ''Madame Sherry'', which opened on Broadway on August 30, 1910 ...
."
Harbach and Hoschna's score was augmented with interpolations, including the popular hit "Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey" by
Albert von Tilzer and Junie McCree. They would collaborate for four more shows until Hoschna died in 1911, aged 35.
Career (1912–1936)
Harbach's work with Hoschna had established his reputation as a competent Broadway lyricist and librettist. Producer
Arthur Hammerstein
Arthur Hammerstein (December 21, 1872 – October 12, 1955) was an American songwriter, dramatist, playwright and theater manager.
Biography
Born and educated to a Jewish family in New York City, Hammerstein was the son of the theater impresari ...
asked Harbach in 1912 to serve as librettist for a new operetta called ''
The Firefly'', to be composed by
Rudolf Friml. Harbach set his libretto in contemporary Manhattan and Bermuda, which differed from the typical European setting for operettas.
The result was a huge success, with hits such as "Sympathy", "Giannina Mia", and "Love is Like a Firefly".
The success of ''The Firefly'' led to ten more musical collaborations for librettist Harbach, composer Friml, and producer Arthur Hammerstein, including ''
High Jinks'' (1913) and ''
Katinka'' (1915).
Most of the shows Harbach and Friml wrote ran for over 200 performances each, which was a successful run for the time period.
Harbach also worked on projects with other collaborators during this time. In 1914, he contributed the libretto only to the
Percy Wenrich
Percy Wenrich (January 23, 1880 – March 17, 1952) was an American composer of ragtime and popular music.
Personal life and career
Born in Joplin, Missouri to Daniel Wenrich and Mary Ray, he left for Chicago in 1901 where he attended classe ...
musical ''
The Crinoline Girl''. He collaborated with composer
Louis Hirsch and scored his biggest success thus far in his career in 1917 with ''
Going Up''.
This was his first attempt at a musical comedy, as opposed to an American operetta.
The show was based on the 1910 comedy ''The Aviator'' by James Montgomery, who co-wrote the libretto with Harbach. The show ran for 351 performances, toured nationally, and was an even larger hit in London. Also in 1917, he shortened his name from Hauerbach to Harbach to avoid anti-German sentiment caused by
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
Harbach and Hirsch collaborated on another notable Broadway production in 1920, ''
Mary''.
Also around 1920, producer Arthur Hammerstein introduced his nephew Oscar Hammerstein II to Harbach.
Oscar was an aspiring lyricist and book writer, and Harbach became his mentor. Harbach encouraged Oscar to treat writing for the musical theatre as a "serious art form." Together, they wrote book and lyrics for ''
Tickle Me'' (1920), ''Jimmie'' (1920), ''
Wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...
'' (1923), ''
Rose-Marie'' (1924), ''
Sunny'' (1925), ''Song of the Flame'' (1925), ''The Wild Rose'' (1926), ''
The Desert Song'' (1926), ''Golden Dawn'' (1927), and ''Good Boy'' (1928).
Harbach and Hammerstein's operetta collaboration, ''
Wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...
'' (1923), was Harbach's first work with composer
Vincent Youmans
Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer.
A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...
. Harbach would then collaborate with composer Youmans, co-lyricist
Irving Caesar, and co-librettist
Frank Mandel on the 1925 hit musical comedy ''
No, No, Nanette''.
Harbach first collaborated with Broadway composer
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...
on ''
Sunny'' (1925), and they would continue to work together on subsequent musicals, including ''
Criss Cross'' (1926), ''
The Cat and the Fiddle (1931)'', and ''
Roberta'' (1933). Broadway historian Thomas S. Hischak states that Harbach's lyrics for Kern were the finest of his career. ''The Cat and the Fiddle'' was especially notable, as Harbach (writing both book and lyrics) and Kern aimed to create a modern operetta set in contemporary Brussels "in which music and story were indispensable to each other."
Hits from ''The Cat and the Fiddle'' included "Try to Forget," "
She Didn't Say Yes", "The Breeze Kissed Your Hair", and "The Night Was Made for Love". ''Roberta'' included the hits "
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, "
Yesterdays", "You're Devastating", and "The Touch of Your Hand".
By the mid-1930s, Harbach's operetta-influenced style was no longer current on Broadway. His final major production was a collaboration with operetta composer
Sigmund Romberg, ''Forbidden Melody'' (1936).
In addition to his musical collaborations, Harbach also wrote non-musical farce plays for the Broadway stage, including ''
Up in Mabel's Room''.
Impact and legacy
Harbach was one of the most prolific Broadway lyricist/librettists of the early 20th century.
He collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broadway writers and composers of that era, including
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight ...
,
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...
,
Louis Hirsch,
Herbert Stothart,
Vincent Youmans
Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer.
A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...
,
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 ' ...
, and
Sigmund Romberg.
He became a charter member of
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
in 1914, and he served as a director (1920–1963), vice president (1936–1940), and president (1950–1953).
Harbach was also an inductee of the
Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Harbach died at his home in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on January 24, 1963, aged 89.
Personal life
In 1918, Harbach married Eloise Smith Dougall of
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...
. The Harbachs had two sons,
William O. Harbach (a television producer) and Robert Harbach (a writer).
Notable songs
He was lyricist for many songs including:
* "Allah's Holiday"
* "
Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine"
* "
Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own) Sheet music cover, 1910
"Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own)" is a popular song. Its music was written by Karl Hoschna and its lyrics by Otto Harbach for their musical, ''Madame Sherry'', which opened on Broadway on August 30, 1910 ...
"
* "Giannina Mia"
* "Going Up"
* "
I Won't Dance"
* "If You Look in Her Eyes"
* "
Indian Love Call"
* "Love Is Like a Firefly"
* "
One Alone"
* "Rackety Coo"
* "
She Didn't Say Yes"
* "
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"
* "Something Seems Tingle-Ingling"
* "Sympathy"
* "The Night Was Made For Love"
* "The Tickle Toe"
* "
Yesterdays"
* "
Who?" (from 1925 Broadway Musical ''
Sunny'')
Works
* Early work
** 1907 ''Three Twins'' (music
Karl Hoschna
Karl Hoschna (1876–1911) was a Tin Pan Alley-era composer most noted for his songs "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine", " Every Little Movement" and " Yama Yama Man", and for a string of successful Broadway musicals.
Hoschna was born on 16 ...
)
** 1909 ''Bright Eyes'' (music Hoschna)
** 1910 ''Madame Sherry'' (music Hoschna)
** 1911 ''Dr. De Luxe'' (music Hoschna)
** 1911 ''The Girl of My Dreams'' (music Hoschna)
** 1911 ''
The Fascinating Widow
''The Fascinating Widow'' is a 1910 musical comedy written by Otto Hauerbach as a vehicle for the female impersonator Julian Eltinge. The play premiered in Atlantic City, New Jersey, then toured the United States for 10 months before appearin ...
'' (music Hoschna)
** 1912 ''
The Firefly'' (music
Rudolf Friml)
** 1913 ''
High Jinks'' (music Friml)
** 1914 ''
The Crinoline Girl'' (music
Percy Wenrich
Percy Wenrich (January 23, 1880 – March 17, 1952) was an American composer of ragtime and popular music.
Personal life and career
Born in Joplin, Missouri to Daniel Wenrich and Mary Ray, he left for Chicago in 1901 where he attended classe ...
), lyrics
Julian Eltinge) -- book only
** 1914 ''Suzi'' (music
Aladar Renyi)
** 1915 ''
Katinka'' (music Friml)
** 1916 ''The Silent Witness'' (play by Harbach)
** 1916 ''A Pair of Queens'' (play by Harbach,
A. Seymour Brown, and Harry Lewis)
** 1917 ''You're in Love'' (music Friml)
** 1917 ''Miss 1917'' (revue)
** 1917 ''Kitty Darlin (music Friml)
** 1917 ''Here's to the Two of You'' (m:
Louis Hirsct)
* Later works
** 1918 ''
Going Up'' (music
Louis Hirsch)
** 1919 ''
Up in Mabel's Room'', play, written with
Wilson Collison
Wilson Collison (November 5, 1893 – May 25, 1941) was a writer and playwright.
Early years
Wilson Collison was the son of John B. Collison, a clerk in the City Engineer's Office, and Mary E. Gardner. Wilson Collison abandoned plans to bec ...
** 1919 ''Tumble In'' (music Friml)
** 1919 ''The Little Whopper'' (music Friml, lyrics with Bide Dudley)
** 1920 ''No More Blondes'', play by Harbach
** 1920 ''
Mary'' (music Hirsch)
** 1920 ''Jimmie'' (music
Herbert Stothart, lyrics Hammerstein II)
** 1920 ''
Tickle Me'' (music Stothart, lyrics Hammerstein II)
** 1921 ''June Love'' (music Friml, lyrics
Brian Hooker, book Harbach and William H. Post)
** 1921 ''The O'Brien Girl'' (music Friml, lyrics Frank Mandel, and book Harbach and Mandel)
** 1922 ''The Blue Kitten'' (music Friml, lyrics and book by Harbach and William Carey Duncan)
** 1922 ''Molly Darling'' (music Tom Johnstone, lyrics Phil Cook, book by Harbach and Williams)
** 1923 ''
Wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...
'' (music Youmans and Stothart, lyrics Hammerstein II)
** 1923 ''Jack and Jill'' (music Stothart)
** 1923 ''
Kid Boots'' (music
Harry Tierney and lyrics
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarth ...
)
** 1923 ''
No, No, Nanette'' (music
Vincent Youmans
Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer.
A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...
, lyrics with
Irving Caesar)
** 1924 ''
Rose-Marie'' (music Friml, lyrics Hammerstein II)
** 1925 ''
Song of the Flame
''Song of the Flame'' is a 1930 American pre-Code musical film photographed entirely in Technicolor. It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. It was the first color film to feature a widescreen sequence, using a process called ...
'' (music 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 ' ...
and Stothart, lyrics Hammerstein II)
** 1925 ''
Sunny'' (music
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...
, lyrics Hammerstein II)
** 1926 ''
Criss Cross'' (music Kern)
** 1926 ''The Wild Rose'' (music Friml)
** 1926 ''
The Desert Song'' (music Romberg)
** 1927 ''
Golden Dawn
Golden Dawn or The Golden Dawn may refer to:
Organizations
* Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a nineteenth century magical order based in Britain
** The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc., a modern revival founded in 1977
** Open Source ...
'', music
Emmerich Kalman and Stothart
** 1927 ''Lucky'', music Kern
** 1928 ''Good Boy'', music Stothart, lyrics
Bert Kalmar and
Harry Ruby
** 1930 ''Nina Rosa'', music Romberg, lyrics Irving Caesar
** 1930 ''Ballyhoo of 1930'', featured lyricist
** 1931 ''
The Cat and the Fiddle'' (music Kern)
** 1933 ''
Roberta'' (music Kern)
** 1936 ''Forbidden Melody'' (music
Sigmund Romberg)
** 1938 ''Gentlemen Unafraid'' (music Kern, lyrics Hammerstein II)
References
* Hischak, Thomas, S. ''American Song Lyricists, 1920–1960'' (1002), Detroit:
Gale,
External links
*
*
Otto Harbach papers, 1870–1990 (bulk 1895–1963) held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,
New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsOtto Harbach papers, Additions 1923-1979Billy Rose Theatre Division,
New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsFinding aid to Otto Harbach papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.Otto Harbach recordingsat the
Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbach, Otto
1873 births
1963 deaths
American musical theatre librettists
American musical theatre lyricists
American people of Danish descent
Broadway composers and lyricists
Knox College (Illinois) alumni
People from Salt Lake City
Whitman College alumni
ASCAP composers and authors