Ira Gershwin

American lyricist (1896–1983)

Ira Gershwin

Gershwin in 1925

Background information
Birth name| Israel Gershovitz
Also known as| Israel Gershvin
Arthur Francis
Born| (1896-12-06)December 6, 1896
New York City, U.S.
Died| August 17, 1983(1983-08-17) (aged 86)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Genres|

* Popular
* classical

Occupation(s)| Lyricist
Years active| 1910s–1950s

Musical artist

Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 20th century.[1] With George, he wrote more than a dozen Broadway shows, featuring songs such as "I Got Rhythm", "Embraceable You", "The Man I Love" and "Someone to Watch Over Me". He was also responsible, along with DuBose Heyward, for the libretto to George's opera Porgy and Bess.

The success the Gershwin brothers had with their collaborative works has often overshadowed the creative role that Ira played. His mastery of songwriting continued after George's early death in 1937. Ira wrote additional hit songs with composers Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Harry Warren and Harold Arlen. His critically acclaimed 1959 book Lyrics on Several Occasions, an amalgam of autobiography and annotated anthology, is widely considered an important source for studying the art of the lyricist in the golden age of American popular song.[2]

## Life and career

[edit]

Gershwin was born at 60 Eldridge Street in Manhattan, the oldest of four children of Morris (Moishe) and Rose Gershovitz (née Rosa Bruskin), who were Russian Jews from Saint Petersburg and who had immigrated to the United States in 1891. Ira's siblings were George (Jacob, b. 1898), Arthur (b. 1900), and Frances (b. 1906). Morris changed the family name to "Gershwine" (or alternatively "Gershvin") well before their children rose to fame; it was not spelled "Gershwin" until later. Shy in his youth, Ira spent much of his time at home reading, but from grammar school through college, he played a prominent part in several school newspapers and magazines.

He graduated in 1914 from Townsend Harris High School, a public school for intellectually gifted students, where he met Yip Harburg, with whom he enjoyed a lifelong friendship and a love of Gilbert and Sullivan. He attended the City College of New York but dropped out.[3][4]

The childhood home of Ira and George Gershwin was in the center of the Yiddish Theater District, on the second floor at 91 Second Avenue, between East 5th and 6th streets. They frequented the local Yiddish theaters.[5][6][7]

While George began composing and "plugging" in Tin Pan Alley from the age of 18, Ira worked as a cashier in his father's Victorian-style Turkish baths.[8] It was not until 1921 that Ira became involved in the music business. Alex Aarons signed Ira to write the songs for his next show, Two Little Girls in Blue, ultimately produced by Abraham Erlanger, along with co-composers Vincent Youmans and Paul Lannin. So as not to appear to trade off George's growing reputation, Ira wrote under the pseudonym "Arthur Francis", after his youngest two siblings. His lyrics were well received, allowing him successfully to enter the show-business world with just one show.[4] Later the same year, the Gershwins collaborated for the first time on a score; this was for A Dangerous Maid, which played in Atlantic City and on tour.[9]

It was not until 1924 that Ira and George teamed up to write the music for what became their first Broadway hit Lady, Be Good. Once the brothers joined forces, their combined talents became one of the most influential forces in the history of American Musical Theatre. "When the Gershwins teamed up to write songs for Lady, Be Good, the American musical found its native idiom."[10] Together, they wrote the music for more than 12 shows and four films. Some of their more famous works include "The Man I Love", "Fascinating Rhythm", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "I Got Rhythm" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me".[2] Their partnership continued until George's unexpected death from a brain tumor in 1937. Following his brother's death, Ira waited nearly three years before writing again.

After this temporary retirement, Ira teamed up with accomplished composers such as Jerome Kern (Cover Girl); Kurt Weill (Where Do We Go from Here?; Lady in the Dark); Harry Warren (The Barkleys of Broadway); and Harold Arlen (Life Begins at 8:40; A Star Is Born).[4] Over the next 14 years, Gershwin continued to write the lyrics for many film scores and a few Broadway shows. But the failure of Park Avenue in 1946 (a "smart" show about divorce, co-written with composer Arthur Schwartz) was his farewell to Broadway.[11] As he wrote at the time, "Am reading a couple of stories for possible musicalization (if there is such a word) but I hope I don't like them as I think I deserve a long rest."[12]

In 1947, he took 11 songs George had written but never used, provided them with new lyrics, and incorporated them into the Betty Grable film The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. He later wrote comic lyrics for Billy Wilder's 1964 movie Kiss Me, Stupid, although most critics believe his final major work was for the 1954 Judy Garland film A Star Is Born.[4]

American singer, pianist and musical historian Michael Feinstein worked for Gershwin in the lyricist's latter years, helping him with his archive. Several lost musical treasures were unearthed during this period, and Feinstein performed some of the material. Feinstein's book The Gershwins and Me: A Personal History in Twelve Songs about working for Ira, and George and Ira's music, was published in 2012.[13]

According to a 1999 story in Vanity Fair, Ira Gershwin's love for loud music was as great as his wife's loathing of it. When Debby Boone—daughter-in-law of his neighbor Rosemary Clooney—returned from Japan with one of the first Sony Walkmans (utilizing cassette tape), Clooney gave it to Michael Feinstein to give to Ira, "so he could crank it in his ears, you know. And he said, 'This is absolutely wonderful!' And he called his broker and bought Sony stock!"[14]

## Personal life

[edit]

Gershwin married Leonore (née Strunsky) in 1926.[15] He died of heart disease in Beverly Hills, California, on 17 August 1983 at the age of 86. He is interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Leonore died in 1991.

## Awards and honors

[edit]

Three of Ira Gershwin's songs ("They Can't Take That Away From Me" (1937), "Long Ago (and Far Away)" (1944) and "The Man That Got Away" (1954)) were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, though none won.[16]

Along with George S Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, he was a recipient of the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Of Thee I Sing.[17]

In 1988 UCLA established The George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Musical Achievement Award in recognition of the brothers' contribution to music, and for their gift to UCLA of the fight song "Strike Up the Band for UCLA". Recipients include Angela Lansbury (1988), Ray Charles (1991), Mel Tormé (1994), Bernadette Peters (1995), Frank Sinatra (2000), Stevie Wonder (2002), k.d. lang (2003), James Taylor (2004), Babyface (2005), Burt Bacharach (2006), Quincy Jones (2007), Lionel Richie (2008) and Julie Andrews (2009).[18]

## Legacy

[edit]

Ira Gershwin was a joyous listener to the sounds of the modern world. "He had a sharp eye and ear for the minutiae of living." He noted in a diary: "Heard in a day: An elevator's purr, telephone's ring, telephone's buzz, a baby's moans, a shout of delight, a screech from a 'flat wheel', hoarse honks, a hoarse voice, a tinkle, a match scratch on sandpaper, a deep resounding boom of dynamiting in the impending subway, iron hooks on the gutter."[19]

In 1987, Ira's widow, Leonore, established the Ira Gershwin Literacy Center at University Settlement, a century-old institution at 185 Eldridge Street on the Lower East Side, New York City. The center is designed to give English-language programs to primarily Hispanic and Chinese Americans. Ira and his younger brother George spent many after-school hours at the Settlement.[20]

The George and Ira Gershwin Collection and the Ira Gershwin Files from the Law Office of Leonard Saxe are both at the Library of Congress Music Division.[21] The Edward Jablonski and Lawrence D. Stewart Gershwin Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin holds a number of Ira's manuscripts and other material.[22]

In 2007, the United States Library of Congress named its Prize for Popular Song after him and his brother George. Recognizing the profound and positive effect of American popular music on the world's culture, the prize will be given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins.[23]

## Notable songs

[edit]

* "But Not for Me"
* "Embraceable You"
* "How Long Has This Been Going On?"
* "I Can't Get Started" (music by Vernon Duke)
* "I Got Rhythm"
* "I've Got a Crush on You"
* "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"
* "Long Ago (and Far Away)" (music by Jerome Kern)
* "Love Is Here To Stay"
* "My Ship" (music by Kurt Weill)
* "Nice Work If You Can Get It"
* "Oh, Lady Be Good"
* "'S Wonderful"
* "Someone to Watch Over Me"
* "Strike Up the Band"
* "The Man I Love"
* "The Man That Got Away" (music by Harold Arlen)
* "They All Laughed"
* "They Can't Take That Away from Me"

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Obituary Variety, August 24, 1983.
2. ^ a b Ira Gershwin biography pbs.org, March 17, 2009
3. ^ Furia, pp.3–4, 11
4. ^ a b c d Ira Gershwin biography allmusic.com. Retrieved March 17, 2009
5. ^ Howard Pollack (2006). George Gershwin: His Life and Work. University of California Press. p. 43. ISBN 9780520248649. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
6. ^ "Reviving, Revisiting Yiddish Culture", Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, October 20, 1998
7. ^ "Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress: George Gershwin". Jewish Virtual Library. 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
8. ^ Furia, p. 26
9. ^ Pollack, pp. 255–258
10. ^ Furia, p. 45
11. ^ John Thaxter (March 31, 2008). "The Stage". The Stage. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
12. ^ Ira Gershwin quoted by Edward Jablonski in Gershwin: A Biography, New York: Simon & Schuster (1988) ISBN 0-671-69931-8
13. ^ "Michael Feinstein: What I Learned From The Gershwins". NPR. October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
14. ^ Purdham, Todd S. (April 1999). "The Street Where They Lived". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
15. ^ Brennan, p.100
16. ^ Gershwin (1959)
17. ^ Brennan, Elizabeth A., "Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners" (1999), Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 1-57356-111-8, p. 100
18. ^ Gershwin Award Winners Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine uclalumni.net. Retrieved May 11, 2009
19. ^ Rosenberg, p.31
20. ^ Widow of Ira Gershwin Endows Literacy Center",The New York Times, March 25, 1987
21. ^ The Library of Congress Gershwin Collection The Library of Congress. Retrieved March 17, 2009
22. ^ "Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin". hrc.utexas.edu:8080. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
23. ^ "Paul Simon to Be Awarded First Annual Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by Library of Congress". The Library of Congress. March 1, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

## Sources

[edit]

* Furia, Philip (1996). Ira Gershwin: The Art of the Lyricist (First ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508299-0.
* Gershwin, Ira; Kimball, Robert (1993). The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin (First ed.). New York: Alfred A Knopf. ISBN 0-394-55651-8.
* Gershwin, Ira (1959). Lyrics on Several Occasions (First ed.). New York: Knopf. OCLC 538209.
* Pollack, Howard. George Gershwin: his life and work. University of California Press, 2006 ISBN 0-520-24864-3
* Rosenberg, Deena (1991). Fascinating Rhythm: The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin. Penguin Books USA. ISBN 0-525-93356-5.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ira Gershwin.

* Official website
* Ira Gershwin at the Internet Broadway Database
* Ira Gershwin at IMDb

Archives at

| Location| Library of Congress

|

Source| Harvey Granat Collection of George and Ira Gershwin Materials
How to use archival material

* The Library of Congress George and Ira Gershwin Collection and The Gershwin Legacy
* The Ira Gershwin files from the law office of Leonard Saxe at the Library of Congress
* Ira Gershwin Collection Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
* Gershwin fan site
* Ira Gershwin at Find a Grave
* Ira Gershwin recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.

* v
* t
* e

Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Authors

* Jesse Lynch Williams (1918)
* Eugene O'Neill (1920)
* Zona Gale (1921)
* Eugene O'Neill (1922)
* Owen Davis (1923)
* Hatcher Hughes (1924)
* Sidney Howard (1925)
* George Kelly (1926)
* Paul Green (1927)
* Eugene O'Neill (1928)
* Elmer Rice (1929)
* Marc Connelly (1930)
* Susan Glaspell (1931)
* George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind and Ira Gershwin (1932)
* Maxwell Anderson (1933)
* Sidney Kingsley (1934)
* Zoe Akins (1935)
* Robert E. Sherwood (1936)
* Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman (1937)
* Thornton Wilder (1938)
* Robert E. Sherwood (1939)
* William Saroyan (1940)
* Robert E. Sherwood (1941)
* Thornton Wilder (1943)
* Mary Chase (1945)
* Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay (1946)
* Tennessee Williams (1948)
* Arthur Miller (1949)
* Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan (1950)
* Joseph Kramm (1952)
* William Inge (1953)
* John Patrick (1954)
* Tennessee Williams (1955)
* Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich (1956)
* Eugene O'Neill (1957)
* Ketti Frings (1958)
* Archibald MacLeish (1959)
* Jerome Weidman, George Abbott, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick (1960)
* Tad Mosel (1961)
* Frank Loesser and Abe Burrows (1962)
* Frank D. Gilroy (1965)
* Edward Albee (1967)
* Howard Sackler (1969)
* Charles Gordone (1970)
* Paul Zindel (1971)
* Jason Miller (1973)
* Edward Albee (1975)
* Michael Bennett, Nicholas Dante, James Kirkwood Jr., Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban (1976)
* Michael Cristofer (1977)
* Donald L. Coburn (1978)
* Sam Shepard (1979)
* Lanford Wilson (1980)
* Beth Henley (1981)
* Charles Fuller (1982)
* Marsha Norman (1983)
* David Mamet (1984)
* James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim (1985)
* August Wilson (1987)
* Alfred Uhry (1988)
* Wendy Wasserstein (1989)
* August Wilson (1990)
* Neil Simon (1991)
* Robert Schenkkan (1992)
* Tony Kushner (1993)
* Edward Albee (1994)
* Horton Foote (1995)
* Jonathan Larson (1996)
* Paula Vogel (1998)
* Margaret Edson (1999)
* Donald Margulies (2000)
* David Auburn (2001)
* Suzan-Lori Parks (2002)
* Nilo Cruz (2003)
* Doug Wright (2004)
* John Patrick Shanley (2005)
* David Lindsay-Abaire (2007)
* Tracy Letts (2008)
* Lynn Nottage (2009)
* Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (2010)
* Bruce Norris (2011)
* Quiara Alegría Hudes (2012)
* Ayad Akhtar (2013)
* Annie Baker (2014)
* Stephen Adly Guirgis (2015)
* Lin-Manuel Miranda (2016)
* Lynn Nottage (2017)
* Martyna Majok (2018)
* Jackie Sibblies Drury (2019)
* Michael R. Jackson (2020)
* Katori Hall (2021)
* James Ijames (2022)
* Sanaz Toossi (2023)
* Eboni Booth (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Porgy and Bess

Sources|

* Novel
* Play

Adaptations|

* Opera
* Film adaptation
* Catfish Row
* Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture

Creators|

* George Gershwin
* Ira Gershwin
* DuBose Heyward
* Dorothy Heyward

Songs|

* "Summertime"
* "My Man's Gone Now"
* "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'"
* "Bess, You Is My Woman Now"
* "It Ain't Necessarily So"
* "I Loves You, Porgy"

Media|

* Discography

| Jazz treatments|

* The Complete Porgy and Bess (1956 album)
* Porgy and Bess (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong album)
* Porgy and Bess (Miles Davis album)
* Porgy and Bess (Sammy Davis Jr. and Carmen McRae album)
* Oscar Peterson Plays Porgy & Bess
* Porgy and Bess (Harry Belafonte and Lena Horne album)
* Porgy and Bess (Hank Jones album)
* Porgy & Bess (Mundell Lowe album)
* Porgy & Bess Revisited
* Porgy & Bess (Buddy Collette album)
* The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
* Porgy and Bess (Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass album)
* Porgy & Bess (Joe Henderson album)

|

Operatic treatments|

* Highlights from Porgy and Bess
* Selections from George Gershwin's Folk Opera Porgy and Bess (1940 and 1942 albums)
* Porgy and Bess (1950 album)
* Porgy and Bess (1951 album)
* Porgy and Bess (1989 Glyndebourne album)
* The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

* v
* t
* e

George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan's Girl Crazy (1930)

Adaptations|

* Girl Crazy (1932 film)
* Girl Crazy (1943 film)
* When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965 film)
* Crazy for You (1992 musical)

Songs|

| 1930 musical|

* "Bidin' My Time"
* "Embraceable You"
* "Sam and Delilah"
* "I Got Rhythm"
* "But Not for Me"
* "Treat Me Rough"
* "Boy! What Love Has Done to Me!"

|

1992 musical|

* "I Can't Be Bothered Now"
* "Things Are Looking Up"
* "Someone to Watch Over Me"
* "Slap That Bass"
* "The Real American Folk Song Is a Rag"
* "Stiff Upper Lip"
* "They Can't Take That Away from Me"
* "Nice Work If You Can Get It"

Related|

* "You've Got What Gets Me"
* Variations on "I Got Rhythm"

* v
* t
* e

George and Ira Gershwin musicals, operas and films

Together|

* A Dangerous Maid
* Primrose
* Lady, Be Good!
* Tell Me More
* Tip-Toes
* Oh, Kay!
* Strike Up the Band
* Funny Face
* Rosalie
* Treasure Girl
* Show Girl
* Girl Crazy
* Delicious (film)
* Of Thee I Sing
* Pardon My English
* Let 'Em Eat Cake
* Porgy and Bess
* Shall We Dance (film)
* A Damsel in Distress (film)
* The Goldwyn Follies (film)
* The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (film)

George|

* La La Lucille
* Morris Gest Midnight Whirl
* George White's Scandals (1920–1924, including Blue Monday)
* Our Nell
* The Rainbow
* Sweet Little Devil
* Song of the Flame

Ira|

* Two Little Girls in Blue
* Be Yourself
* That's a Good Girl
* Life Begins at 8:40
* Ziegfeld Follies of 1936
* Lady in the Dark
* The North Star (film)
* Cover Girl (film)
* The Firebrand of Florence
* Where Do We Go from Here? (film)
* Park Avenue
* The Barkleys of Broadway (film)
* A Star Is Born (film)
* The Country Girl (film)

repurposed|

* Rhapsody in Blue (film)
* An American in Paris (film)
* My One and Only (musical)
* Crazy for You
* Nice Work If You Can Get It
* An American in Paris (musical)
* A Damsel in Distress (musical)

* v
* t
* e

George Gershwin

Albums|

* Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls

Ballets|

* An American in Paris
* Gershwin Piano Concerto
* Three Preludes
* Who Cares?

Operas|

* Blue Monday (1922)
* Porgy and Bess (1935)

Orchestral works|

* Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
* Concerto in F (1925)
* An American in Paris (1928)
* Second Rhapsody (1931)
* Cuban Overture (1932)
* Strike Up the Band (1934)
* Hoctor's Ballet (1937)

Piano compositions|

* Three Preludes (1926)
* French Ballet Class (1937)

Songs|

* "Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did?"
* "(I've Got) Beginner's Luck"
* "Bidin' My Time"
* "Blah Blah Blah"
* "Boy Wanted"
* "Boy! What Love Has Done to Me!"
* "But Not for Me"
* "By Strauss"
* "Clap Yo' Hands"
* "Do It Again"
* "Doin' Time"
* "Embraceable You"
* "Fascinating Rhythm"
* "A Foggy Day"
* "For You, For Me, For Evermore"
* "Funny Face"
* "'The Half of It, Dearie' Blues"
* "He Loves and She Loves"
* "How Long Has This Been Going On?"
* "I Can't Be Bothered Now"
* "I Got Rhythm"
* "I Was Doing All Right"
* "I've Got a Crush on You"
* "Isn't It a Pity?"
* "Just Another Rhumba"
* "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off"
* "Let's Kiss and Make Up"
* "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)"
* "Looking for a Boy"
* "Lorelei"
* "Love Is Here to Stay"
* "Love Is Sweeping the Country"
* "Love Walked In"
* "The Man I Love"
* "My Cousin in Milwaukee"
* "My One and Only"
* "Nice Work If You Can Get It"
* "Of Thee I Sing"
* "Oh, Lady Be Good!"
* "Oh, So Nice!"
* "The Real American Folk Song (is a Rag)"
* "'S Wonderful"
* "Sam and Delilah"
* "Slap That Bass"
* "Somebody from Somewhere"
* "Somebody Loves Me"
* "Someone to Watch Over Me"
* "Soon"
* "Stairway to Paradise"
* "Stiff Upper Lip"
* "Strike Up the Band"
* "Summertime"
* "Swanee"
* "That Certain Feeling"
* "They All Laughed"
* "They Can't Take That Away from Me"
* "Things Are Looking Up"
* "Tra-la-la"
* "Treat Me Rough"
* "Walking the Dog"
* "Who Cares?"
* "You've Got What Gets Me"

Tribute albums|

* Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin
* By George
* Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
* Ella Sings Gershwin
* Gershwin Live!
* Gershwin's World
* The Glory of Gershwin
* Ira, George and Joe
* Nice Work If You Can Get It
* Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook
* Red Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove
* Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gershwin

Related articles|

* Gershwin Prize
* Ira Gershwin (brother)
* Arthur Gershwin (brother)
* Frances Gershwin (sister)
* Gershwin Theatre

List of compositions by George Gershwin Category:George Gershwin

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* 2
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Norway
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* BnF data
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* Australia
* Korea
* Croatia
* Netherlands
* Poland

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* Discography of American Historical Recordings
* MusicBrainz

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* Trove

Other|

* NARA
* SNAC
* 2
* IdRef

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