Henry Martyn Blossom (May 10, 1866 – March 23, 1919) was an American playwright and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

Biography

Born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, he teamed with

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...

on several popular operettas. His first Broadway musical project was ''The Yankee Consul'' (1904) for composer Alfred G. Robyn, after which he primarily wrote for Herbert, including ''

Mlle. Modiste ''Mlle. Modiste'' is an operetta in two acts composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Henry Blossom. It concerns hat shop girl Fifi, who longs to be an opera singer, but who is such a good hat seller that her employer, Mme. Cecil, discourage ...

'' (1905), ''

The Red Mill ''The Red Mill'' is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in Holland, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. The musica ...

'' (1906), ''

Baron Trenck ''Baron Trenck'' is a comic opera in three acts loosely based on the life of Baron Franz von der Trenck. The original German-language work was composed by Felix Albini to a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Robert Bodanzky and premiered at t ...

'' (1911), '' The Only Girl'' (1914), ''

The Princess Pat ''The Princess Pat'' is an operetta in three acts with music by Victor Herbert and book and lyrics by Henry Blossom. After an Atlantic City, New Jersey tryout in August 1915, it premiered on Broadway on September 29, 1915 at the Cort Theatre ...

'' (1915), '' Eileen'' (1917), and '' Kiss Me Again'' (film version of ''Mlle. Modiste'', 1931). He also wrote "When Uncle Sam is Ruler of the Sea" with

in 1916, "It's Not the Uniform That Makes the Man" with A. Baldwin Sloane in 1917 and "I Want to Go Back to the War" with Percival Knight (music was by

Raymond Hubbell John Raymond Hubbell (June 1, 1879 – December 13, 1954) was an American writer, composer and lyricist. He is best known for the popular song, " Poor Butterfly". Life and career Hubbell was born in Urbana, Ohio. He attended schools in Urba ...

) in 1919. Blossom was also involved with several shows that failed to reach Broadway. He died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

at the age of 53. * ''

'' - libretto (1905) * ''

'' - book and lyrics (1906) * '' The Only Girl'' - book and lyrics (1914) *''

'' - book and lyrics (1915) *'' Eileen'' - lyrics (1917)

''Checkers: A Hard Luck Story''

''Checkers: A Hard Luck Story'', sometimes written as ''Checkers: A Hard-luck Story'' is a book written by Blossom in 1896. He adapted it into a successful play starring

Thomas W. Ross Thomas Warren Ross Sr. is an American public official who served as the president of the University of North Carolina system from 2011 to 2016. He succeeded Erskine Bowles on January 1, 2011. Formerly, he was president of Davidson College, a pri ...

. It was adapted into two silent films titled Checkers, the first directed by

Augustus Thomas Augustus Thomas (January 8, 1857 – August 12, 1934) was an American playwright. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri and son of a doctor, Thomas worked a number of jobs including as a page in the 41st Congress, studying law, and gaining some ...

in 1913 and the second, ''

Checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; British English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers ...

'' in 1919. The plot involves a love story about a man trying to win approval of his would-be father-in-law as he faces career hurdles and tries to distance himself from gambling and horse racing.

1913 film

Eustace Hale Ball and

Lawrence McGill Lawrence B. McGill (1866–1928) was an American actor and director. At the turn of the 20th century, he was a leading man for Keystone Dramatic Company. He produced stage plays and then went on to act and direct films. He also worked for the ...

wrote the scenario.

References

External links

* * *
''Hearts of Erin''; a romantic comic opera / book and lyrics by Henry Blossom ; music by Victor Herbert
(From the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection) 1866 births 1919 deaths American lyricists Writers from St. Louis {{US-dramatist-stub