Editing Ira Gershwin (section)

== Life and career ==
Gershwin was born at 60 [[Eldridge Street]] in [[Chinatown, Manhattan]], the oldest of four children of Morris (Moishe) and Rose Gershovitz ({{nee|Rosa Bruskin}}), who were [[Russian Jews]] from [[Saint Petersburg]] and who had immigrated to the United States in 1891. Ira's siblings were George (Jacob, {{born in|1898}}), [[Arthur Gershwin|Arthur]] ({{born in|1900}}), and [[Frances Gershwin|Frances]] ({{born in|1906}}). Morris changed the family name to "Gershwine" (or alternatively "Gershvin") well before their children rose to fame; it was not spelled "Gershwin" until later. Shy in his youth, Ira spent much of his time at home reading, but from [[grammar school]] through college, he played a prominent part in several school newspapers and magazines.

He graduated in 1914 from [[Townsend Harris High School]], a public school for intellectually gifted students, where he met [[Yip Harburg]], with whom he enjoyed a lifelong friendship and a love of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]. He attended the [[City College of New York]] but dropped out.{{sfn|Furia|1996|pp=3–4, 11}}<ref name=allmusic>{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000200301|tab=biography|author=Kim Summers|title=Ira Gershwin}}</ref>

The childhood home of Ira and George Gershwin was in the center of the [[Yiddish Theatre District]] in the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]], on the second floor at 91 [[Second Avenue (Manhattan)|Second Avenue]], between East 5th and 6th streets. They frequented the local Yiddish theatres.{{sfn|Pollack|2006|p=43}}<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-20-ca-34192-story.html "Reviving, Revisiting Yiddish Culture"], [[Mark Swed]], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', October 20, 1998</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}}</ref>

While George began composing and "plugging" in [[Tin Pan Alley]] from the age of 18, Ira worked as a cashier in his father's [[Victorian Turkish baths|Victorian-style Turkish baths]].{{sfn|Furia|1996|p=26}} It was not until 1921 that Ira became involved in the music business. Alex Aarons signed Ira to write the songs for his next show, ''[[Two Little Girls in Blue]]'', ultimately produced by [[A. L. Erlanger|Abraham Erlanger]], along with co-composers [[Vincent Youmans]] and Paul Lannin. So as not to appear to trade off George's growing reputation, Ira wrote under the pseudonym "Arthur Francis", after his youngest two siblings. His lyrics were well received, allowing him successfully to enter the show-business world with just one show.<ref name=allmusic/> Later the same year, the Gershwins collaborated for the first time on a score; this was for ''[[A Dangerous Maid]]'', which played in Atlantic City and on tour.{{sfn|Pollack|2006|pp=255–258}}

It was not until 1924 that Ira and George teamed up to write the music for what became their first Broadway hit ''[[Lady, Be Good (musical)|Lady, Be Good]]''. Once the brothers joined forces, their combined talents became one of the most influential forces in the history of American Musical Theatre. "When the Gershwins teamed up to write songs for ''Lady, Be Good'', the American musical found its native idiom."{{sfn|Furia|1996|p=45}} Together, they wrote the music for more than 12 shows and four films. Some of their more famous works include "[[The Man I Love (song)|The Man I Love]]", "[[Fascinating Rhythm]]", "[[Someone to Watch Over Me (song)|Someone to Watch Over Me]]", "[[I Got Rhythm]]" and "[[They Can't Take That Away from Me]]".<ref name=pbs/> Their partnership continued until George's unexpected death from a brain tumor in 1937. Following his brother's death, Ira waited nearly three years before writing again.

After this temporary retirement, Ira teamed up with accomplished composers such as [[Jerome Kern]] (''[[Cover Girl (film)|Cover Girl]]''); [[Kurt Weill]] (''[[Where Do We Go from Here? (1945 film)|Where Do We Go from Here?]]''; ''[[Lady in the Dark]]''); [[Harry Warren]] (''[[The Barkleys of Broadway]]''); and [[Harold Arlen]] (''[[Life Begins at 8:40]]''; ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 film)|A Star Is Born]]'').<ref name=allmusic/> Over the next 14 years, Gershwin continued to write the lyrics for many film scores and a few Broadway shows. But the failure of ''Park Avenue'' in 1946 (a "smart" show about divorce, co-written with composer [[Arthur Schwartz]]) was his farewell to Broadway.<ref>{{cite news|author=John Thaxter |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/20250/park-avenue |title=The Stage |newspaper=The Stage |date=March 31, 2008 |access-date=March 18, 2013}}</ref> As he wrote at the time, "Am reading a couple of stories for possible musicalization (if there is such a word) but I hope I don't like them as I think I deserve a long rest."<ref>Ira Gershwin quoted by [[Edward Jablonski]] in ''Gershwin: A Biography'', New York: Simon & Schuster (1988) {{ISBN|0-671-69931-8}}</ref>

In 1947, he took 11 songs George had written but never used, provided them with new lyrics, and incorporated them into the [[Betty Grable]] film ''[[The Shocking Miss Pilgrim]]''. He later wrote comic lyrics for [[Billy Wilder]]'s 1964 movie ''[[Kiss Me, Stupid]]'', although most critics believe his final major work was for the 1954 Judy Garland film ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 film)|A Star Is Born]]''.<ref name=allmusic/>

American singer, pianist and musical historian [[Michael Feinstein]] worked for Gershwin in the lyricist's latter years, helping him with his archive. Several lost musical treasures were unearthed during this period, and Feinstein performed some of the material. Feinstein's book ''The Gershwins and Me: A Personal History in Twelve Songs'' about working for Ira, and George and Ira's music, was published in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Feinstein: What I Learned From The Gershwins|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/10/13/162738387/michael-feinstein-what-i-learned-from-the-gershwins|work=[[NPR]]|access-date=October 21, 2012|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=October 13, 2012}}</ref>

According to a 1999 story in ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', Ira Gershwin's love for loud music was as great as his wife's loathing of it. When [[Debby Boone]]—daughter-in-law of his neighbor [[Rosemary Clooney]]—returned from Japan with one of the first [[Sony Walkman]]s (utilizing cassette tape), Clooney gave it to Michael Feinstein to give to Ira, "so he could crank it in his ears, you know. And he said, 'This is absolutely wonderful!' And he called his broker and bought Sony stock!"<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Purdham|first=Todd S.|title=The Street Where They Lived|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/archive/1999/04/roxbury199904|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|access-date=6 September 2013|date=April 1999}}</ref>