Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer of music, with over 900 songs and 43 Broadway musicals, leaving a legacy as one of the most significant composers of 20th century American music. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. His compositions have had a significant impact on popular music. Rodgers was the first person to win what are considered the top American entertainment awards in television, recording, movies and Broadway – an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award — now known collectively as an EGOT. In addition, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, making him only one of two people to receive each award (Marvin Hamlisch is the other). Rodgers died in 1979 at the age of 77, after surviving cancer of the jaw, a heart attack, and a laryngectomy. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea. In 1990, the 46th Street Theatre was renamed "The Richard Rodgers Theatre" in his memory. In 1999, Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on United States postage stamps. In 2002, the centennial year of Rodgers's birth was celebrated worldwide with books, retrospectives, performances, new recordings of his music, and a Broadway revival of Oklahoma!. The BBC Proms that year devoted an entire evening to Rodgers's music, including a concert performance of Oklahoma! The Boston Pops Orchestra released a new CD that year in tribute to Rodgers, entitled My Favorite Things: A Richard Rodgers Celebration. Several American schools are named after Richard Rodgers. Alec Wilder wrote the following about Rodgers: "Of all the writers whose songs are considered and examined in this book, those of Rodgers show the highest degree of consistent excellence, inventiveness, and sophistication...[A]fter spending weeks playing his songs, I am more than impressed and respectful: I am astonished." Richard Rodgers is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. Along with the Academy of Arts and Letters, Rodgers also started and endowed an award for non-established musical theater composers to produce new productions either by way of full productions or staged readings. It is the only award for which the Academy of Arts and Letters accepts applications and is presented every year. Below are the previous winners of the award
Main Street to Broadway
(Self)
An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee
(Self)
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
(Photograper's Assistant)
The Kennedy Center Honors
(Self)
The Ed Sullivan Show
(Self)
Tony Awards
(Self - Recipient)
What's My Line?
(Self)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(Self)
Hollywood Party
(Original Music Composer)
Oklahoma!
(Musical)
South Pacific
(Musical)
Some Enchanted Evening
(Music)
The Sound of Music
(Music)
I Am Returning Your Portrait
(Music)
Hollywood Party
(Lyricist)
Cinderella
(Executive Producer)
Cinderella
(Original Music Composer)
Some Enchanted Evening
(Songs)
Cinderella
(Songs)
South Pacific
(Theatre Play)
South Pacific
(Music)
Becoming Benanti: The Role of a Lifetime
(Music)
On Your Toes
(Theatre Play)
Cinderella
(Original Music Composer)
Annie Get Your Gun
(Producer)
Pal Joey
(Songs)
Love Me Tonight
(Songs)
Babes in Arms
(Songs)
Oklahoma! (Takarazuka)
(Original Music Composer)
Words and Music
(Songs)
Oklahoma!
(Songs)
Spring Is Here
(Songs)
Makers of Melody
(Songs)
Too Many Girls
(Songs)
The King and I
(Songs)
South Pacific
(Songs)
Carousel
(Songs)
Cinderella
(Songs)
The King and I
(Songs)
State Fair
(Songs)
South Pacific
(Songs)
State Fair
(Songs)
Carousel
(Songs)
Billy Rose's Jumbo
(Songs)
Dancing Pirate
(Songs)
Love Me or Leave Me
(Songs)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel: Live from Lincoln Center
(Songs)
The King and I
(Songs)
South Pacific
(Music)
I Married an Angel
(Songs)
The Boys from Syracuse
(Songs)
Carousel
(Music)
Carousel
(Musical)
Dancing Lady
(Songs)
On Your Toes
(Music)
On Your Toes
(Songs)
Oklahoma!
(Musical)
Words and Music
(Original Music Composer)
Cinderella
(Music)
The Hot Heiress
(Original Music Composer)
Gaby
(Music)
Billy Rose's Jumbo
(Original Music Composer)
Evergreen
(Original Music Composer)
The King and I
(Music)
Pal Joey
(Music)
Oklahoma!
(Music)
Oklahoma!
(Musical)
The Sound of Music Live!
(Songs)
The Sound of Music
(Lyricist)
The Sound of Music Live!
(Songs)
The Sound of Music
(Songs)
Flower Drum Song
(Songs)
Babes in Arms
(Theatre Play)
Dearest Enemy
(Songs)
Manhattan Melodrama
(Songs)
South Pacific
(Songs)
The Phantom President
(Songs)
Mississippi
(Music)
Cinderella
(Original Music Composer)
The Sound of Music Live!
(Original Music Composer)
The Sound of Music Live!
(Original Music Composer)
The King and I
(Original Music Composer)
State Fair
(Original Music Composer)
Flower Drum Song
(Original Music Composer)
South Pacific
(Original Music Composer)
Pal Joey
(Original Music Composer)
The King and I
(Original Music Composer)
Carousel
(Original Music Composer)
Oklahoma!
(Original Music Composer)
State Fair
(Original Music Composer)
Oklahoma!
(Original Music Composer)
The Sound of Music
(Original Music Composer)
Oklahoma!
(Executive Producer)
Ten Cents a Dance
(Idea)
Heads Up
(Songs)
Some Enchanted Evening: Celebrating Oscar Hammerstein II
(Music)
South Pacific
(Original Music Composer)
Victory at Sea
(Music)
I Married an Angel
(Musical)
A Connecticut Yankee
(Songs)
Paris in the Springtime
(Songs)
The Colors Within
(Music)
Oklahoma!
(Songs)
Oklahoma! (Takarazuka)
(Songs)
Androcles and the Lion
(Songs)
Androcles and the Lion
(Lyricist)
Follow Thru
(Songs)
Stage Door Canteen
(Songs)
My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert
(Songs)
CITY THE ANIMATION
(Music)