Editing Oscar Hammerstein II (section)

==Personal life==
[[File:Oscar hammerstein wife.jpg|thumb|Hammerstein with his first wife, Myra Finn, photographed aboard a ship]]

Hammerstein married his first wife, Myra Finn, in 1917; the couple divorced in 1929.<ref name="PBS-broadway/stars" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hamersly |first1=Lewis Randolph |last2=Leonard |first2=John William |last3=Mohr |first3=William Frederick |last4=Knox |first4=Herman Warren |last5=Holmes |first5=Frank R. |title=Who's who in New York City and State |date=1947 |publisher=L.R. Hamersly Company |page=444 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wU11767XjtoC&q=Myra+Finn+1917+1929 |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en |quote=... m. Myra Finn, Aug. 22. 1917, N. Y. C. (div. May 13, 1929); (2) May 14, 1929, Dorothy Blanchard in Baltimore: ch.: William, Alice, James. ...}}</ref> He married his second wife, the Australian-born [[Dorothy Hammerstein|Dorothy (Blanchard) Jacobson]] (1899–1987), in 1929.<ref name="JoanCookNYTimes">{{cite news |last1=Cook |first1=Joan |title=Dorothy Hammerstein Dies; Designer Was Lyricist's Wife |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/04/obituaries/dorothy-hammerstein-dies-designer-was-lyricist-s-wife.html |access-date=August 22, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=August 4, 1987 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> He had three children: William Hammerstein (1918–2001)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Kenneth |title=William Hammerstein, Director and Son of Oscar Hammerstein II, Dead at 82 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/william-hammerstein-director-and-son-of-oscar-hammerstein-ii-dead-at-82-com-95431 |publisher=[[Playbill]] |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en |date=March 11, 2001}}</ref> and Alice Hammerstein Mathias (1922–2015)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Asch |first1=Amy |title=Getting to Know Her: Meet Alice Hammerstein Mathias, Oscar's Daughter |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/getting-to-know-her-meet-alice-hammerstein-mathias-oscars-daughter-com-182717 |publisher=[[Playbill]] |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en |date=September 19, 2011}}</ref> by his first wife, and [[James Hammerstein]] (1931–1999)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Kenneth |title=Producer-director James Hammerstein, Son of Oscar Hammerstein II, Dead at 67 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/producer-director-james-hammerstein-son-of-oscar-hammerstein-ii-dead-at-67-com-79338 |publisher=[[Playbill]] |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en |date=January 7, 1999}}</ref> by his second wife, with whom he also had a stepson, Henry Jacobson, and a stepdaughter, [[Susan Blanchard (socialite)|Susan Blanchard]].<ref name="JoanCookNYTimes" /> His son William married the screenwriter [[Jane-Howard Hammerstein]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=JANE-HOWARD HAMMERSTEIN Obituary (1934 - 2022) - New York, NY - New York Times |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/jane-howard-hammerstein-obituary?id=32332837 |access-date=November 14, 2023 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>

Hammerstein died of [[stomach cancer]] on August 23, 1960, at his home [[Oscar Hammerstein II Farm|Highland Farm]] in [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania]], aged 65,<ref>"Oscar Hammerstein II Is Dead", ''The New York Times'', p. 1, August 23, 1960</ref> nine months after the opening of ''[[The Sound of Music]]'' on Broadway.<ref name="TimeCorliss">{{cite magazine|last1=Corliss|first1=Richard|date=March 2, 2015|title=Can Even a Cranky Guy Fall for 'The Sound of Music'?|url=https://time.com/3717463/sound-of-music-50-review/|magazine=Time|access-date=August 22, 2020|quote=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences loved the movie big time, festooning it with 10 nominations and five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the 1966 ceremony. ..... Though Hammerstein died at 65 in 1960, nine months into The Sound of Music's Broadway run, the movie has proved how lasting that heritage would be. .....}}</ref> The final song he wrote was "[[Edelweiss (song)|Edelweiss]]", which was added near the end of the second act during rehearsal.<ref>Maslon, Lawrence. ''The Sound of Music Companion'' (2007), p. 177, Simon and Schuster, {{ISBN|1-4165-4954-4}}</ref><ref>[http://www.rnh.com/bio/154/Hammerstein-II-Oscar "Oscar Hammerstein II"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424160819/http://www.rnh.com/bio/154/Hammerstein-II-Oscar|date=April 24, 2011}} rnh.com, accessed November 2011</ref> The lights of [[Times Square]] were turned off for one minute,<ref>{{cite news|date=September 1, 1960|title=Blackout on Broadway to Honor Hammerstein|page=52|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/09/01/archives/blackout-on-broadway-to-honor-hammerstein.html|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and London's [[West End theatre|West End]] lights were dimmed in recognition of his contribution to the musical.<ref>{{cite news|date=August 26, 1960|title=London Honors Hammerstein|page=14|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/26/archives/london-honors-hammerstein.html|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He was cremated, and his ashes were buried at the [[Ferncliff Cemetery]] in [[Hartsdale, New York]].<ref>{{cite news|date=August 25, 1960|title=Rites for Hammerstein|page=29|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/25/archives/rites-for-hammerstein-ashes-of-lyricist-are-buried-ulondon-plans.html|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A memorial plaque was unveiled at [[Southwark Cathedral]], England, on May 24, 1961.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 24, 1961|title=Hammerstein Honored|page=32|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/05/25/archives/hammerstein-honored-widow-unveils-plaque-to-his-memory-in-london.html|url-access=subscription|quote=Mrs. Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, widow of the lyricist, unveiled a plaque today to his memory in Southwark Cathedral&nbsp;.... Mr. Hammerstein's will provided £2000 to support two choir-boys at Southwark Cathedral.}}</ref>

After Hammerstein's death, ''The Sound of Music'' was adapted as [[The Sound of Music (film)|a 1965 film]], which won the [[38th Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].<ref name="TimeCorliss" /><ref>{{cite web|title=The 38th Academy Awards (1966)|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1966|access-date=August 22, 2020|website=Oscars.org|date=October 4, 2014 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref>