Cy Feuer (January 15, 1911 – May 17, 2006) was an American

theatre producer A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and hires ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

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 ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

, and half of the celebrated producing duo Feuer and Martin. He won three competitive Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, and a

Lifetime Achievement Tony Award The Special Tony Award category includes the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award and the Special Tony Award. These are non-competitive honorary awards, and the titles have changed over the years. The Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre ...

. He was also nominated for

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

as the producer of ''

Storm Over Bengal Storm Over Bengal is a 1938 adventure film that was nominated at the 11th Academy Awards for Best Score, the nomination was for Cy Feuer. Set during the British Raj, the film's working title was ''Bengal Lancer Patrol''.p. 15 ''San Antonio Ligh ...

'' and ''Cabaret''.

Career

Born Seymour Arnold Feuerman in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, he became a professional

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er at the age of fifteen, working at clubs on weekends to help support his family while attending

New Utrecht High School New Utrecht High School is a state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in Bensonhurst, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Educat ...

. It was there he first met

Abe Burrows Abe Burrows (born Abram Solman Borowitz; December 18, 1910 – May 17, 1985) was an American humorist, author, and director for radio and the stage. He won a Tony Award and was selected for two Pulitzer Prizes, only one of which was awarded. Ear ...

, who in later years he would hire to write the book for ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

''. Having no interest in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, or

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

, he dropped out of school and found work as a trumpeter on a political campaign truck. He later studied at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

before joining the orchestras at the Roxy Theater and later

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

. In 1938, he toured the country with Leon Belasco and His Society Orchestra, eventually ending up in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

. Following a ten-week stint there, the orchestra departed for

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, but he opted to remain in California. Feuer found employment at

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

, serving as musical director, arranger, and/or composer of more than 125 mostly

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

s, many of them serials and

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

, for the next decade, save for a three-year interruption to serve in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During his Hollywood sojourn, he enjoyed a tumultuous one-year affair with actress

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...

(also from Brooklyn), worked with

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

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 ...

, and

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

, among others, received five

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for his film scores, and married a divorcée, Posy Greenberg, a mother of a three-year-old son. The couple later had a son of their own named Jed. In 1947, having decided he had no real talent for film scoring, Feuer returned to

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 ...

, where he teamed up with Ernest H. Martin, who had been the head of comedy programming at

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

. After an aborted attempt to stage a production based on

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 ' ...

's ''

An American in Paris ''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital ...

'', they produced ''

Where's Charley? ''Where's Charley?'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play ''Charley's Aunt'' by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway an ...

'', the 1949

adaption of ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot inc ...

''. Although it was panned by six of the seven major New York critics, positive word-of-mouth about the show, particularly

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major Broadway performer in ...

's star turn in it, kept it running for three years. Over the next several decades, Feuer & Martin mounted some of the most notable titles in 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 ...

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 ...

canon, including ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' may refer to: * ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (book), a 1952 book written by Shepherd Mead and the inspiration for the musical of the same name. * ''How to Succeed in Bu ...

'', both of which won 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 ...

. As of 2007, ''How to Succeed...'' is one of only seven musicals to have won the

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

. Feuer and Martin owned the

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hasting ...

from 1960 to 1965. Feuer was also a stage director. Among his Broadway directing credits were '' Little Me'' and the ill-fated '' I Remember Mama''. As a film producer, Feuer's most successful venture was his 1972 adaptation of Kander & Ebb's 1966 musical ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

''. The movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and went to win eight

, but Feurer lost

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

to ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

,'' giving ''Cabaret'' the distinction of the most Oscar-honored film to lose the top prize. As the movie's producer, Feuer won a Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy. With Martin, he was responsible for the 1985 screen adaptation of ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

'', which proved to be one of their biggest flops. Feuer's

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

, '' I Got The Show Right Here: The Amazing, True Story of How an Obscure Brooklyn Horn Player Became the Last Great Broadway Showman'', written with Ken Gross, was published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

in 2003.

Death

Feuer served as president, and later chairman, of the League of American Theatres and Producers (now called

The Broadway League The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include thea ...

) from 1989 to 2003. He died on May 17, 2006, of

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the tissues of the urinary bladder. Symptoms include blood in the urine, pain with urination, and low back pain. It is caused when epithelial cells that line the bladder become mali ...

, aged 95.

Additional Broadway credits

* '' Can-Can'' (1953) * '' The Boy Friend'' (1954) * '' Silk Stockings'' (1955) * ''

Whoop-Up ''Whoop-Up'' is a musical with music by Mark Charlap, lyrics by Norman Gimbel, and book by Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, based on ''Stay Away, Joe'' by Dan Cushman. It was directed by Cy Feuer, with sets and lighting by Jo Mielziner and choreo ...

'' (1958) * ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1964) * ''

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

'' (1965) * '' Walking Happy'' (1966) * '' The Act'' (1977) * '' I Remember Mama'' (1979)

Awards and nominations

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1938) - nominated for an Academy Award * ''

Woman Doctor ''Woman Doctor'' is a 1939 American melodrama film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Frieda Inescort, Henry Wilcoxon, and Claire Dodd. The screenplay was written by Joseph Moncure March, based on a story by Alice Altschuler and Miriam Geiger ...

'' (1939) * ''

Sis Hopkins Sis Hopkins may refer to: * Sis Hopkins (1919 film), a comedy film * Sis Hopkins (1941 film) ''Sis Hopkins'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Jack Townley, Milt Gross and Edward Eliscu. Starring Judy Cano ...

'' (1941) (with

, Bob Crosby and the Bobcats band; songs by

and Jule Styne ) * ''

Sons of the Pioneers The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...

'' (1942) * ''

Man from Cheyenne '' Man from Cheyenne '' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring Roy Rogers. Cast * Roy Rogers as himself * George "Gabby" Hayes as Gabby Whittaker * Sally Payne as Sally Whittaker * Lynne Carver as Marian Hardy ...

'' (1942) * ''

'' (1972) - nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...

* '' Piaf'' (1974)

References

Sources

External links

TonyAwards.com Interview with Cy Feuer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feuer, Cy 1911 births 2006 deaths Deaths from bladder cancer American theatre directors American male composers American trumpeters American male trumpeters Broadway theatre directors Broadway theatre producers Musicians from Brooklyn American theatre managers and producers American autobiographers Deaths from cancer in New York (state) First Motion Picture Unit personnel 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians New Utrecht High School alumni Military personnel from New York City Special Tony Award recipients Tony Award winners