Editing Harry Von Tilzer

{{Short description|American songwriter (1872–1946)}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Harry Von Tilzer
| image       = Harry Von Tilzer 2.jpg
| birth_name  = Aaron Gumbinsky
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1872|7|8}}
| birth_place = [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1946|1|10|1872|7|8}} | death_place = [[New York City]]
| nationality = [[Americans|American]]
| relatives   = [[Albert Von Tilzer]] (brother)
}}

'''Harry Von Tilzer''' (born '''Aaron Gumbinsky''', also known as '''Harry Gumm'''; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and [[vaudeville]] performer.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=1222}}</ref>

==Early life==
Von Tilzer was born in [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]. His parents, Sarah (Tilzer) and Jacob Gumbinsky, were [[Polish Jewish]] immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ragpiano.com/comps/hvntlzr.shtml |title=Harry Von Tilzer (Aaron Gumbinsky) |publisher=Ragpiano.com |access-date=2014-06-02}}</ref> Harry ran away and joined a traveling [[Circus (performing art)|circus]] at age 14, where he adopted his mother's maiden name as his own, seeking to make it sound even classier by tacking on a "Von."<ref name="Larkin"/> So impressive seemed the transformation that eventually all his brothers changed their last name to match his.<ref>{{cite web|author=Artist Biography by arwulf arwulf |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/harry-von-tilzer-mn0000952164 |title=Harry Von Tilzer &#124; Biography |publisher=AllMusic |date=1946-01-10 |access-date=2014-06-02}}</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Harry Von Tilzer 1910.jpg|thumb|Von Tilzer, {{Circa|1910}}|left|240x240px]]
Harry proved successful playing piano and [[calliope (music)|calliope]] and writing new tunes and [[incidental music]] for shows. He continued doing this for [[American burlesque|burlesque]] and [[vaudeville]] shows for some years, writing many tunes which were not published or which he sold to entertainers for one or two dollars.  In 1898, he sold his song "[[My Old New Hampshire Home]]"<ref name="Larkin"/> to a publisher for $15, and watched it become a national hit, selling over two&nbsp;million copies of the sheet music. This prompted him to become a professional songwriter.

He was made a partner of the [[Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.|Shapiro Bernstein Publishing Company]].<ref name="Larkin"/>  His 1900 number "[[A Bird in a Gilded Cage]]" became one of the biggest hits of the time.<ref name="Larkin"/> Von Tilzer became one of the best-known [[Tin Pan Alley]] songwriters.  In 1902, Von Tilzer formed his own publishing company, where he was soon joined by his younger brother [[Albert Von Tilzer]].<ref name="Larkin"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Von Tilzer - IMSLP |url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Harry_Von_Tilzer |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=imslp.org}}</ref> In 1914, Von Tilzer was a charter member of the performing rights society, [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers]] (ASCAP).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Von Tilzer {{!}} Songwriters Hall of Fame |url=https://www.songhall.org/profile/Harry_Von_Tilzer |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=www.songhall.org}}</ref>

Harry Von Tilzer's hits included "[[A Bird in a Gilded Cage]]," "The Cubanola Glide," "[[Wait 'Til The Sun Shines Nellie]]," "Old King Tut," "All Alone," "Mariutch," "The Ragtime Goblin Man," "I Love My Wife, But Oh You Kid!" "They Always Pick On Me," "[[I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)]]" (with lyrics by [[William Dillon]]), "[[And The Green Grass Grew All Around]]," "[[On the Old Fall River Line]]," "[[Under the Anheuser Bush]]," and many others.<ref name="Larkin"/>

==Death==
He died in [[New York City]] on January 10, 1946.<ref>{{cite news |title=Harry Von Tilzer Found Dead in Room |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 11, 1946 }}</ref> [[Lawrence Welk]]'s [[Welk Music Group|Teleklew Productions]] acquired Harry Von Tilzer Music in 1957.<ref>{{Cite web| title = The Welk Group, Inc. {{!}} Encyclopedia.com| access-date = 2020-12-30| url = https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/welk-group-inc}}</ref>

==Work on Broadway==
*''The Fisher Maiden'' (1903) – [[opera]] – [[composer]]
*''The Man From Now'' (1906) – [[Musical theater|musical]] – featured [[composer]]
*''The Dairymaids'' (1907) – [[Musical theater|musical]] – featured [[songwriter]]
*''[[Ziegfeld Follies]] of 1910'' (1910) – [[revue]] – featured [[composer]] for "I'll Get You Yet"
*''Doctor Jazz'' (1975) – [[Musical theater|musical]] – featured [[songwriter]] for "I Love It"
*''[[Tintypes]]'' (1980) – [[revue]] – featured [[songwriter]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Archival records|title=Von Tilzer / Gumm collection, 1878-1959|location= [[Library of Congress]]|description_URL=https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu010017}}
{{Commons category|Harry Von Tilzer}}
*{{IBDB name|12534}}
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/dinah/2812008098/ Sheet music for his song "Under the Anheuser Bush"] from the collection of the San Francisco Public Library
*[http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/ Harry Von Tilzer songs] at [[Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project]] – Enter ''Harry Von Tilzer'' in Keyword Search window.
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106533 Harry Von Tilzer recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].
*{{IMSLP|id=Von Tilzer, Harry}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Von Tilzer, Harry}}
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1946 deaths]]
[[Category:Musicians from Detroit]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:Ragtime composers]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Indiana]]
[[Category:American male composers]]
[[Category:American composers]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Michigan]]
[[Category:American music publishers (people)]]
[[Category:American male songwriters]]