Editing George Gershwin (section)

==Biography==
===Ancestors===
Gershwin's parents were both Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. His paternal grandfather, Jakov Gershowitz, was born in [[Odessa]], [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Ukraine]]), and had served for 25 years as a mechanic for the [[Imperial Russian Army]] to earn the right of free travel and residence as a Jew, finally retiring near [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia. Jakov's teenage son, Moishe, George Gershwin's father, worked as a leather cutter for women's shoes. Moishe's wife-to-be, George's mother-to-be, Roza Bruskina, was born in [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Rose-Gershwin/6000000010555836595|title=Rose Gershwin|website=geni_family_tree|year=1875 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biography.yourdictionary.com/ira-gershwin|title=Ira Gershwin|website=biography.yourdictionary.com}}</ref>

Moishe met Roza in Vilna, Russian Empire (now [[Vilnius]], [[Lithuania]]), where her father worked as a furrier. She and her family moved to New York because of increasing anti-Jewish sentiment in Russia, changing her first name to Rose. Moishe, faced with compulsory military service if he remained in Russia, moved to America as soon as he could afford to (arrived on August 14, 1890). Once in New York, he changed his first name to Morris. Gershowitz lived with a maternal uncle in Brooklyn, working as a foreman in a women's shoe factory. He married Rose on July 21, 1895, and Gershowitz soon Anglicized his name to Gershwine.{{sfn|Hyland|2003|pp=1–3}}{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=3}}{{sfn|Jablonski|1987|pp=29–31}} Their first child, [[Ira Gershwin]], was born on December 6, 1896, after which the family moved into a second-floor apartment at 242 Snediker Avenue in the [[East New York]] neighborhood of Brooklyn.

===Early life===
George was born on September 26, 1898, in the Snediker Avenue apartment. His birth certificate identifies him as Jacob Gershwine, with the surname pronounced "Gersh-vin" in the Russian and Yiddish immigrant community.<ref>{{harvnb|Jablonski|1987|pp=24}}: "Morris Gershovitz moved his family...to Brooklyn, where he had found an unprepossessing two-story brick house at 242 Snedicker Avenue... In this house on September 26, 1898, Jacob Gershwine (as George's birth certificate reads) was delivered...The name change may have been Morris's idea; it is possible that by the time he married he had streamlined his name to "Gershvin," and so would the doctor have been informed. Gershwine in a Jewish community would still be pronounced Gershvin.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Pollack|2006|pp=fn707}}: "Gershwin's birth certificate reads, 'Jacob Gershwine'; [Frances Gershwin] suggests that Morris's brother, Aaron, first changed the family name, though the latter gave his name in the 1920 census as 'Gershvin.'"</ref> He was named after his grandfather, and, contrary to the American practice, had no middle name. He soon became known as George,<ref>{{harvnb|Jablonski|1987|pp=25}}: "Eight-year old George (no one in the family remembers calling him Jake or Jacob)..."</ref> and changed the spelling of his surname to "Gershwin" around the time he became a professional musician; other family members followed suit{{Sfn|Jablonski|1987|pp=10, 29–31}} after Ira and George, another boy, [[Arthur Gershwin]] (1900–1981), and a girl, [[Frances Gershwin]] (1906–1999), were born into the family. The family lived in many different residences, as their father changed dwellings with each new enterprise in which he became involved. They grew up mostly in the [[Yiddish Theater District]]. George and Ira frequented the local Yiddish theaters, with George occasionally appearing onstage as an [[Extra (actor)|extra]].{{sfn|Pollack|2006}}<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ClbSVEha8gC&pg=PT199 |title=The Rough Guide to New York City |author=Andrew Rosenberg, Martin Dunford |publisher=Penguin |year= 2012|isbn=978-1-4053-9022-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/loc/Gershwin.html |title=Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress: George Gershwin |encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library |year=2013 |access-date=March 10, 2013}} As quoted by Abraham J. Karp (1991) ''From the Ends of the Earth: Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress'', p. 351, {{ISBN|0-8478-1450-5}}.</ref>

George lived a boyhood not unusual in New York tenements, which included running around with his friends, roller-skating and misbehaving in the streets. Until 1908, he cared nothing about music. Then, as a ten-year-old, he was intrigued upon hearing his friend Maxie Rosenzweig's violin recital.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gershwin, His Life and Music |last=Schwartz |first=Charles |year=1973 |publisher=Da Capo Press, Inc. |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-306-80096-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/gershwinhislifem00schw/page/14 14] |url=https://archive.org/details/gershwinhislifem00schw/page/14 }}</ref> The sound, and the way his friend played, captivated him. At about the same time, George's parents had bought a piano for his older brother Ira. To his parents' surprise, though, and to Ira's relief, it was George who spent more time playing it as he continued to enjoy it.{{sfn|Hyland|2003|p=13}}

Although his younger sister [[Frances Gershwin]] was the first in the family to make a living through her musical talents, she married young and devoted herself to being a mother and housewife, thus precluding spending any serious time on musical endeavors. Having given up her performing career, she settled upon painting as a creative outlet, which had also been a hobby George briefly pursued. [[Arthur Gershwin]] followed in the paths of George and Ira, also becoming a composer of songs, musicals, and short piano pieces. George studied with various piano teachers for about two years (circa 1911) before finally being introduced to [[Charles Hambitzer]] by Jack Miller (circa 1913), the pianist in the Beethoven Symphony Orchestra. Until his death in 1918, Hambitzer remained Gershwin's musical mentor, taught him conventional piano technique, introduced him to music of the European classical tradition, and encouraged him to attend orchestral concerts.{{sfn|Hyland|2003|p=14}}

===Tin Pan Alley and Broadway: 1913–1923===
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In 1913, Gershwin left school at the age of 15 to work as a "[[song plugger]]" on New York City's [[Tin Pan Alley]]. He earned $15 a week from Jerome H. Remick and Company, a Detroit-based publishing firm with a branch office in New York. His first published song was "When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em" in 1916. It earned the 17-year-old 50 cents.<ref name="ven">{{cite book|last=Venezia|first=Mike|title=Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers: George Gerswhin|year=1994|publisher=Childrens Press|location=Chicago IL}}</ref>

In 1916, Gershwin started working for [[Aeolian Company]] and Standard Music Rolls in New York City, recording and arranging. He produced dozens, if not hundreds, of rolls under his own and assumed names (pseudonyms attributed to Gershwin include Fred Murtha and Bert Wynn). He also recorded rolls of his own compositions for the Duo-Art and [[Welte-Mignon]] [[reproducing piano]]s. As well as recording piano rolls, Gershwin made a brief foray into [[vaudeville]], accompanying both [[Nora Bayes]] and [[Louise Dresser]] on the piano.<ref>Slide, Anthony. ''The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville'', Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994. p. 111.</ref> His first song to appear on Broadway was "Making of a Girl", written in 1916 with [[Sigmund Romberg]] and lyrics by [[Harold Atteridge]]. It was sung in [[The Passing Show of 1916]].<ref>Baral, Robert, Revue, Fleet Publishing, NY, 1962, pp. 109-110.</ref> His 1917 novelty [[ragtime]], "Rialto Ripples", was a commercial success.<ref name=ven /> In addition to his musical activities, he took over the management of the popular and famous gay bathhouse Lafayette Baths together with his brother Ira.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TR Center - Before Stonewall: The Ariston Bath Raids of 1903 |url=https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Blog/Item/Ariston |access-date=November 26, 2023 |website=theodorerooseveltcenter.org}}</ref>

In 1919, Gershwin scored his first big national hit with his song "[[Swanee (song)|Swanee]]", with words by [[Irving Caesar]]. [[Al Jolson]], a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] star and former [[minstrel show|minstrel singer]], heard Gershwin perform "Swanee" at a party and decided to sing it in one of his shows.<ref name=ven /> In the late 1910s, Gershwin met songwriter and music director [[William Merrigan Daly|William Daly]]. The two collaborated on the Broadway musicals ''Piccadilly to Broadway'' (1920) and ''For Goodness' Sake'' (1922), and jointly composed the score for ''Our Nell'' (1923). This was the beginning of a long friendship. Daly was a frequent arranger, orchestrator and conductor of Gershwin's music, and Gershwin periodically turned to him for musical advice.{{sfn|Pollack|2006|pp=191–192}}

===Musical, Europe and classical music: 1924–1928===
[[File:George Gershwin-signed.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Head and shoulders picture of a young man with slicked back dark hair and a signature on the bottom|George Gershwin, c. 1935]]

In 1924, Gershwin composed his first major work, ''[[Rhapsody in Blue]]'', for orchestra and piano.<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Gorlinski |editor-first=Gini |title=The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time |page=166 |year=2010 |publisher=[[Britannica Educational Publishing]] |url=https://archive.org/details/100mostinfluenti0000unse_s6r3/page/166/mode/1up |isbn=9781615300068}}</ref> It was orchestrated by [[Ferde Grofé]] and premiered by [[Paul Whiteman]]'s Concert Band, in New York. It subsequently went on to be his most popular work, and established Gershwin's signature style and genius in blending vastly different musical styles, including [[jazz]] and classical, in revolutionary ways.

Since the early 1920s, Gershwin had frequently worked with the lyricist [[Buddy DeSylva]]. Together they created the experimental one-act jazz opera ''[[Blue Monday (opera)|Blue Monday]],'' set in Harlem. It is widely regarded as a forerunner to the groundbreaking ''[[Porgy and Bess]]'' introduced in 1935. In 1924, George and Ira Gershwin collaborated on a stage musical comedy ''[[Lady Be Good (musical)|Lady Be Good]]'', which included such future [[Jazz standards|standards]] as "[[Fascinating Rhythm]]" and "[[Oh, Lady Be Good!]]".<ref>{{ibdb show|title=Lady, Be Good|id=5227}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> They followed this with ''[[Oh, Kay!]]'' (1926),<ref>{{ibdb show|id=6687 |title=Oh, Kay!}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> ''[[Funny Face (musical)|Funny Face]]'' (1927) and ''[[Strike Up the Band (musical)|Strike Up the Band]]'' (1927 and 1930). Gershwin allowed the latter song, with a modified title, to be used as a football fight song, "Strike Up The Band for UCLA".<ref>{{ibdb show|title=Strike Up the Band|id=11031}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref>

In the mid-1920s, Gershwin stayed in Paris for a short period, during which he applied to study composition with the noted [[Nadia Boulanger]], who, along with several other prospective tutors such as [[Maurice Ravel]], turned him down, afraid that rigorous classical study would ruin his [[jazz]]-influenced style.{{sfn|Jablonski|1987|pp=155–170}} Maurice Ravel's rejection letter to Gershwin told him, "Why become a second-rate Ravel when you're already a first-rate Gershwin?" While there, Gershwin wrote ''[[An American in Paris]]''. This work received mixed reviews upon its first performance at [[Carnegie Hall]] on December 13, 1928, but it quickly became part of the [[standard repertoire]] in Europe and the United States.{{sfn|Jablonski|1987|pp=178–180}}

===New York: 1929–1935===
In 1929, the Gershwin brothers created ''[[Show Girl (1929 musical)|Show Girl]]'';<ref>{{ibdb show|title=Show Girl|id=10910}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> the following year brought ''[[Girl Crazy]]'',<ref>{{ibdb show|title=Girl Crazy|id=3873}}. Retrieved August 22, 2011</ref> which introduced the standards "[[Embraceable You]]", sung by Ginger Rogers, and "[[I Got Rhythm]]". 1931's ''[[Of Thee I Sing]]'' became the first musical comedy to win the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]]; the winners were George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, and Ira Gershwin.<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Drama "Drama"]. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved August 22, 2011.</ref> Gershwin spent the summer of 1934 on Folly Island in South Carolina after he was invited to visit by the author of the novel ''Porgy'', [[DuBose Heyward]]. He was inspired to write the music to his opera ''[[Porgy and Bess]]'' while on this working vacation''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.follybeach.com/gershwin-on-folly-summertime-and-the-livin-was-easy/|title=Gershwin on Folly: Summertime and the livin' was easy|date=December 6, 2019|website=FollyBeach.com|language=en-US|access-date=March 3, 2020}}</ref>'' ''Porgy and Bess'' was considered another American classic by the composer of ''Rhapsody in Blue'' — even if critics could not quite figure out how to evaluate it, or decide whether it was opera or simply an ambitious Broadway musical. "It crossed the barriers," per theater historian Robert Kimball. "It wasn't a musical work per se, and it wasn't a drama per se – it elicited response from both music and drama critics. But the work has sort of always been outside category."<ref>Grigsby Bates, Karen. [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4951238 70 Years of Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess'"] NPR.org, October 10, 2005</ref>

===Last years: 1936–1937===
After the commercial failure of ''Porgy and Bess'', Gershwin moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], California. In 1936, he was commissioned by [[RKO Pictures]] to write the music for the film ''[[Shall We Dance (1937 film)|Shall We Dance]]'', starring [[Fred Astaire]] and [[Ginger Rogers]]. Gershwin's extended score, which would marry ballet with [[jazz]] in a new way, runs over an hour. It took Gershwin several months to compose and orchestrate. Gershwin had a ten-year affair with composer [[Kay Swift]], whom he frequently consulted about his music. The two never married, although she eventually divorced her husband [[James Warburg]] to commit to the relationship. Swift's granddaughter, Katharine Weber, has suggested that the pair were not married because George's mother Rose was "unhappy that Kay Swift wasn't Jewish".<ref>{{cite news|author=Sidney Offit|url=http://momentmag.com/moment/issues/2011/10/book_memory.html|title=Sins of Our Fathers (and Grandmothers) |work=Moment Magazine|date=September–October 2011|access-date=October 3, 2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011080733/http://momentmag.com/moment/issues/2011/10/book_memory.html|archive-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref> The Gershwins' 1926 musical ''Oh, Kay'' was named for her.{{sfn|Hyland|2003|p=108}} After Gershwin's death, Swift arranged some of his music, transcribed several of his recordings, and collaborated with his brother Ira on several projects.<ref>[http://www.kayswift.com/bio.html ''Kay Swift biography'' (Kay Swift Memorial Trust)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203041421/http://www.kayswift.com/bio.html |date=December 3, 2019 }}. kayswift.com. Retrieved December 28, 2007.</ref>

===Illness and death===
Early in 1937, Gershwin began to complain of blinding headaches and a recurring impression that he smelled burning rubber. As early as February 1934, he had said he smelled burning garbage at the Detroit railway station, though those with him did not.<ref>Joan Peyser, ''The Memory of All That: The Life of George Gershwin'', 1998 ch. 4, p. 217; ch. 5, p. 262</ref> On February 11, 1937, he performed his Piano Concerto in F in a special concert of his music with the [[San Francisco Symphony]] Orchestra under the direction of French maestro [[Pierre Monteux]].{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=353}} Gershwin, normally a superb pianist in his own compositions, suffered coordination problems and blackouts during the performance. He was at the time working on other Hollywood film projects while living with Ira and his wife Leonore in their rented house in [[Beverly Hills]]. Leonore Gershwin began to be disturbed by George's mood swings and his seeming inability to eat without spilling food at the dinner table. She suspected mental illness and insisted he be moved out of their house to lyricist [[Yip Harburg]]'s empty quarters nearby, where he was placed in the care of his valet, Paul Mueller. The headaches and [[olfactory hallucination]]s continued.

On the night of July 9, 1937, Gershwin collapsed in Harburg's house, where he had been working on the score of ''[[The Goldwyn Follies]]''. He was rushed to [[Cedars of Lebanon Hospital]] in Los Angeles,<ref name="Jablonski">Jablonski, Edward. "George Gershwin; He Couldn't Be Saved" (Letter to Editor), ''The New York Times'', October 25, 1998, Section 2; Page 4; Column 5</ref> and fell into a coma. Only then did his doctors come to believe that he was suffering from a [[brain tumor]]. Leonore called George's close friend Emil Mosbacher and explained the dire need to find a [[neurosurgeon]]. Mosbacher immediately called pioneering neurosurgeon [[Harvey Cushing]] in Boston, who, retired for several years by then, recommended [[Walter Dandy]], who was on a boat fishing in the [[Chesapeake Bay]] with [[Harry Nice]], the governor of Maryland. Mosbacher called the [[White House]] and had a [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] cutter sent to find the governor's yacht and bring Dandy quickly to shore.<ref name="autogenerated323">Jablonski, Edward. ''Gershwin''. New York: Doubleday, 1987. p. 323.</ref>

[[File:Gershwin best 800.jpg|thumb|Gershwin's mausoleum in [[Westchester Hills Cemetery]]]]
Mosbacher then chartered a plane and flew Dandy to [[Newark Airport]], where he was to catch a plane to Los Angeles;<ref>Jablonski, Edward. ''Gershwin''. New York: Doubleday, 1987. p. 324.</ref> by that time, Gershwin's condition was critical and the need for surgery was immediate.<ref name="autogenerated323"/> Before Dandy could arrive,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=July 19, 1937 |title=Music: Death of Gershwin |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,882760,00.html |magazine=Time |language=en-us |access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref> in the early hours of Sunday, July 11, 1937, doctors at Cedars removed a large brain tumor, believed to have been a [[glioblastoma]], but Gershwin died that morning at the age of 38.<ref name="NEJM">{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31623-9| pmid=28816130|title = George Gershwin's death and Duret haemorrhage| journal=The Lancet| volume=390| issue=10095| page=646|year = 2017|last1 = Mezaki|first1 = Takahiro| doi-access=free}}</ref> The fact that he had suddenly collapsed and become comatose after he stood up on July 9 has been interpreted as [[brain herniation]] with [[Duret hemorrhages]].<ref name="NEJM" />

Gershwin's friends and admirers were devastated. [[John O'Hara]] remarked: "George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe that if I don't want to."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/Gershwins_unrealized_potential/ |title=Broad Street |publisher=Broadstreetreview.com |date=February 27, 2007 |access-date=March 10, 2010 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726065615/http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/Gershwins_unrealized_potential/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was interred at [[Westchester Hills Cemetery]] in [[Hastings-on-Hudson]], New York. A memorial concert was held at the [[Hollywood Bowl]] on September 8, 1937, at which [[Otto Klemperer]] conducted his own orchestration of the second of Gershwin's ''Three Preludes''.{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=392}}