Otto Harbach

Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of about 50 musical comedies. He was Oscar Hammerstein II's mentor and believed that librettists should integrate songs into the plot. He is considered one of the first great lyricists, and helped raise the status of the lyricist in an age concerned more with music, costumes, and stars. Some of his more famous lyrics are for "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Indian Love Call" and "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine".

Otto Harbach
Harbach
Background information
Birth nameOtto Abels Hauerbach
Born(1873-08-18)August 18, 1873
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
DiedJanuary 24, 1963(1963-01-24) (aged 89)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Lyricist, librettist

Early life and education

Harbach was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to Danish immigrant parents Adolph Christiansen and his wife Sena Olsen. His parents changed their name when they immigrated to the United States, and took the name of the farm they worked on (common practice at the time), and their new last name was Hauerbach.

He attended the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute, transferring to Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, where he was a friend of Carl Sandburg, joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and graduated in 1895. Knox has since named its 599-seat Harbach Theatre in his honor. He obtained his master's degree in English from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and attended Columbia University in New York with the goal of becoming an English professor. In the early 1900s, complaining of eye difficulties making prolonged reading uncomfortable, he became a newspaper reporter. He also worked at various advertising agencies, at an insurance firm, as a copywriter in advertising, and later as a journalist. He would have to pull out of Columbia when he could not financially support himself.

Early career (1902–1911)

In 1902, he spotted an advertisement with a picture of Fay Templeton for a new Joe Weber and Lew Fields musical. He had not been interested in theatre but more in literary classics, but after seeing the show, realized he liked the lighthearted genre. In the same year, he met Karl Hoschna. They wrote a comic opera together, but no producer would pick it up, so they wrote songs to put in other Broadway shows. Isidore Witmark then contacted Hoschna, his employee, and told him he wanted to turn Mary Pacheco's play Incog into a musical. Hoschna then contacted Harbach, and so began the partnership. The result, with Whitmark and Charles Dickson writing the libretto, was Three Twins, which opened in 1908 and ran for 288 performances (Harbach was paid a hundred dollars for his work). The show starred Clifton Crawford.

Their next collaboration was Madame Sherry in 1910, adapting a 1902 German operetta with Jack Gardner in the lead role. The show featured a song that was not theirs: the Albert von Tilzer and Junie McCree song "Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey" was put into the score because it was popular. They would collaborate for four more shows until Hoschna died in 1911, at the age of thirty-four.

Career (1912–1924)

After working with Hoschna, his works had given somewhat of a name for himself. Arthur Hammerstein asked Harbach in 1912 to write the lyrics to an operetta with Rudolf Friml, called The Firefly. Victor Herbert was originally supposed to write the music, but he refused to work with the star of the show, Emma Trentini, because in his last show, she had refused to sing a song for the encore, and Herbert walked out refusing to ever work with her again. Hammerstein could not find anyone as talented as Herbert, but settled on the unknown Friml because of his classical training. The result was a huge success, and it would spell eleven more musicals, including High Jinks (1913) (which featured the song "All Aboard Dixieland" by Jack Yellen and George L. Cobb) and Katinka (1915). Most of the shows they wrote together ran for over 200 performances. In 1914, he contributed the libretto only to the Percy Wenrich musical The Crinoline Girl.

In 1917, he shortened his name from Hauerbach to Harbach to avoid anti-German sentiment caused by World War I.[1]

He would also work with composer Louis Hirsch during this time, and would score his biggest success so far in 1917 with Going Up.[2] This was his first attempt at a musical comedy, as opposed to an American operetta.[1] The show was based on the 1910 comedy by James Montgomery, who co-wrote the libretto with Harbach. The show ran for 351 performances, toured nationally, and was an even larger hit in London.

Other works

He collaborated as lyricist or librettist with Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, Louis Hirsch, Herbert Stothart, Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin, and Sigmund Romberg. He was a charter member of ASCAP in 1914, serving as its director (1920–1963), vice president (1936–1940), and finally president (1950–1953).

Harbach was also an inductee of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He died in New York City.[3]

Notable songs

He was lyricist for many songs including:

Works
  • Early work
    • 1907 Three Twins (music Karl Hoschna)
    • 1909 Bright Eyes (music Hoschna)
    • 1910 Madame Sherry (music Hoschna)
    • 1911 Dr. De Luxe (music Hoschna)
    • 1911 The Girl of My Dreams (music Hoschna)
    • 1911 The Fascinating Widow (music Hoschna)
    • 1912 The Firefly (music Rudolf Friml)
    • 1913 High Jinks (music Friml)
    • 1914 The Crinoline Girl (music Percy Wenrich), lyrics Julian Eltinge) -- book only
    • 1914 Suzi (music Aladar Renyi)
    • 1915 Katinka (music Friml)
    • 1916 The Silent Witness (play by Harbach)
    • 1916 A Pair of Queens (play by Harbach, A. Seymour Brown, and Harry Lewis)
    • 1917 You're in Love (music Friml)
    • 1917 Miss 1917 (revue)
    • 1917 Kitty Darlin' (music Friml)
    • 1917 Here's to the Two of You (m: Louis Hirsct)[2]
  • Later works
    • 1918 Going Up (music Louis Hirsch)
    • 1919 Up in Mabel's Room, play, written with Wilson Collison
    • 1919 Tumble In (music Friml)
    • 1919 The Little Whopper (music Friml, lyrics with Bide Dudley)
    • 1920 No More Blondes, play by Harbach
    • 1920 Mary (music Hirsch)
    • 1920 Jimmie (music Herbert Stothart, lyrics Hammerstein II)
    • 1920 Tickle Me (music Stothart, lyrics Hammerstein II)
    • 1921 June Love (music Friml, lyrics Brian Hooker, book Harbach and William H. Post)
    • 1921 The O'Brien Girl (music Friml, lyrics Frank Mandel, and book Harbach and Mandel)
    • 1922 The Blue Kitten (music Friml, lyrics and book by Harbach and William Carey Duncan)
    • 1922 Molly Darling (music Tom Johnstone, lyrics Phil Cook, book by Harbach and Williams)
    • 1923 Wildflower (music Youmans and Stothart, lyrics Hammerstein II)
    • 1923 Jack and Jill (music Stothart)
    • 1923 Kid Boots (music Harry Tierney and lyrics Joseph McCarthy)
    • 1923 No, No, Nanette (music Vincent Youmans, lyrics by Irving Caesar)
    • 1924 Rose-Marie (music Friml, lyrics Hammerstein II)
    • 1925 Song of the Flame (music by George Gershwin and Stothart, lyrics Hammerstein II)
    • 1925 Sunny (music Jerome Kern, lyrics Hammerstein II)
    • 1926 Criss Cross (music Kern)
    • 1926 The Wild Rose (music Friml)
    • 1926 The Desert Song (music Romberg)
    • 1927 Golden Dawn, music Emmerich Kalman and Stothart
    • 1927 Lucky, music Kern
    • 1928 Good Boy, music Stothart, lyrics Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby
    • 1930 Nina Rosa, music Romberg, lyrics Irving Caesar
    • 1930 Ballyhoo of 1930, featured lyricist
    • 1931 The Cat and the Fiddle (music Kern)
    • 1933 Roberta (music Kern)
    • 1936 Forbidden Melody (music Sigmund Romberg)
    • 1938 Gentlemen Unafraid (music Kern, lyrics Hammerstein II)
gollark: Oh, probably.
gollark: But vaguely understanding motivations of people who do things does NOT mean I agree with them.
gollark: I mean, I probably would to some extent.
gollark: Military-operated towers, probably.
gollark: I would *probably* not support blowing up a random civilian tower.

References
  1. Bloom, Ken (2003). Broadway: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. p. 217. Retrieved 24 August 2015. All Aboard for Dixie otto harbach.
  2. Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music - Volume 1. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 191, 230. ISBN 0-7864-2798-1.
  3. "Harbach, Otto, 1873-1963 @ SNAC". snaccooperative.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  • Hischak, Thomas, S. American Song Lyricists, 1920–1960 (1002), Detroit: Gale, ISBN 978-0-7876-6009-3
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