Hammerstein, Oscar (Greeley Clendenning), II

outstanding American lyricist, grandson of OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, and most famous for his stage collaborations with RICHARD RODGERS; b. N.Y., July 12, 1895; d. Highland Farms, Doylestown, Pa., Aug. 23, 1960. He studied law at Columbia University, graduating in 1917, then became interested in the theater. He collaborated on the LIBRETTOS for RUDOLF FRIML'S Rose-Marie (1924), SIGMUND ROMBERG'S The Desert Song (1926), and JEROME KERN'S Show Boat (1927; including the celebrated song Ol' Man River). He continued to work with Kern through the '30s, producing dozens of hit standards, including The Song Is You and All the Things You Are. The two also worked in Hollywood.

In 1943 composer Richard Rodgers was looking for a lyricist to replace his long-time partner, LORENZ HART, who was becoming increasingly unreliable due to alcoholism. Hammerstein, who had worked with Rodgers before, was the ideal candidate, and together they produced some of the most brilliant and successful musical comedies in the history of the American theater: Oklahoma! (1943; Pulitzer Prize), Carousel (1945), Allegro (1947), South Pacific (1949; Pulitzer Prize, 1950), The King and I (1951), Me and Juliet (1953), Pipe Dream (1955), The Flower Drum Song (1958), and The Sound of Music (1959).

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals were noteworthy for their near-perfect wedding of songs and text. Although Hammerstein's lyrics were not as clever as Hart's, he was very skilled at creating songs that perfectly advanced the storyline. This was important in the growth of the classic Broadway musical.