Sheldon Harnick

Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof.

Sheldon Harnick
Harnick in 2006
Background information
Born (1924-04-30) April 30, 1924
Chicago, Illinois, US
GenresMusical theater
Occupation(s)Lyricist
Years active1949–present

Harnick began his career writing words and music to comic songs in musical revues. One of these, "The Merry Minuet", was popularized by the Kingston Trio.[1][2] It is in the caustic style usually associated with Tom Lehrer and is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Lehrer.

Early life

Sheldon Mayer Harnick was born to American Jewish parents and grew up in the Chicago neighborhood of Portage Park.[3] Yiddish was rarely spoken in the home, mostly as a way his parents kept conversations between themselves private.[4]

Musical career

Harnick began writing music while still in Carl Schurz High School in Chicago. After his Army service, he graduated from the Northwestern University School of Music (1946-1949) with a Bachelor of Music degree, and worked with various orchestras in the Chicago area. He then moved to New York City and wrote for many musicals and revues.[5] He was friends with Charlotte Rae from college, and he went to see her one night at the Village Vanguard where she was singing a revue. Yip Harburg, who was one of Harnick's idols, heard she was singing a song of his and decided to come. He told Harnick that he enjoyed his writing, and urged him to continue. Harburg advised Harnick to work with a large number of composers. He also counseled him to write character and comic songs, not ballads, for Broadway. Harnick followed both tips even though Harburg's advice contradicted that of Jay Gorney, who had told Harnick that ballads were the key to success on Broadway.[6]

Around 1956, Harnick met Jerry Bock, forming "what is arguably the most important musical partnership of the '60s." [7] Their first musical was The Body Beautiful, running for only 60 performances in 1958, but Fiorello! (1959) ran for 795 performances and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Fiddler on the Roof (1964) "became one of the most cherished of all Broadway musicals."[7]

Harnick wrote the libretto for the opera Coyote Tales, with music by Henry Mollicone, which received its world premiere at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City in March 1998.[8] He wrote the book, music and lyrics to the musical Dragons, which was performed in 2003 at the Luna Stage in Montclair, New Jersey.[9] He wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book with Norton Juster for the musical The Phantom Tollbooth, based on the book by Juster. The musical premiered at the Kennedy Center in 2007.[10]

Harnick released the album Sheldon Harnick: Hidden Treasures (1949-2013) in 2014, which includes recordings of song demos and pieces cut from Broadway shows from his private collection.[11] In 2020, Harnick is working on a musical adaptation of the Soviet play The Dragon by Evgeny Schwartz.[12]

Stage productions

Honors and awards
  • In 1960, Harnick, Bock and Jerome Weidman (book) won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Fiorello!.[14]
  • Sheldon Harnick has won three Tony Awards. In 1960, he, Bock and Weidman tied with Rodgers and Hammerstein for best musical; that year, both Fiorello! and The Sound of Music won. And in 1965, Bock and Harnick's Fiddler on the Roof won for both Best Musical and Best Composer and Lyricist.[15]
  • In honor of Harnick's vast influence on American music, on May 19, 1984 he was awarded the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit.[16] Beginning in 1964, this award "established to bring a declaration of appreciation to an individual each year that has made a significant contribution to the world of music and helped to create a climate in which our talents may find valid expression."
  • Sheldon Harnick was honored at the Twenty-Sixth Annual William Inge Theatre Festival located in Independence, Kansas, in 2007.[17]
  • Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock were presented with the 18th Annual York Theatre Company's prestigious Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre in 2009.[18]
  • Harnick received the 2016 Drama League Award for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre, as well as the 2016 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.[19]
  • He received an honorary doctorate from Northwestern University in June 2018.

References
  1. Randel, Don Michael (2003). The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. p. 357.
  2. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 19 - Blowin' in the Wind: Pop discovers folk music. [Part 2] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  3. "Words into Song". Northwestern. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  4. "Conversation with Sheldon Harnick". Connecticut Jewish Ledger. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  5. "Biography of Sheldon Harnick". MTI Shows. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2013-11-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick". Broadway:The American Musical. PBS.org. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  8. "'Coyote Tales' listing" henrymollicone.com, accessed March 4, 2012
  9. Jones, Kenneth."Sheldon Harnick's Musical, 'Dragons', Roars in NJ Starting Nov. 13; Harnick in the House for Opening" playbill.com, November 13, 2003
  10. "'The Phantom Tollbooth' listing" kennedy-center.org, accessed March 4, 2012
  11. "At 90, 'Fiddler' Lyricist Tells His Story". NPR.org. April 30, 2014. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  12. Gans, Andrew (April 24, 2020). "Checking in With Tony Winner Sheldon Harnick, Co-Creator of Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello!, More". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  13. Leeds, Ryan. "Interview With Sheldon Harnick: A “Fiddler” at the York" manhattandigest.com, February 11, 2014
  14. "The Pulitzer Prize, Drama". Pulitzer.org. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  15. "Sheldon Harnick". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  16. "The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit Recipients". Archived from the original on 2012-02-09.
  17. "The William Inge Theatre Festival". Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  18. Hetrick, Adam (November 23, 2009). "Bock and Harnick Receive Hammerstein Award Nov. 23; Cook, Kuhn, Kudisch and More Will Sing". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  19. "The 2016 Tony Awards: Winners". Retrieved 2016-06-14.
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