Jerry Bock

2025-10-30T01:17:01Z

2601:500:8683:A620:E83A:316E:A366:BD71: The reference only states his birth and death dates but doesn’t support the Jew Tagging.

{{short description|American musical theatre composer (1928–2010)}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Jerry Bock.jpg
| birth_name = Jerrold Lewis Bock
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=y|1928|11|23}}
| birth_place = [[New Haven, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=y|2010|11|03|1928|11|23}}
| death_place = [[Mount Kisco, New York]], U.S.
| occupation = Composer
| years_active = 1955–2010
| education = [[University of Wisconsin, Madison]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
}}
'''Jerrold Lewis Bock''' (November 23, 1928{{spaced ndash}}November 3, 2010) was an American [[musical theater]] composer. He received the [[Tony Award for Best Musical]] and the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] with [[Sheldon Harnick]] for their 1959 musical ''[[Fiorello!]]'' and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]'' with Sheldon Harnick.

==Biography==
Born in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], and raised in [[Flushing, Queens]], [[New York (state)|New York]], Bock studied the [[piano]] as a child. While a student at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], he wrote the musical ''Big As Life'', which toured the state and enjoyed a run in [[Chicago]]. After graduation, he spent three summers at the Tamiment Playhouse in the [[Pocono Mountains|Poconos]] and wrote for early [[television]] revues with lyricist [[Larry Holofcener]]. One of their songs, the three-part "The Story of Alice," was performed by the [[Chad Mitchell Trio]] on their ''[[Blowin' in the Wind]]'' album of 1962.<ref>Ginell, Cary, AllMusic Review of the Chad Mitchell Trio's ''Blowin' in the Wind,'' ''AllMusic'', https://www.allmusic.com/album/blowin-in-the-wind-mw0000595778</ref>

===Career===
Bock made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in 1955 when he and [[Lawrence Holofcener]] contributed songs to ''Catch a Star''. The following year the duo collaborated on the musical ''[[Mr. Wonderful (musical)|Mr. Wonderful]]'', designed for [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], after which they worked on ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1956'', which closed out-of-town.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/music/musbock/@Generic__BookView |title=Guide to the Jerry Bock Papers, 1945-2004 |access-date=2007-04-11 |archive-date=2006-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008174359/http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/music/musbock/@Generic__BookView |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Shortly after, Bock met lyricist [[Sheldon Harnick]], with whom he forged a successful partnership. Although their first joint venture, ''[[The Body Beautiful]]'', failed to charm the critics, its score caught the attention of director [[George Abbott]] and producer [[Harold Prince|Hal Prince]]. They hired the team to compose a musical biography of former [[New York City]] mayor [[Fiorello La Guardia]]. ''[[Fiorello!]]'' (1959) earned Bock and Harnick the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]] for Best Musical, Tony Award for Best Musical (tied with the team from ''[[The Sound of Music]]'') and the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]].

Bock's additional collaborations with Harnick include ''[[Tenderloin (musical)|Tenderloin]]'' (1960), ''Man in the Moon'' (1963), ''[[She Loves Me]]'' (1963), ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]'' (1964), ''[[The Apple Tree]]'' (1966), and ''[[The Rothschilds (musical)|The Rothschilds]]'' (1970), as well as contributions to ''[[Never Too Late (play)|Never Too Late]]'' (1962), ''[[Baker Street (musical)|Baker Street]]'' (1965), ''[[Her First Roman]]'' (1968), and ''[[The Madwoman of Central Park West]]'' (1979). ''Fiddler on the Roof'' included the hit song "[[If I Were a Rich Man (song)|If I Were a Rich Man]]".

Established in 1997, the Jerry Bock Award for Excellence in Musical Theater is an annual grant presented to the composer and lyricist of a project developed in the [[BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop]].<ref>[http://www.bmifoundation.org/pages/JBock.asp Bock listing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306043048/http://bmifoundation.org/pages/jbock.asp |date=2016-03-06 }} bmifoundation.org</ref>

Bock spoke at the funeral of 98-year-old Fiddler playwright [[Joseph Stein]] just 10 days before his own death, from heart failure at 81, less than three weeks before his 82nd birthday.<ref name="death">{{cite web|title=FIDDLER Composer Jerry Bock Dies at 81|url=http://broadwayworld.com/article/FIDDLER_Composer_Jerry_Bock_Dies_at_81_20101103|publisher=broadwayworld.com|access-date=3 November 2010}}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Work
!Result
|-
| rowspan="3"|1960
| [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]]
| [[New York Drama Critics' Circle#Best Musical|Best Musical]]
| rowspan="3”|''[[Fiorello!]]''
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Tony Award]]
| [[Tony Award for Best Musical|Best Musical]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Pulitzer Prize]]
| [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama|Drama]]
| {{won}}
|-
| 1964
| [[Grammy Award]]
| Best Score from an Original Cast Show Album
| ''[[She Loves Me]]''
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"|1965
| [[Tony Award]]
| [[Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Composer and Lyricist]]
| rowspan="2"|''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]''
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics' Circle Award]]
| Best Musical
| {{won}}
|-
| 1967
| rowspan="2"|[[Tony Award]]
| [[Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Composer and Lyricist]]
| ''[[The Apple Tree]]''
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1971
| [[Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
| ''[[The Rothschilds (musical)|The Rothschilds]]''
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2010
| [[Daytime Emmy Award]]
| Outstanding Original Song - Children's and Animation
| ''[[Wonder Pets!]]''
| {{won}}
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IBDB name}}
*{{iobdb name|11434}}
* {{IMDb name|0090656}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070712202830/http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/mus/pdf/MUSBOCK.pdf Jerry Bock papers] in the [http://www.nypl.org/musicdiv Music Division] of [https://web.archive.org/web/20091016095314/http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts].
*[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/jerry-block-and-sheldon-harnick/ PBS biography]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061001185602/http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_bio.asp?exhibitId=327 Songwriters Hall of Fame biography]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070423055643/http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/interactive/video/index.html#c#b#b TonyAwards.com Interview with Jerry Bock]

{{Bock and Harnick}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Jerry Bock
| list =
{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 1951-1975}}
{{TonyAward MusicalScore 1947–1975}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bock, Jerry}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:American musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:American male musical theatre composers]]
[[Category:Broadway composers and lyricists]]
[[Category:Flushing High School alumni]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners]]
[[Category:Jewish American songwriters]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Musicians from New Rochelle, New York]]
[[Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:Songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]

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Jerry Bock