Anatole Friedland, also spelled as Anatol Friedland and Anato Friedland, (March 21, 1881 – July 24, 1938) was a composer, songwriter,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer, and

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 ...

producer during the 1900s. He is most-known for composing songs with lyricist

L. Wolfe Gilbert Louis Wolfe Gilbert (August 31, 1886 – July 12, 1970) was a Russian Empire–born American songwriter of Tin Pan Alley. He is best remembered as the lyricist for "Ramona" (1928), the first movie theme song ever written. Biography Born i ...

. Their most popular songs include, "My Sweet Adair" (1915), "Are You From Heaven?" (1917), and "My Own Iona" (1916).

Personal life

Friedland was born on March 21, in

St. Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Some sources claim his year of birth is 1881, while others list it as 1888. He used March 21, 1884 on his June 21, 1922 passport application. Friedland's early education came from private schools in St. Petersburg. He then studied music at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

before emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

sometime after 1900. He attended the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at

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 ...

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 studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. While a student at Columbia, Friedland composed music for several varsity shows. In 1936, Friedland had one of his legs amputated. Shortly after that, he retired and resided at

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. Friedland died on July 24, 1938. His daughter, Gloria Greer, was eight years old at the time of his death. She would go on to become a reporter, editor, and talk show hostess. His widow was Rollie Friedland, later known as Rollie Landers. She founded ''Sand-to-Sea'' magazine.

Career

After graduating, Friedland worked as an architect by day and composed music at night. As an architect, he earned $16 per week. He soon drifted more towards vaudevilles. In 1911, Friedland and lyricist Malvin Franklin wrote the score for the Broadway musical, ''The Wife Hunters.'' The musical starred

Emma Carus Emma Carus (March 18, 1879 – November 18, 1927) was an American contralto singer from New York City who was in the cast of the original Ziegfeld Follies in 1907. She frequently sang in vaudeville and sometimes in Broadway features.'' ...

and

Lew Fields Lew Fields (born Moses Schoenfeld, January 1867 – July 20, 1941) was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre Management, manager, and Theatrical producer, producer. He was part of a comedy duo with Joe Weber (vaudevillian), Joe We ...

. Due to its success, Friedland was hired by the

Shubert family The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...

to compose music for their Winter Garden productions, including ''

The Passing Show ''The Passing Show'' was a musical revue in three acts, billed as a "topical extravaganza", with a book and lyrics by Sydney Rosenfeld and music by Ludwig Engländer and various other composers. It featured spoofs of theatrical productions of ...

''. In 1912, he wrote the music for the Shubert hit, ''Broadway to Paris'', which featured Gertrude Hoffmann,

Louise Dresser Louise Dresser (born Louise Josephine Kerlin; October 5, 1878 – April 24, 1965) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the many films in which she played the wife of Will Rogers, including ''State Fair'' and ' ...

, and

Irène Bordoni Irène Bordoni (16 January 1885 – 19 March 1953) was a Franco-American actress and singer. Early years Bordoni was born in Paris, France, to Sauveur Bordoni, a tailor, and Marie Lemonnier. The 19th-century painter Francis Millet was a great ...

. He also collaborated with

Lee Shubert Lee Shubert (born Levi Schubart; March 25, 1871– December 25, 1953) was a Lithuanian-born American theatre owner/operator and producer and the eldest of seven siblings of the theatrical Shubert family. Biography Born to a Jewish family, the so ...

on musicals. His song, "My Little Persian Rose," released in 1912, put him on the market. Friedland met L. Wolfe Gilbert, a fellow Russian, in 1913. The two would go on to write many successful songs together, including a handful of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

songs. Sometimes they would perform the songs on stage together. Other times Friedland would perform the songs alone, playing the piano and singing. They set up miniature

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

s which featured their songs. In the early 1930s, Friedland produced "tabloid" versions of Broadway musicals. These toured motion picture houses that showed one film feature and one live vaudeville. At the beginning of their careers,

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

and

Mae Clarke Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz; August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992) was an American actress. She is widely remembered for playing Henry Frankenstein's bride Elizabeth, who is chased by Boris Karloff in ''Frankenstein'', and for being o ...

appeared in these vaudevilles. Friedland and Gilbert's first song issued by their own publishing firm was, ''Are You From Heaven?''. The Gilbert & Friedland Publishing Company operated for a few successful years. Its business would decline after a five-and-ten-cent store ordered five million copies of one song (''Afghanistan''), but reversed the deal after the song failed to catch on. In November 1919, Friedland returned to the publishing staff of Stern & Company, and was considered "one of the foremost writers of that organization." Besides Gilbert, Friedland also collaborated with

Harold R. Atteridge Harold Richard Atteridge (July 9, 1886 – January 15, 1938) was an American composer, librettist and lyricist primarily for musicals and revues. He wrote the book and lyrics for over 20 musicals and revues for the Shubert family, including sev ...

, and

Edgar Allan Woolf Edgar Allan Woolf (April 25, 1881 – December 9, 1943) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-author of the script for the 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz (1939 film), The Wizard of Oz''. Early years an ...

. He also gave Phil Regan his start as a singer. For most of his career, he worked as a vaudeville performer and was a headliner in musical productions. For two decades, Friedland appeared in or produced "lavish revues." One of these revues titled, ''Musicland'' (1919), starred Friedland and "a bevy of beautiful girls." At the time it was considered the most costly production in theatrical history, and included bizarre costumes, scenic effects, and thoughtful lyrics. These elaborate productions earned him the nickname, the "Ziegfeld of Vaudeville." Friedland headlined on the B. F. Keith Circuit in ''Anatol's Affairs of 1924''. During

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, Friedland opened and operated a speakeasy known as Club Anatole. Friedland performed many of his songs at this club, which was located on West 44th Street, between Sixth and

Seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

Avenues in New York. Stanwyck, Clarke, and Dorothy Sheppard were hired to perform at the club. Friedland became protective of the three women and gave them advice on how to navigate Broadway and

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

. In 1923, Friedland joined the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers 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 ...

Selected works

Lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert *'' While You're Away (Pack Up Your Cares in a Bundle of Joy)''. (1918). Gilbert Friedland Music Publishers. *'' While You're Away''. (1918). Gilbert Friedland Music Publishers. *''Singapore''. (1918). Gilbert & Friedland, Inc. *'' (After the Battle is Over) Then You Can Come Back to Me''. (1918). Gilbert & Friedland, Inc. *''Are You From Heaven?''. (1917). Gilbert & Friedland. *''Camouflage''. (1917). with E.E. Watson. J.W. Stern & Co.. *''Lily of the Valley, A "Nut" Song''. (1917). J.W. Stern. *'' Set Aside Your Tears (Till the Boys Come Marching Home)''. with Malvin Franklin. (1917). Joseph W. Stern & Co. *''Shades in the Night''. (1916). J.W. Stern. *''My Own Iona''. with

Henry Burr Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Alex ...

, Manuel Romain, and Carey Morgan. (1916). Rex. *''My Sweet Adair''. with Domenico Savino. (1915). Joseph W. Stern. Lyrics by Edgar Allan Woolf *''

You're So Cute, Soldier Boy You're So Cute, Soldier Boy is a World War I era song released in 1918. Edgar Allan Woolf wrote the lyrics. Anatole Friedland composed the music. The song was written for Henry Wilson Savage, Henry W. Savage's musical ''Toot Toot''. It was publishe ...

''. (1918). Gilbert & Friedland. Vogel (1995) p. 283 "World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics" (McFarland & Company, Inc.)

References

;Bibliography *Wilson, Victoria (2013). ''A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940''. Simon & Schuster. . *Vogel, Frederick G.. ''World War I Songs: A History and Dictionary of Popular American Patriotic Tunes, with Over 300 Complete Lyrics.'' Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1995.

External links

Photo of Antaole Friedland at Victoria Wilson Books

The Pittsburgh Press: ''Anatole Friedland leaves his dear New York for Pittsburgh''

New York Clipper: Review of Anatole Friedland's revue ''Anatole's Affair''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedland, Anatole Vaudeville performers 1880s births 1938 deaths Musicians from Atlantic City, New Jersey Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American musical theatre composers Broadway theatre producers Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Moscow Conservatory alumni