30 Facts About Richard Rodgers

Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater.

Richard Rodgers is known for his songwriting partnerships, first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein II.

In 1978, Richard Rodgers was in the inaugural group of Kennedy Center Honorees for lifetime achievement in the arts.

Richard Rodgers spent his early teenage summers in Camp Wigwam where he composed some of his first songs.

In 1921, Richard Rodgers shifted his studies to the Institute of Musical Art.

Richard Rodgers was influenced by composers such as Victor Herbert and Jerome Kern, as well as by the operettas his parents took him to see on Broadway when he was a child.

In 1919, Richard Rodgers met Lorenz Hart, thanks to Phillip Levitt, a friend of Richard Rodgers's older brother.

When he was just out of college Richard Rodgers worked as musical director for Lew Fields.

Richard Rodgers was considering quitting show business altogether to sell children's underwear, when he and Hart finally broke through in 1925.

Richard Rodgers wrote a melody for which Hart wrote three consecutive lyrics which were either cut, not recorded or not a hit.

Richard Rodgers contributed to the book on several of these shows.

In 1939, Richard Rodgers wrote the ballet Ghost Town for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, with choreography by Marc Platoff.

Richard Rodgers began working with Oscar Hammerstein II, with whom he had previously written songs.

Richard Rodgers composed twelve themes, which Bennett used in preparing the orchestra score for the 26-episode World War II television documentary Victory at Sea.

Richard Rodgers won an Emmy for the music for the ABC documentary Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years, scored by Eddie Sauter, Hershy Kay, and Robert Emmett Dolan.

In 1954, Richard Rodgers conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in excerpts from Victory at Sea, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and the Carousel Waltz for a special LP released by Columbia Records.

Richard Rodgers composed five new musicals between Hammerstein's death in 1960 and his own in 1979.

Richard Rodgers wrote both words and music for his first new Broadway project No Strings, which earned two Tony Awards and played 580 shows.

Richard Rodgers wrote both the words and music for two new songs used in the film version of The Sound of Music.

Each of his musicals faced a declining level of success as Richard Rodgers was overshadowed by up and coming composers and lyricists.

Richard Rodgers was an honoree at the first Kennedy Center Honors in 1978.

Richard Rodgers died in 1979, aged 77, after surviving cancer of the jaw, a heart attack, and a laryngectomy.

Richard Rodgers was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea.

Richard Rodgers is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Rosemary Clooney recorded a version of "Falling in Love with Love" by Richard Rodgers, using a swing style.

Mary Martin said that Richard Rodgers composed songs for her for South Pacific, knowing she had a small vocal range, and the songs generally made her look her best.

Richard Rodgers said that Rodgers and Hammerstein listened to all her suggestions and she worked extremely well with them.

In 1943, Richard Rodgers became the ninth president of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Richard Rodgers was prone to depression and alcohol abuse and was at one time hospitalized.

Richard Rodgers is one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT, the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.