View source for Oscar Hammerstein II

{{Short description|American librettist (1895–1960)}}
{{About||his collaborative work with Richard Rodgers|Rodgers and Hammerstein|his grandfather|Oscar Hammerstein I}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}} 
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
|image            = Oscar Hammerstein - portrait.jpg
|caption          = Hammerstein {{circa|1940}}
|birth_name       = Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein&nbsp;II
|birth_date       = {{birth date|1895|7|12|}}
|birth_place      = [[Harlem]], New York, U.S.
|death_date       = {{death date and age|1960|8|23|1895|7|12}}
|death_place      = [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|education        = [[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
|occupation       = {{hlist|Librettist|theatrical producer|theater director}}
|years_active     = 1914–1960
|father           = [[Willie Hammerstein]]
|spouse           = {{ubl|{{Marriage|Myra Finn|1917|1929|end=div}}|{{Marriage|[[Dorothy Hammerstein|Dorothy Blanchard Jacobson]]|1929}}}}
|children         = {{ubl|3 biological children, including [[James Hammerstein|James]]|2 stepchildren, including [[Susan Blanchard (socialite)|Susan Blanchard]]}}
|relatives        = {{ubl|[[Oscar Hammerstein I]] (grandfather)|[[Arthur Hammerstein]] (uncle)|[[Stella Hammerstein]] (aunt)|[[Elaine Hammerstein]] (cousin)}}
|module           = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
|genre            = {{hlist|[[Musical theater]]|[[Popular music|popular]]}}
|associated_acts  = {{hlist|Richard Rodgers as [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]]|[[Jerome Kern]]|[[Vincent Youmans]]|[[Rudolf Friml]]|[[Richard A. Whiting]]|[[Sigmund Romberg]]}}}}
}}
'''Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein&nbsp;II''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|æ|m|ər|s|t|aɪ|n}}; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight [[Tony Award]]s and two [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Academy Awards for Best Original Song]]. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists and [[jazz music]]ians. He co-wrote 850 songs.

He is best known for his collaborations with composer [[Richard Rodgers]], as the duo [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]], whose musicals include ''[[Oklahoma!]]'', ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]'', ''[[South Pacific (musical)|South Pacific]]'', ''[[The King and I]]'', ''[[Flower Drum Song]]'', and ''[[The Sound of Music]]''. Described by his protégé [[Stephen Sondheim]] as an "experimental playwright",<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.ft.com/content/c9cdf7ea-d7e0-11df-b044-00144feabdc0 |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/c9cdf7ea-d7e0-11df-b044-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Lunch with the FT: Stephen Sondheim |last=Hunter-Tilney |first=Ludovic |date=October 15, 2010 |newspaper= Financial Times |location= London |access-date=December 27, 2019}}</ref> Hammerstein helped bring the American musical to new maturity by popularizing musicals that focused on stories and character rather than the lighthearted entertainment that the musical had been known for beforehand.

He also collaborated with [[Jerome Kern]] (with whom he wrote the 1927 musical ''[[Show Boat]]''), [[Vincent Youmans]], [[Rudolf Friml]], [[Richard A. Whiting]], and [[Sigmund Romberg]].

==Early life==
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was born on West 125th Street in [[Harlem, New York]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Magazine |first1=Harlem World |url=https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/rodgers-and-hammerstein-harlem-ny/|title=Rodgers And Hammerstein Harlem, NY, 1940-50's|website=Harlemworldmagazine.com|date=October 24, 2015 |access-date=August 4, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Oscar Hammerstein is Dead; Librettist and Producer was 65 and |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/08/23/99790935.html |access-date=May 17, 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 23, 1960}}</ref> The son of theatrical manager [[Willie Hammerstein|William Hammerstein]] and his wife Alice ({{née}} Nimmo).<ref>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0DE1DD143AE633A2575AC1A9609C946596D6CF | newspaper=The New York Times | title="MOVIES" FOR "NEWSIES."; Summer Camp for Street Merahants [sic] to be Aided by Films | date=June 19, 1914}}</ref> His grandfather was the [[German people|German]] theater [[impresario]] [[Oscar Hammerstein I]]. His father was from a [[Jewish]] family, and his mother was the daughter of British parents.<ref>{{harvnb|Fordin|1995|p=11}}</ref> He attended the Church of the Divine Paternity, now the [[Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York]].<ref>{{cite thesis |title=The liberal Protestant influence on the musical plays of Oscar Hammerstein II circa 1943–1959 |last1=Bradley |first1=Kathryn A. |date=June 25, 2013 |publisher=[[University of St Andrews]] [Divinity PhD Thesis] |hdl=10023/3552 |type=Thesis |language=en}}</ref>

Although Hammerstein's father managed the Victoria Theatre and was a producer of [[vaudeville]] shows, he was opposed to his son's desire to participate in the arts.<ref>{{harvnb|Hischak|2007|p=xxix}}</ref>

Hammerstein attended [[Columbia University]] (1912–1916)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://admissionsight.com/columbia-acceptance-rate/| title=Oscar Hammerstein II legendary composers|website=Admissionsight.com| access-date=October 31, 2023}}</ref> and studied at [[Columbia Law School]] until 1917.<ref name="Hischak 2007 9">{{harvnb|Hischak|2007|p=9}}</ref> As a student, he maintained high grades and engaged in numerous extracurricular activities. These included playing first base on the baseball team, performing in the [[Varsity Show]] and becoming an active member of [[Pi Lambda Phi]] fraternity.<ref name="Fordin 1995 26">{{harvnb|Fordin|1995|p=26}}</ref>

After his father's death, in June 1914, when he was 19, he participated in his first play with the Varsity Show, entitled ''On Your Way''. Throughout the rest of his college career, Hammerstein wrote and performed in several Varsity Shows.<ref name="Hischak 2007 9"/><ref name="PBS-broadway/stars">{{cite web |title=The Stars : COMPOSERS, LYRICISTS & WRITERS : Oscar Hammerstein II |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/oscar-hammerstein-ii/ |website=Broadway: The American Musical |publisher=PBS |quote=Oscar went to Columbia University in preparation for a career in law. It was at Columbia, however, that Oscar's career in theater actually began when, at age 19, he joined the Columbia University Players as a performer in the 1915 Varsity review "On Your Way". He participated heavily in the Varsity shows for several years, first as a performer and later as a writer. .... In 1929 Oscar divorced his wife of 12 years, Myra Finn, and married Dorothy Blanchard Jacobson. |access-date=August 22, 2020 }}</ref> Following his graduation, he sat on the judging committee for the show and continued to contribute to several musicals, including [[Fly With Me (musical)|''Fly With Me'']], written by [[Richard Rodgers]] and [[Lorenz Hart]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Vinciguerra |first=Thomas J. |title=Sing a Song of Morningside |url=https://www.thevarsityshow.com/about-sing-a-song-of-morningside |access-date=August 28, 2021 |website=thevarsityshow.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early career==
After quitting law school to pursue [[musical theater|theater]], Hammerstein began his first professional collaboration, with [[Herbert Stothart]], [[Otto Harbach]] and Frank Mandel.<ref>{{harvnb|Fordin|1995|p=47}}</ref> He began as an apprentice and went on to form a 20-year collaboration with Harbach. Out of this collaboration came his first musical, ''Always You'', for which he wrote the [[Musical theatre#Book musicals|book]] and lyrics. It opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1920.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/01/06/102732695.pdf "''Always You'' Is Amusing"], ''The New York Times'', January 6, 1920</ref> In 1921 Hammerstein joined [[The Lambs]] club.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.The-Lambs.org|title=The Lambs ®, established 1874 |website=www.the-lambs.org |access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref>

Throughout the next forty years, Hammerstein teamed up with many other composers, including [[Jerome Kern]], with whom Hammerstein enjoyed a highly successful collaboration. In 1927, Kern and Hammerstein wrote their biggest hit based on [[Edna Ferber]]'s bestselling eponymous novel, ''[[Show Boat (novel)|Show Boat]]'', which is often revived, as it is considered one of the masterpieces of American musical theater. "Here we come to a completely new genre—the musical play as distinguished from musical comedy. Now&nbsp;... the play was the thing, and everything else was subservient to that play. Now&nbsp;... came complete integration of song, humor and production numbers into a single and inextricable artistic entity."<ref name=history>[http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical030.html "American Musical Theatre: An Introduction"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221095758/http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical030.html |date=February 21, 2009}}, theatrehistory.com, republished from {{cite book |title=The Complete Book of Light Opera |first=Mark |last=Lubbock |author-link=Mark Lubbock |location=New York |publisher=[[Appleton-Century-Crofts]] |year=1962 |pages=753–56}} Retrieved December 3, 2008.</ref> Many years later, Hammerstein's wife [[Dorothy Hammerstein|Dorothy]] bristled when she overheard someone remark that Jerome Kern had written "[[Ol' Man River]]". "Indeed not", she retorted. "Jerome Kern wrote 'dum, dum, dum-dum'. My husband wrote 'Ol' Man River'."<ref>Jones, Dylan, ''The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music'', Picador Press, 2012, p. 99</ref>

Other Kern–Hammerstein musicals include ''[[Sunny (musical)|Sunny]]'', ''[[Sweet Adeline (musical)|Sweet Adeline]]'', ''[[Music in the Air]]'', ''[[Three Sisters (musical)|Three Sisters]]'', and ''[[Very Warm for May]]''. Hammerstein also collaborated with [[Vincent Youmans]] (''[[Wildflower (musical)|Wildflower]]''), [[Rudolf Friml]] (''[[Rose-Marie]]''), and [[Sigmund Romberg]] (''[[The Desert Song]]'' and ''[[The New Moon]]'').<ref>[https://www.songhall.org/profile/Oscar_Hammerstein Biography, Songwriters Hall of Fame] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217193407/http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/C13 |date=December 17, 2010 }} songwritershalloffame.org</ref>

==Rodgers and Hammerstein==
{{main|Rodgers and Hammerstein}}
[[File:Hammerstein.jpg|thumb|right|Hammerstein watching an audition at the [[St. James Theatre]] on [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]], 1948]]

Hammerstein's most successful and sustained collaboration began when he teamed up with Rodgers to write a musical adaptation of the play ''[[Green Grow the Lilacs (play)|Green Grow the Lilacs]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Fordin|1995|p=184}}</ref> Rodgers' first partner, [[Lorenz Hart]], originally planned to collaborate with Rodgers on this piece, but his alcoholism had spiraled out of control, rendering him incapacitated.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Castleden|first=Rodney|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cefwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT99|title=Creative Encounters: That Changed the World|date=July 1, 2020|publisher=Canary Press eBooks|isbn=978-1-908698-43-8|pages=99}}</ref> Hart was also not certain that the idea had much merit, and the two therefore separated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carter |first=Tim |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5RP0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40|title=Oklahoma!: The Making of an American Musical, Revised and Expanded Edition |date=July 31, 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-066522-7 |pages=39}}</ref> The adaptation became the first Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration, titled ''[[Oklahoma!]]'', which opened on Broadway in 1943.<ref name=":0" /> It furthered the revolution begun by ''[[Show Boat]]'', by thoroughly integrating all the aspects of musical theater, with the songs and dances arising out of and further developing the plot and characters.<ref name="history" />

William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird wrote that this was a "show, that, like ''Show Boat'', became a milestone, such that subsequent historians writing about important moments in twentieth-century theater began to identify eras according to their relationship to ''Oklahoma!''"<ref>Everett, William A. and Laird, Paul R. (2002), ''The Cambridge Companion to the Musical'', Cambridge University Press, p. 124, {{ISBN|0-521-79639-3}}</ref> After ''Oklahoma!'', Rodgers and Hammerstein were the most important contributors to the musical-play form—with such masterworks as ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]'', ''[[The King and I]]'' and ''[[South Pacific (musical)|South Pacific]]''. "The examples they set in creating vital plays, often rich with social thought, provided the necessary encouragement for other gifted writers to create musical plays of their own".<ref name=history/>

The partnership went on to produce not only the aforementioned, but also other Broadway musicals such as ''[[Allegro (musical)|Allegro]]'', ''[[Me and Juliet]]'', ''[[Pipe Dream (musical)|Pipe Dream]]'', ''[[Flower Drum Song]]'', and ''[[The Sound of Music]]'', as well as the musical film ''[[State Fair (1945 film)|State Fair]]'' (and its [[State Fair (musical)|stage adaptation of the same name]]), and the television musical ''[[Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein musical)|Cinderella]]'', all featured in the [[revue]] ''[[A Grand Night for Singing]]''. Hammerstein also wrote the book and lyrics for ''[[Carmen Jones]]'', an adaptation of [[Georges Bizet]]'s opera ''[[Carmen]]'', with an all-black cast that became a 1943 Broadway musical and [[Carmen Jones (film)|a 1954 film]], starring [[Dorothy Dandridge]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Camara |first1=Jorge |title=GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS OF YESTERYEAR – CARMEN JONES |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/golden-globe-winners-yesteryear-%E2%80%93-carmen-jones |website=GoldenGlobes.com |publisher=[[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]] |date=April 20, 2011 |quote=The winner of the Golden Globe for the Best Comedy/Musical Picture of 1954 was Carmen Jones. The film, an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was an adaptation of Georges Bizet's famous opera "Carmen," respected the music, but used a script and new English lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical fame.|access-date=August 22, 2020}}</ref>

==Advocacy==
An active advocate for writers' rights within the [[Theater in the United States|theater industry]], Hammerstein was a member of the [[Dramatists Guild of America]]. In 1956, he was elected as the eleventh president of the [[nonprofit organization]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hillshafer |first1=Linda |title=Stories of Standards—All the Things You Are |url=https://www.kuvo.org/stories-of-standards-all-the-things-you-are-2/ |website=KUVO |access-date=August 22, 2020 |date=June 1, 2020 |quote=Hammerstein was a member of the Dramatists' Guild of America and was elected its eleventh president in 1956. He died of stomach cancer in 1960.}}</ref> He continued his presidency at the Guild until 1960; he was succeeded by [[Alan Jay Lerner]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=McHugh |first1=Dominic |title=Alan Jay Lerner: A Lyricist's Letters |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-994928-1 |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWzrAwAAQBAJ&q=replacing+Oscar+Hammerstein+August+23+Lerner+was+elected+president+Dramatists+Guild+of+America&pg=PA124 |access-date=August 22, 2020 |quote= ... Lerner was elected president of the Dramatists Guild on February 18, replacing Oscar Hammerstein. .... The reason for Hammerstein's need to stand down as president, however, was sad: he was suffering from cancer....}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Oscar hammerstein wife.jpg|thumb|Hammerstein with his first wife, Myra Finn, photographed aboard a ship]]

Hammerstein married his first wife, Myra Finn, in 1917; the couple divorced in 1929.<ref name="PBS-broadway/stars" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hamersly |first1=Lewis Randolph |last2=Leonard |first2=John William |last3=Mohr |first3=William Frederick |last4=Knox |first4=Herman Warren |last5=Holmes |first5=Frank R. |title=Who's who in New York City and State |date=1947 |publisher=L.R. Hamersly Company |page=444 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wU11767XjtoC&q=Myra+Finn+1917+1929 |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en |quote=... m. Myra Finn, Aug. 22. 1917, N. Y. C. (div. May 13, 1929); (2) May 14, 1929, Dorothy Blanchard in Baltimore: ch.: William, Alice, James. ...}}</ref> He married his second wife, the Australian-born [[Dorothy Hammerstein|Dorothy (Blanchard) Jacobson]] (1899–1987), in 1929.<ref name="JoanCookNYTimes">{{cite news |last1=Cook |first1=Joan |title=Dorothy Hammerstein Dies; Designer Was Lyricist's Wife |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/04/obituaries/dorothy-hammerstein-dies-designer-was-lyricist-s-wife.html |access-date=August 22, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=August 4, 1987 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> He had three children: William Hammerstein (1918–2001)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Kenneth |title=William Hammerstein, Director and Son of Oscar Hammerstein II, Dead at 82 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/william-hammerstein-director-and-son-of-oscar-hammerstein-ii-dead-at-82-com-95431 |publisher=[[Playbill]] |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en |date=March 11, 2001}}</ref> and Alice Hammerstein Mathias (1922–2015)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Asch |first1=Amy |title=Getting to Know Her: Meet Alice Hammerstein Mathias, Oscar's Daughter |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/getting-to-know-her-meet-alice-hammerstein-mathias-oscars-daughter-com-182717 |publisher=[[Playbill]] |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en |date=September 19, 2011}}</ref> by his first wife, and [[James Hammerstein]] (1931–1999)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Kenneth |title=Producer-director James Hammerstein, Son of Oscar Hammerstein II, Dead at 67 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/producer-director-james-hammerstein-son-of-oscar-hammerstein-ii-dead-at-67-com-79338 |publisher=[[Playbill]] |access-date=August 22, 2020 |language=en |date=January 7, 1999}}</ref> by his second wife, with whom he also had a stepson, Henry Jacobson, and a stepdaughter, [[Susan Blanchard (socialite)|Susan Blanchard]].<ref name="JoanCookNYTimes" /> His son William married the screenwriter [[Jane-Howard Hammerstein]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=JANE-HOWARD HAMMERSTEIN Obituary (1934 - 2022) - New York, NY - New York Times |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/jane-howard-hammerstein-obituary?id=32332837 |access-date=November 14, 2023 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>

Hammerstein was lifelong [[Unitarian Universalist]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://academic.oup.com/book/59741/chapter-abstract/507562352?redirectedFrom=fulltext|title=Music of the Night: Religious Influences and Spiritual Reasonances in Operetta and Music Theater|first=Ian|last=Bradley|pages=50-74|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=March 2025|accessdate=October 24, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://concorduu.org/services/proud-protestations-of-faith-the-life-and-faith-of-oscar-hammerstein-ii/|title=Proud Protestations of Faith: The Life and Faith of Oscar Hammerstein II|first=Denise|last=Tracy|publisher=Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord, New Hampshire|accessdate=October 24, 2025}}</ref>

Hammerstein died of [[stomach cancer]] on August 23, 1960, at his home [[Oscar Hammerstein II Farm|Highland Farm]] in [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania]], aged 65,<ref>"Oscar Hammerstein II Is Dead", ''The New York Times'', p. 1, August 23, 1960</ref> nine months after the opening of ''[[The Sound of Music]]'' on Broadway.<ref name="TimeCorliss">{{cite magazine|last1=Corliss|first1=Richard|date=March 2, 2015|title=Can Even a Cranky Guy Fall for 'The Sound of Music'?|url=https://time.com/3717463/sound-of-music-50-review/|magazine=Time|access-date=August 22, 2020|quote=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences loved the movie big time, festooning it with 10 nominations and five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the 1966 ceremony. ..... Though Hammerstein died at 65 in 1960, nine months into The Sound of Music's Broadway run, the movie has proved how lasting that heritage would be. .....}}</ref> The final song he wrote was "[[Edelweiss (song)|Edelweiss]]", which was added near the end of the second act during rehearsal.<ref>Maslon, Lawrence. ''The Sound of Music Companion'' (2007), p. 177, Simon and Schuster, {{ISBN|1-4165-4954-4}}</ref><ref>[http://www.rnh.com/bio/154/Hammerstein-II-Oscar "Oscar Hammerstein II"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424160819/http://www.rnh.com/bio/154/Hammerstein-II-Oscar|date=April 24, 2011}} rnh.com, accessed November 2011</ref> The lights of [[Times Square]] were turned off for one minute,<ref>{{cite news|date=September 1, 1960|title=Blackout on Broadway to Honor Hammerstein|page=52|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/09/01/archives/blackout-on-broadway-to-honor-hammerstein.html|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and London's [[West End theatre|West End]] lights were dimmed in recognition of his contribution to the musical.<ref>{{cite news|date=August 26, 1960|title=London Honors Hammerstein|page=14|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/26/archives/london-honors-hammerstein.html|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He was cremated, and his ashes were buried at the [[Ferncliff Cemetery]] in [[Hartsdale, New York]].<ref>{{cite news|date=August 25, 1960|title=Rites for Hammerstein|page=29|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/25/archives/rites-for-hammerstein-ashes-of-lyricist-are-buried-ulondon-plans.html|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A memorial plaque was unveiled at [[Southwark Cathedral]], England, on May 24, 1961.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 24, 1961|title=Hammerstein Honored|page=32|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/05/25/archives/hammerstein-honored-widow-unveils-plaque-to-his-memory-in-london.html|url-access=subscription|quote=Mrs. Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, widow of the lyricist, unveiled a plaque today to his memory in Southwark Cathedral&nbsp;.... Mr. Hammerstein's will provided £2000 to support two choir-boys at Southwark Cathedral.}}</ref>

After Hammerstein's death, ''The Sound of Music'' was adapted as [[The Sound of Music (film)|a 1965 film]], which won the [[38th Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].<ref name="TimeCorliss" /><ref>{{cite web|title=The 38th Academy Awards (1966)|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1966|access-date=August 22, 2020|website=Oscars.org|date=October 4, 2014 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref>

==Reputation==
Hammerstein was one of the most important "book writers" in Broadway history—he made the story, not the songs or the stars, central to the musical and brought musical theater to full maturity as an art form.<ref name="PBS-broadway/stars"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/printmember/son0int-1|title=Interview: Stephen Sondheim|publisher=Academy of Achievement|access-date=May 8, 2010|quote=People underestimate what [Hammerstein] did in the way of musical theater. He was primarily an experimental writer, and what he was doing was marrying the traditions of opera and American musical comedy, using songs to tell a story that was worth telling. The first real instance of that is Show Boat, which is a watershed show in the history of musical theater, and Oklahoma!, which is innovative in different ways&nbsp;... Now, because of the success of Oklahoma!, and subsequent shows, most musical theater now tells stories through songs. But that was not true prior to 1943, the year of Oklahoma!|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212152133/http://achievement.org/autodoc/printmember/son0int-1|archive-date=December 12, 2010}}</ref> According to [[Stephen Sondheim]], "What few people understand is that Oscar's big contribution to the theater was as a theoretician, as a [[Peter Brook]], as an innovator. People don't understand how experimental ''Show Boat'' and ''Oklahoma!'' felt at the time they were done. Oscar is not about the 'lark that is learning to pray'—that's easy to make fun of. He's about ''[[Allegro (musical)|Allegro]]''", Hammerstein's most experimental musical.<ref>{{cite news| last=Rich| first=Frank| title=Conversations with Sondheim| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/12/magazine/conversations-with-sondheim.html| newspaper=The New York Times Magazine| pages=38–ff| date=March 12, 2000|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

His reputation for being sentimental is based largely on the movie versions of the musicals, especially ''The Sound of Music'', in which a song sung by those in favor of reaching an accommodation with the Nazis, "[[No Way to Stop It]]", was cut. As recent revivals of ''Show Boat'', ''Oklahoma!'', ''Carousel'', and ''The King and I'' in London and New York show, Hammerstein was one of the more tough-minded and socially conscious American musical theater artists. According to Richard Kislan, "The shows of Rodgers and Hammerstein were the product of sincerity. In the light of criticism directed against them and their universe of sweetness and light, it is important to understand that they believed sincerely in what they wrote."<ref>{{harv|Kislan|1995|p=141}}</ref> According to Marc Bauch, "The Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals are romantic musical plays. Love is important."<ref>{{harvnb|Bauch|2003|p=155}}</ref>

According to ''The Rodgers and Hammerstein Story'' by [[Stanley Green (historian)|Stanley Green]],
<blockquote>
For three minutes, on the night of September first, the entire Times Square area in New York City was blacked out in honor of the man who had done so much to light up that particular part of the world. From 8:57 to 9:00 p.m., every neon sign and every light bulb was turned off and all traffic was halted between 42nd Street and 53rd Street, and between eighth Ave and the Avenue of the Americas. A crowd of 5,000 people, many with heads bowed, assembled at the base of the statue of Father Duffy on Times Square where two trumpeters blew taps. It was the most complete blackout on Broadway since World War II, and the greatest tribute of its kind ever paid to one man.<ref>{{cite book| last=Green |first=Stanley |title=The Rodgers and Hammerstein Story |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zSoIAQAAMAAJ&q=%22For+three+minutes%2C+on+the+night+of+September+first%2C+the+entire+Times+Square+area+in+New+York+City+was+blacked+out%22 |access-date=August 21, 2018 |year=1963 |publisher=J. Day Co. |page=12}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Major works==
{{main|Rodgers and Hammerstein#Work}}

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Ref.
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Oklahoma!]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]''
| align="center"| 
|- 
| 1945
| ''[[State Fair (1945 film)|State Fair]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Allegro (musical)|Allegro]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1949
| ''[[South Pacific (musical)|South Pacific]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1951
| ''[[The King and I]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1953
| ''[[Me and Juliet]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Pipe Dream (musical)|Pipe Dream]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein musical)|Cinderella]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Flower Drum Song]]''
| align="center"| 
|-
| 1959
| ''[[The Sound of Music]]''
| align="center"| 
|}

===Songs===
According to ''The Complete Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II'', edited by Amy Asch, Hammerstein contributed the lyrics to 850 songs,<ref>{{cite news| last=Jones| first=Kenneth| url=http://www.playbill.com/article/complete-lyrics-of-hammerstein-in-stores-now-required-climbing-evry-mountain-com-155606| title=Complete Lyrics" of Hammerstein, in Stores Now, Required Climbing Ev'ry Mountain| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204122853/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123774.html| archive-date=December 4, 2008| magazine=[[Playbill]]| date=December 1, 2008}}</ref> including "[[Ol' Man River]]", "[[Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man|Can't Help Lovin' That Man]]" and "[[Make Believe (Jerome Kern song)|Make Believe]]" from ''Show Boat'';<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Brideson|first1=Cynthia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1LzCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA457|title=Ziegfeld and His Follies: A Biography of Broadway's Greatest Producer|last2=Brideson|first2=Sara|date=June 23, 2015|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-6090-0|pages=457|language=en}}</ref> "[[Indian Love Call]]" from ''Rose-Marie'';<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tyler|first=Don|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSCfBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA139|title=Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era|date=April 2, 2007|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-2946-2|pages=139|language=en}}</ref> "[[People Will Say We're in Love]]"<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hammerstein |first1=Oscar |title=The complete lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II |last2=Asch |first2=Amy |date=2008 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-375-41358-2 |location=New York}}</ref> and "[[Oklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein song)|Oklahoma]]" (which has been the official state song of Oklahoma since 1953) from ''Oklahoma!'';<ref>{{Cite book|last=Capace|first=Nancy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-EbRP8o6LGMC&pg=PA9|title=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma|date=January 1, 1999|publisher=Somerset Publishers, Inc.|isbn=978-0-403-09837-8|pages=9|language=en}}</ref> "[[If I Loved You]]" and "[[You'll Never Walk Alone]]" from ''Carousel'', "[[Some Enchanted Evening]]", from ''South Pacific''; "[[Getting to Know You (song)|Getting to Know You]]"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hammerstein|first=Oscar II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQIYt3kBqVAC&pg=PA349|title=The Complete Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II|date=2008|publisher=Knopf|isbn=978-0-375-41358-2|pages=349|language=en}}</ref> and "[[The King and I|Shall We Dance]]" from ''The King and I''; and [[The Sound of Music (song)|the title song]] as well as "[[Climb Ev'ry Mountain]]" from ''[[The Sound of Music]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hammerstein |first1=Oscar |title=The complete lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II |last2=Asch |first2=Amy |date=2008 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-375-41358-2 |location=New York}}</ref>

Several albums of Hammerstein's musicals were named to the "[[Songs of the Century]]" list as compiled by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA), the [[National Endowment for the Arts]], and [[Scholastic Corporation]]:<ref>{{cite web |title=Entertainment – Songs of the Century |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/ |work=CNN|access-date=August 22, 2020 |date=March 7, 2001}}</ref>
*''The Sound of Music'' — # 36
*''Oklahoma!'' — # 66
*''South Pacific'' — # 224
*''The King and I'' — # 249
*''Show Boat'' — # 312

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award 
! Category
! Nominated work
! Results
! Ref.
|-
| [[11th Academy Awards|1938]]
| rowspan="5"| [[Academy Awards]]
| rowspan="5"| [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Song]]
| "A Mist over the Moon" {{small|(from ''[[The Lady Objects]]'')}}
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1939 |title=The 11th Academy Awards (1939) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=August 10, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[14th Academy Awards|1941]]
| "[[The Last Time I Saw Paris (song)|The Last Time I Saw Paris]]" {{small|(from ''[[Lady Be Good (1941 film)|Lady Be Good]]'')}}
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1942 |title=The 14th Academy Awards (1942) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=August 13, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[18th Academy Awards|1945]]
| "[[It Might as Well Be Spring]]" {{small|(from ''[[State Fair (1945 film)|State Fair]]'')}}
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1946 |title=The 18th Academy Awards (1946) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=August 16, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[19th Academy Awards|1946]]
| "All Through the Day" {{small|(from ''[[Centennial Summer]]'')}}
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1947 |title=The 19th Academy Awards (1947) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=August 19, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[24th Academy Awards|1951]]
| "[[A Kiss to Build a Dream On]]" {{small|(from ''[[The Strip (1951 film)|The Strip]]'')}}
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1952 |title=The 24th Academy Awards (1952) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=August 19, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[3rd Annual Grammy Awards|1960]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Grammy Awards]]
| [[Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album|Best Show Album (Original Cast)]]
| "[[The Sound of Music]]"
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/oscar-hammerstein-ii/16795 |title=Oscar Hammerstein II |publisher=[[Grammy Awards]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| 1992
| [[Grammy Trustees Award|Trustees Award]]
| {{n/a}}
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/trustee-awards |title=Trustees Award |publisher=[[Grammy Awards]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[1944 Pulitzer Prize|1944]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Pulitzer Prize]]
| [[Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards|Special Citations and Awards]]
| ''[[Oklahoma!]]''
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/richard-rodgers-and-oscar-hammerstein-ii |title=Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II |publisher=[[Pulitzer Prize]] |access-date=December 27, 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[1950 Pulitzer Prize|1950]]
| [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama|Drama]]
| rowspan="4"| ''[[South Pacific (musical)|South Pacific]]''
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/1950 |title=1950 Pulitzer Prize Winners & Finalists |publisher=[[Pulitzer Prize]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[4th Tony Awards|1950]]
| rowspan="8"| [[Tony Awards]]
| [[Tony Award for Best Musical|Best Musical]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1950/category/any/show/any/ |title=1950 Tony Awards |publisher=[[Tony Awards]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical|Best Libretto]]
| {{won}}
|-
| Producers (Musical)
| {{won}} 
|-
| [[6th Tony Awards|1952]]
| rowspan="4"| Best Musical
| ''[[The King and I]]''
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1952/category/any/show/any/ |title=1952 Tony Awards |publisher=[[Tony Awards]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[10th Tony Awards|1956]]
| ''[[Pipe Dream (musical)|Pipe Dream]]''
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1956/category/any/show/any/ |title=1956 Tony Awards |publisher=[[Tony Awards]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[13th Tony Awards|1959]]
| ''[[Flower Drum Song]]''
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1959/category/any/show/any/ |title=1959 Tony Awards |publisher=[[Tony Awards]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[14th Tony Awards|1960]]
| ''[[The Sound of Music]]''
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with ''[[Fiorello!]]''.}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1960/category/any/show/any/ |title=1960 Tony Awards |publisher=[[Tony Awards]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[50th Tony Awards|1996]]
| [[Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
| ''[[State Fair (musical)|State Fair]]''
| {{nom}} 
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1996/category/any/show/any/ |title=1996 Tony Awards |publisher=[[Tony Awards]] |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref>
|}

* Oscar Hammerstein is the only person in history named ''Oscar'' to have won an Oscar.
* In 1950, the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein received [[The Hundred Year Association of New York]]'s Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York."<ref>{{cite web |title=Richard A. Cook Gold Medal Award |url=https://100yearassociation.com/awards/richard-a-cook-gold-medal-award/ |website=The Hundred Year Association |access-date=August 23, 2020}}</ref>
* In 1981, The Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theater Studies at Columbia University was established with a $1 million gift from his family.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5D6143BF930A25751C0A965948260 "Columbia Names Stein To Theater Post"], ''The New York Times'', February 13, 1983</ref>

==Legacy==
His advice and work influenced [[Stephen Sondheim]], a friend of the Hammerstein family from childhood. Sondheim has attributed his success in theater, and especially as a lyricist, directly to Hammerstein's influence and guidance.<ref name="PBS-broadway/stars"/>

The [[Oscar Hammerstein Award]] for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theater is presented annually. The York Theatre Company of New York City is the administrator of the award.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20021126014739/http://www.yorktheatre.org/History.htm York Theatre history] yorktheatre.org, accessed December 8, 2008</ref> Past awardees are composers such as [[Stephen Sondheim]] and performers such as [[Carol Channing]].<ref>Gans, Andrew.[https://archive.today/20130201022259/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/93232-Rivera_Vereen_Hirsch_Huffman_and_More_to_Salute_Walton_June_6 "Rivera, Vereen, Hirsch, Huffman and More to Salute Walton June 6"] ''Playbill'', May 31, 2005</ref>

Oscar Hammerstein was a member of the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaterhalloffame.org/members.html|title=Theater Hall of Fame members|website=Theaterhalloffame.org|access-date=February 9, 2014}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book| last=Lovensheimer| first=Jim| date=August 25, 2010| title=South Pacific: Paradise Revisited| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5-2rpCzHHEC&q=South+Pacific:+Paradise+Revisited| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-537702-6}}
* {{cite book| last=Bauch| first=Marc| year=2003 |title=The American Musical| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UeaHSVd7jQAC&q=bauch+the+american+musical| publisher=Tectum Verlag DE| isbn=978-3828884588}}
* {{cite book| last=Fordin |first=Hugh |year=1995 |title=Getting to Know Him:A Biography of Oscar Hammerstein II| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ef8V7iG5CGkC&q=taps| publisher=Da Capo Press| isbn= 978-0306806681|url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book| last=Hischak| first=Thomas S.| year=2007| title=The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CsbEP_Mu50EC&q=columbia+law+| publisher=ABC-CLIO| isbn=978-0313341403}}
* {{cite book| last=Kislan |first=Richard |year=1995 |title=The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KBmxpzpQQngC&q=sweetness+and+light| publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation| isbn=978-1557832177}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Oscar_Hammerstein_II.ogg|date=September 5, 2020}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IBDB name|7965}}
* {{IMDb name|358564}}
* {{Playbill person|oscar-hammerstein-ii-vault-0000007077}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051230152641/http://www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/composers/rodg-hamm.html Musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110424160819/http://www.rnh.com/bio/154/Hammerstein-II-Oscar Biography of Oscar Hammerstein II at RNH Official Site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100413161401/http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/hammerstein_oscar.html Oscar Hammerstein II] interviewed by [[Mike Wallace]] on ''The Mike Wallace Interview'' March 15, 1958
* [https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu018003 Oscar Hammerstein II Collection] at the [[Library of Congress]]
* {{LCAuth|n50020012|Oscar Hammerstein|487|}}
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101947 Oscar Hammerstein II recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].

{{Rodgers and Hammerstein}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Oscar Hammerstein II
|list =
{{AcademyAwardBestOriginalSong 1941–1950}}
{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 1926–1950}}
{{PulitzerPrize SpecialCitations Arts}}
{{TonyAward MusicalBook 1950–1975}}
}}
{{Oklahoma!}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammerstein, Oscar II}}
[[Category:Oscar Hammerstein II]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American Unitarian Universalists]]
[[Category:American male lyricists]]
[[Category:American musical theatre librettists]]
[[Category:American musical theatre lyricists]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:American theatre managers and producers]]
[[Category:Broadway composers and lyricists]]
[[Category:Broadway theatre producers]]
[[Category:Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songwriters]]
[[Category:Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery]]
[[Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Hammerstein family (show business)|Oscar II]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners]]<!--1950-->
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize winners]]<!--special 1944-->
[[Category:Songwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]