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Irving Caesar
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<h2 id="biography">Biography</h2> <p>Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jewish lawyer and <a href="/facts/Socialism/U2kVoPaA">socialist</a>, was born in New York City, United States.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> His older brother <a href="/facts/Arthur_Caesar/V7U0W8p5">Arthur Caesar</a> was a successful <a href="/facts/Cinema_of_the_United_States/1HpkUBfd">Hollywood</a> screenwriter. Around 1901, Caesar composed his first poem—which can be ascribed to his exposure to literature in the environment of his father's bookstore.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The Caesar brothers spent their childhood and teen years in <a href="/facts/Yorkville,_Manhattan/L19YKPBI">Yorkville</a>, the same <a href="/facts/Manhattan/fF9JeXjh">Manhattan</a> neighborhood where the <a href="/facts/Marx_Brothers/77nGXhmt">Marx Brothers</a> were raised. Caesar knew the Marx Brothers during his childhood. He was educated at <a href="/facts/Chappaqua_Mountain_Institute/KDexe5aV">Chappaqua Mountain Institute</a> in <a href="/facts/Chappaqua,_New_York/eq91uAW4">Chappaqua, New York</a>. </p><p>In his career, Caesar collaborated with a wide variety of composers and songwriters, including <a href="/facts/Rudolf_Friml/q6wS2S3D">Rudolf Friml</a>, <a href="/facts/George_Gershwin/Dklzb4Ff">George Gershwin</a>, <a href="/facts/Sigmund_Romberg/WXyXBgws">Sigmund Romberg</a>, <a href="/facts/Victor_Herbert/dWedbqX6">Victor Herbert</a>, <a href="/facts/Ted_Koehler/Easm0Dbr">Ted Koehler</a> and <a href="/facts/Ray_Henderson/7yFB7pH3">Ray Henderson</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> Two of his best known numbers, "<a href="/facts/I_Want_to_Be_Happy/dMxgBMQX">I Want to Be Happy</a>" and "Tea for Two", were written with <a href="/facts/Vincent_Youmans/u7QsPteq">Vincent Youmans</a> for the 1925 musical <i><a href="/facts/No,_No,_Nanette/k0LB5aGB">No, No, Nanette</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> Another of his biggest hits, "<a href="/facts/Animal_Crackers_in_My_Soup/8lT2orzF">Animal Crackers in My Soup</a>", was popularized by <a href="/facts/Shirley_Temple/MHcYaNbC">Shirley Temple</a> in her 1935 film <i><a href="/facts/Curly_Top/TloJUlkJ">Curly Top</a>.</i><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> "<a href="/facts/Just_a_Gigolo_(song)/C0n6cFBP">Just a Gigolo</a>", his 1929 adaptation of an Austrian song, was a hit for <a href="/facts/Louis_Prima/qsCUdktm">Louis Prima</a> in the 1950s and again for <a href="/facts/David_Lee_Roth/VI0NRQtF">David Lee Roth</a> in the 1980s. </p><p>In the late 1930s, along with composer <a href="/facts/Gerald_Marks/C2zVhb6U">Gerald Marks</a>, he wrote a famous series of children's songs focusing on safety. Caesar made hundreds of appearances in schools performing the "Sing a Song of Safety," "Sing a Song of Friendship" (a United Nations-inspired series focusing on world peace, racial tolerance and friendship) and "Songs of Health" collections.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>Caesar served on the songwriters' <a href="/facts/Performance_rights_organisation/PSHoNHvb">performance-rights organization</a> <a href="/facts/ASCAP/CdIrEsnT">ASCAP</a> board of directors from 1930 to 1946 and again from 1949 to 1966. He was a founder of the <a href="/facts/Songwriters_Guild_of_America/T3m6h1a4">Songwriters Guild of America</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> He died, aged 101, in New York on December 18, 1996, at which point he had been married to Christina Ballestros—a caretaker of his—for two years.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="broadway-credits">Broadway credits</h2> <p>Note: All productions are <a href="/facts/Musical_theater/KQ2Y35SQ">musicals</a> unless otherwise stated. </p> <ul><li></li></ul> <table><tbody><tr><td></td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/La_La_Lucille/e9FoUond">La La Lucille</a></i> (1919) – additional lyrics</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Kissing_Time/21Wruen7">Kissing Time</a></i> (1920) – adaptation of an earlier version of this musical – co-lyricist</li> <li><i>Pins and Needles</i> (1922) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-lyricist</li> <li><i>The Greenwich Village Follies of 1922</i> (1922) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-lyricist and co-bookwriter</li> <li><i>The Greenwich Village Follies of 1923</i> (1923) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-lyricist</li> <li><i>The Greenwich Village Follies of 1924</i> (1924) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-lyricist</li> <li><i>Betty Lee</i> (1924) – co-lyricist</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/No,_No,_Nanette/k0LB5aGB">No, No, Nanette</a></i> (1925) – co-lyricist</li> <li><i>Charlot Revue</i> (1925) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – featured lyricist for "Gigolette" and "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You"</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Yes,_Yes,_Yvette/oWztCM2e">Yes, Yes, Yvette</a></i> (1926, Chicago;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> 1927, Broadway)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> – lyricist<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a></li> <li><i>Sweetheart Time</i> (1926) – co-lyricist</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Ziegfeld/NaY0nV8I">Ziegfeld</a>'s Revue "No Foolin'"</i> (1926) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-lyricist</li> <li><i>Betsy</i> (1926) – co-bookwriter</li> <li><i>Talk About Girls</i> (1927) – lyricist</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Here%27s_Howe/R25daBuk">Here's Howe</a></i> (1928) – lyricist</li> <li><i>Americana of 1928</i> (1928) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-lyricist</li> <li><i>Polly</i> (1929) – co-composer and co-lyricist</li> <li><i>George White's Scandals of 1929</i> (1929) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-composer and co-lyricist</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Ripples_(musical)/TEsh6Ua7">Ripples</a></i> (1930) – co-lyricist</li> <li><i>Nina Rosa</i> (1930) – lyricist</li> <li><i>The Wonder Bar</i> (1931) – play – co-playwright/adaptor of the original German</li> <li><i>George White's Scandals of 1931</i> (1931) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-bookwriter</li> <li><i>George White's Music Hall Varieties of 1932</i> (1932) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – co-composer and lyricist</li> <li><i>Melody</i> (1933) – lyricist</li> <li><i>Shady Lady</i> (1933) – reviser</li> <li><i>Continental Varieties</i> (1934) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – dialogue-writer</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/The_White_Horse_Inn_(operetta)/A3Yuf27Y">The White Horse Inn</a></i> (1936) – English-version lyricist</li> <li><i>My Dear Public</i> (1943) – co-composer, co-lyricist, and co-bookwriter</li></ul> <p>Post-retirement credits: </p> <ul><li><i>The American Dance Machine</i> (1978) – dance <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – featured lyricist</li> <li><i>Up in One</i> (1979) – <a href="/facts/Revue/op6xXWjc">revue</a> – featured songwriter</li> <li><i>Big Deal</i> (1986) – featured English-version lyricist for "Just a Gigolo"</li> <li><i>Sally Marr...and her escorts</i> (1994) – play – featured lyricist for "Tea for Two"</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikiquote has quotations related to <i>Irving Caesar</i>. <a href="/facts/Wikisource/TrMdylNf">Wikisource</a> has original works by or about:<i>Irving Caesar</i> <ul><li><a href="https://www.ascapfoundation.org/irving-caesar">Official website</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/6455">Irving Caesar</a> at the <a href="/facts/Internet_Broadway_Database/BwBDHXna">Internet Broadway Database</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/18/arts/irving-caesar-lyricist-of-timeless-hits-like-tea-for-two-dies-at-101.html?pagewanted=all"><i>New York Times</i> obituary</a></li> <li><a href="https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109068">Irving Caesar recordings</a> at the <a href="/facts/Discography_of_American_Historical_Recordings/wHpqCIf7">Discography of American Historical Recordings</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Lyricist of 'Swanee' Dies at 101". Ledger-Enquirer. Columbia, George. December 18, 1996. p. C5. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 213. ISBN 1-85227-745-9. <a href="1-85227-745-9" target="_blank">1-85227-745-9</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Irving Caesar Biography". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 1, 2018. <a href="https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Irving_Caesar" target="_blank">https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Irving_Caesar</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 213. ISBN 1-85227-745-9. <a href="1-85227-745-9" target="_blank">1-85227-745-9</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>https://www.ascapfoundation.org/irving-caesar/about <a href="https://www.ascapfoundation.org/irving-caesar/about" target="_blank">https://www.ascapfoundation.org/irving-caesar/about</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Irving Caesar Biography". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 1, 2018. <a href="https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Irving_Caesar" target="_blank">https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Irving_Caesar</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 213. ISBN 1-85227-745-9. <a href="1-85227-745-9" target="_blank">1-85227-745-9</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 213. ISBN 1-85227-745-9. <a href="1-85227-745-9" target="_blank">1-85227-745-9</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Irving Caesar Biography". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 1, 2018. <a href="https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Irving_Caesar" target="_blank">https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Irving_Caesar</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Irving Caesar Biography". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 1, 2018. <a href="https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Irving_Caesar" target="_blank">https://www.songhall.org/awards/winner/Irving_Caesar</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Severo, Richard (December 18, 1996). "Irving Caesar, Lyricist of Timeless Hits Like 'Tea for Two,' Dies at 101". The New York Times. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/18/arts/irving-caesar-lyricist-of-timeless-hits-like-tea-for-two-dies-at-101.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/18/arts/irving-caesar-lyricist-of-timeless-hits-like-tea-for-two-dies-at-101.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 213. ISBN 1-85227-745-9. <a href="1-85227-745-9" target="_blank">1-85227-745-9</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Bob Morningstar (December 18, 1926). "Chicago Premiere; Four Cohans Theatre; Yes, Yes, Yvette". Billboard. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=mPWXg_NzsqkC&dq=%22Yes,+Yes,+Yvette%22+%22December+5+,+1926%22%C2%A0&pg=RA7-PA27" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=mPWXg_NzsqkC&dq=%22Yes,+Yes,+Yvette%22+%22December+5+,+1926%22%C2%A0&pg=RA7-PA27</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"YES, YES, YVETTE' IS CHEERY, REFRESHING; Jack Whiting and Jeanette MacDonald Aid in Keeping Musical Comedy at Lively Pace". The New York Times. October 4, 1927. p. 32. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1927/10/04/archives/-yes-yes-yvette-is-cheery-refreshing-jack-whiting-and-jeanette.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1927/10/04/archives/-yes-yes-yvette-is-cheery-refreshing-jack-whiting-and-jeanette.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Bob Morningstar (December 18, 1926). "Chicago Premiere; Four Cohans Theatre; Yes, Yes, Yvette". Billboard. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=mPWXg_NzsqkC&dq=%22Yes,+Yes,+Yvette%22+%22December+5+,+1926%22%C2%A0&pg=RA7-PA27" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=mPWXg_NzsqkC&dq=%22Yes,+Yes,+Yvette%22+%22December+5+,+1926%22%C2%A0&pg=RA7-PA27</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"YES, YES, YVETTE' IS CHEERY, REFRESHING; Jack Whiting and Jeanette MacDonald Aid in Keeping Musical Comedy at Lively Pace". The New York Times. October 4, 1927. p. 32. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1927/10/04/archives/-yes-yes-yvette-is-cheery-refreshing-jack-whiting-and-jeanette.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1927/10/04/archives/-yes-yes-yvette-is-cheery-refreshing-jack-whiting-and-jeanette.html</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>