Editing Richard Rodgers (section)

==Career==
===Rodgers and Hart===
{{Main|Rodgers and Hart}}
[[File:Rodgers and Hart NYWTS.jpg|thumb|right|Richard Rodgers (seated) with [[Lorenz Hart]] in 1936]]
In 1919, Richard met [[Lorenz Hart]], thanks to Phillip Levitt, a friend of Richard's older brother. [[Rodgers and Hart]] struggled for years in the field of musical comedy, writing several amateur shows. They made their professional debut with the song "Any Old Place With You", featured in the 1919 Broadway musical comedy ''A Lonely Romeo''. Their first professional production was the 1920 ''[[Poor Little Ritz Girl]]'', which also had music by [[Sigmund Romberg]]. Their next professional show, ''The Melody Man'', did not premiere until 1924.

When he was just out of college Rodgers worked as musical director for [[Lew Fields]]. Among the stars he accompanied were [[Nora Bayes]] and [[Fred Allen]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VVpeiKxbHk Rodgers & Hammerstein as mystery guests on What's My Line?], February 19, 1956, video on YouTube</ref> Rodgers was considering quitting show business altogether to sell children's underwear, when he and Hart finally broke through in 1925. They wrote the songs for a benefit show presented by the prestigious [[Theatre Guild]], called ''[[The Garrick Gaieties]]'', and the critics found the show fresh and delightful. Although it was meant to run only one day, the Guild knew they had a success and allowed it to re-open later. The show's biggest hit—the song that Rodgers believed "made" Rodgers and Hart—was "[[Manhattan (song)|Manhattan]]". The two were now a Broadway songwriting force.

Throughout the rest of the decade, the duo wrote several hit shows for both Broadway and London, including ''[[Dearest Enemy]]'' (1925), ''[[The Girl Friend]]'' (1926), ''[[Peggy-Ann]]'' (1926), ''[[A Connecticut Yankee (musical)|A Connecticut Yankee]]'' (1927), and ''[[Present Arms (musical)|Present Arms]]'' (1928). Their 1920s shows produced standards such as "[[Here in My Arms]]", "[[Mountain Greenery]]", "[[Blue Room (1926 song)|Blue Room]]", "[[My Heart Stood Still]]" and "[[You Took Advantage of Me]]".

With the [[Great Depression|Depression]] in full swing during the first half of the 1930s, the team sought greener pastures in Hollywood. The hardworking Rodgers later regretted these relatively fallow years, but he and Hart did write some classic songs and film scores while out west, including ''[[Love Me Tonight]]'' (1932) (directed by [[Rouben Mamoulian]], who would later direct Rodgers's ''[[Oklahoma!]]'' on Broadway), which introduced three standards: "[[Lover (Rodgers and Hart song)|Lover]]", "[[Mimi (song)|Mimi]]", and "[[Isn't It Romantic?]]". Rodgers also wrote a melody for which Hart wrote three consecutive lyrics which were either cut, not recorded or not a hit. The fourth lyric resulted in one of their most famous songs, "[[Blue Moon (1934 song)|Blue Moon]]". Other film work includes the scores to ''[[The Phantom President]]'' (1932), starring [[George M. Cohan]], ''[[Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (film)|Hallelujah, I'm a Bum]]'' (1933), starring [[Al Jolson]], and, in a quick return after having left Hollywood, ''Mississippi'' (1935), starring [[Bing Crosby]] and [[W. C. Fields]].

In 1935, they returned to Broadway and wrote an almost unbroken string of hit shows that ended shortly before Hart's death in 1943. Among the most notable are ''[[Jumbo (musical)|Jumbo]]'' (1935), ''[[On Your Toes]]'' (1936, which included the ballet "[[Slaughter on Tenth Avenue]]", choreographed by George Balanchine), ''[[Babes in Arms]]'' (1937), ''[[I Married an Angel]]'' (1938), ''[[The Boys from Syracuse]]'' (1938), ''[[Pal Joey (musical)|Pal Joey]]'' (1940), and their last original work, ''[[By Jupiter]]'' (1942). Rodgers also contributed to the book on several of these shows.

Many of the songs from these shows are still sung and remembered, including "[[The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (1935 song)|The Most Beautiful Girl in the World]]", "[[My Romance (song)|My Romance]]", "[[Little Girl Blue (song)|Little Girl Blue]]", "[[I'll Tell the Man in the Street]]", "[[There's a Small Hotel]]", "[[Where or When]]", "[[My Funny Valentine]]", "[[The Lady Is a Tramp]]", "[[Falling in Love with Love]]", "[[Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered]]", and "[[Wait till You See Her]]".

In 1939, Rodgers wrote the ballet ''Ghost Town'' for the [[Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo]], with choreography by [[Marc Platt (dancer)|Marc Platoff]].<ref>Anna Kisselgoff, [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E1D9173CF930A15753C1A9649C8B63 "DANCE REVIEW; Rodgers As Ideal Dance Partner"], ''The New York Times'', October 23, 2002.</ref>

===Rodgers and Hammerstein===
{{Main|Rodgers and Hammerstein}}
[[File:Rodgers and Hammerstein at piano-original.jpg|thumb|Rodgers (seated) with Hammerstein, 1945]]

Rodgers' partnership with Hart began having problems because of the lyricist's unreliability and declining health from [[alcoholism]]. Rodgers began working with [[Oscar Hammerstein II]], with whom he had previously written songs (before ever working with Lorenz Hart). Their first musical, the groundbreaking hit ''[[Oklahoma!]]'' (1943), is a notable example of a "[[book musical]]", a musical play in which the songs and dances are fully integrated into the plot. What was once a collection of songs, dances and comic turns held together by a tenuous plot became a fully integrated narrative. Even though ''[[Show Boat]]'' is considered to be the earliest example of a book musical, ''Oklahoma!'' epitomized the innovations for which ''Show Boat'' had laid the groundwork and is considered the first production in American history to be intentionally marketed as a fully integrated musical.<ref>O'Leary, J. (2014). Oklahoma!, "lousy publicity," and the politics of formal integration in the American Musical Theater. Journal of Musicology, 31(1), 139–182. https://doi.org/10.1525/jm.2014.31.1.139</ref>

In 1943, Richard Rodgers became the ninth president of the [[Dramatists Guild of America]].  In November that year he and Hart mounted a revival of ''[[A Connecticut Yankee (musical)|A Connecticut Yankee]]''; Hart died from alcoholism and pneumonia just days after its opening.

Rodgers and Hammerstein went on to create four more hits that are among the most popular in musical history. Each was made into a successful film: ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]'' (1945), ''[[South Pacific (musical)|South Pacific]]'' (1949, winner of the 1950 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for Drama), ''[[The King and I]]'' (1951), and ''[[The Sound of Music]]'' (1959). Other shows include the minor hit ''[[Flower Drum Song]]'' (1958), as well as relative failures ''[[Allegro (musical)|Allegro]]'' (1947), ''[[Me and Juliet]]'' (1953), and ''[[Pipe Dream (musical)|Pipe Dream]]'' (1955). They also wrote the score to the film ''[[State Fair (1945 film)|State Fair]]'' (1945) (which was remade in 1962 with [[Pat Boone]]) and a special TV musical of ''[[Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein musical)|Cinderella]]'' (1957).

Their collaboration produced many well-known songs, including "[[Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin']]", "[[People Will Say We're in Love]]", "[[Oklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein song)|Oklahoma]]" (which also became the state song of Oklahoma), "It's A Grand Night For Singing", "[[If I Loved You]]", "[[You'll Never Walk Alone]]", "[[It Might as Well Be Spring]]", "[[Some Enchanted Evening]]", "[[Younger Than Springtime]]", "[[Bali Hai]]", "[[Getting to Know You (song)|Getting to Know You]]", "[[My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things]]", "[[The Sound of Music (song)|The Sound of Music]]", "[[Sixteen Going on Seventeen]]", "[[Climb Ev'ry Mountain]]", "[[Do-Re-Mi]]", and "[[Edelweiss (song)|Edelweiss]]", Hammerstein's last song.

[[File:Richard Rodgers Ed Sullivan 1952.JPG|thumb|Rodgers was the subject of a two-part special on [[Ed Sullivan]]'s ''Toast of the Town'' television show in 1952]]

Much of Rodgers' work with both Hart and Hammerstein was orchestrated by [[Robert Russell Bennett]]. Rodgers composed twelve themes, which Bennett used in preparing the orchestra score for the 26-episode [[World War II]] television documentary ''[[Victory at Sea]]'' (1952–53). This [[NBC]] production pioneered the "compilation documentary"—programming based on pre-existing footage—and was eventually broadcast in dozens of countries. The melody of the popular song "[[No Other Love (1953 song)|No Other Love]]" was later taken from the ''Victory at Sea'' theme entitled "Beneath the Southern Cross". Rodgers won an [[Emmy]] for the music for the ABC documentary ''[[The Valiant Years|Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years]]'', scored by [[Eddie Sauter]], [[Hershy Kay]], and [[Robert Emmett Dolan]]. Rodgers composed the theme music, "[[March of the Clowns]]", for the 1963–64 television series ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'', which ran for 30 episodes. He also contributed the main title theme for the 1963–64 historical anthology television series [[The Great Adventure (U.S. TV series)|''The Great Adventure'']].

In 1950, [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] received [[The Hundred Year Association of New York]]'s Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York." Rodgers, Hammerstein, and [[Joshua Logan]] won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] for ''South Pacific''.<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Drama "Drama"]. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved December 3, 2013.</ref> Rodgers and Hammerstein had won a [[Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards|special Pulitzer Prize]] in 1944 for ''Oklahoma!''.<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Special-Awards-and-Citations "Special Awards and Citations"]. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved December 3, 2013.</ref>

In 1954, Rodgers conducted the [[New York Philharmonic Orchestra]] in excerpts from ''Victory at Sea'', ''[[Slaughter on Tenth Avenue]]'' and the ''[[Carousel Waltz]]'' for a special LP released by [[Columbia Records]].

[[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] musicals earned a total of 37 [[Tony Award]]s, 15 [[Academy Awards]], two [[Pulitzer Prize]]s, two [[Grammy Award]]s, and two [[Emmy Award]]s.

===After Hammerstein===
Rodgers composed five new musicals between Hammerstein's death in 1960 and his own in 1979. In chronological order, they are: ''[[No Strings]]'' (1962), ''[[Do I Hear a Waltz?]]'' (1965), ''[[Two by Two (musical)|Two by Two]]'' (1970), ''[[Rex (musical)|Rex]]'' (1976), and ''[[I Remember Mama (musical)|I Remember Mama]]'' (1979).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Block |first=Geoffrey |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1npq43 |title=Richard Rodgers |date=2003 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-09747-4 |pages= |chapter=After Hammerstein|jstor=j.ctt1npq43 }}</ref>

Rodgers wrote both words and music for his first new Broadway project ''No Strings'', which earned two Tony Awards and played 580 shows. The show was a minor hit and featured the song, "[[The Sweetest Sounds (song)|The Sweetest Sounds]]".

Rodgers also wrote both the words and music for two new songs used in the film version of [[The Sound of Music (film)|''The Sound of Music'']]. (Other songs in that film were from Rodgers and Hammerstein.)

Each of his final Broadway musicals faced a declining level of success as Rodgers was overshadowed by up-and-coming composers and lyricists. This was evident by the steady drop in run times and critic reviews. ''Do I Hear a Waltz?'' ran 220 performances; ''Two by Two,'' 343 performances; ''Rex'' only 49 performances; and ''I Remember Mama,'' 108 performances.<ref name=":0" />

While Rodgers went on to work with lyricists: [[Stephen Sondheim]] (''Do I Hear a Waltz?''), who was a protégé of Hammerstein, [[Martin Charnin]] (''Two by Two,'' ''I Remember Mama'') and [[Sheldon Harnick]] (''Rex''), he never found another permanent partner. These partnerships proved to be unsuccessful as a result of issues of collaboration. Sondheim's reluctance to participate in ''Do I Hear a Waltz?'' led to tension between the two. In addition, Charnin and Rodgers were met with opposing ideas when creating ''Two by Two''.<ref name=":0" />

Nevertheless, his overall successful lifetime career did not go unrecognized. At its 1978 commencement ceremonies, [[Barnard College]] awarded Rodgers its highest honor, the [[List of Barnard College people#Recipients of the Medal of Distinction|Barnard Medal of Distinction]].

Rodgers was an honoree at the first [[Kennedy Center Honors]] in 1978. At the 1979 Tony Awards ceremony—six months before his death—Rodgers was presented the Lawrence Langner Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the American Theatre.

One of Rodger's final works was a revival of ''Fly With Me'' for the 1980 Varsity Show, to which he added several new songs. He died less than four months before its premiere in April 1980.<ref name=":1" />