1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
2. Michael Haneke to Lance Henriksen

Sheldon Harnick Biography (1924-)

Full name, Sheldon Mayer Harnick; born April 30, 1924, in Chicago, IL; son ofHarry M. and Esther (maiden name, Kanter) Harnick; brother of Jay Harnick (adirector, producer, performer, and stage manager); married Mary Boatner, August 29, 1950 (marriage annulled, May, 1957); married Elaine May (a writer, comedienne, actress, and director), 1962 (divorced, 1963); married Margery Gray(an actress), October 8, 1965; children: (with Gray) Beth, Matthew. Addresses: Manager: David J. Cogan, 350 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10118.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Lyricist, composer, performer

Birth Details

April 30, 1924

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Stage Appearances
• Sondheim: A Musical Tribute (benefit concert), Shubert Theatre, New York City, 1973
• Voice of the White Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, Bil Baird Marionettes, off-Broadway production, 1975
• Show & Tell (benefit gala), Laura Belle Theatre, New York City, 2001
• Some Enchanted Evenings, Town Hall Theatre, New York City, 2002
• Musical Makers, Acorn Theatre, New York City, 2003
• Sing for a Cure: A Valentine Cabaret Salute to Richard Rodgers (benefit), Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York City, 2003
• Broadway Talks, 92nd Street Y, New York City, 2004
• His Words Are Music: The Broadway Lyrics of Sheldon Harnick, JohnDrew Theater at Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY, 2004
• Lyrics & Lyricist: A Celebration of Sheldon Harnick (also known as Celebration of Sheldon Harnick), 92nd Street Y, 2005
• Appeared in other productions, including cabaret productions at the Rainbow and Stars, 1990.
• Film Appearances
• Voices of Barney Beanbag and Socko the Sockworm, Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (animated musical; also known as Raggedy Ann & Andy), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1976
• Himself, Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (documentary; also known as Broadway, Broadway: The Golden Age,and Broadway: The Movie), Dada Films, 2003
• Television Appearances
• Miniseries
• Himself, Broadway: The American Musical (documentary), PBS, 2004
• Specials
• She Loves Me (musical), PBS, 1979
• Music by Richard Rodgers, PBS, 1990
• Himself, Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds (documentary), PBS,2001
• RECORDINGS
• Albums
• Evening with Sheldon Harnick, DRG, 1971
• Regards to the Lindsay Years, 1973
• Musical Life in Concert, DRG, 1994
• Harnick's music has been featured in cast albums and several other recordings and translated for foreign recordings.
• WRITINGS
• Stage Lyrics
• Musicals
• Leonard Sillman's "New Faces of 1952" (revue; also known as NewFaces of 1952), Royale Theatre, New York City, 1952-53
• Two's Company (revue; also known as Charles Sherman's Musical Revue), Alvin Theatre, New York City, 1952-53
• Horatio, Margo Jones Theatre, Dallas, TX, 1954, later produced under the title Smiling, the Boy Fell Dead, Cherry Lane Theatre, New YorkCity, 1961
• (Uncredited) The Amazing Adele, 1956
• (Uncredited) Additional lyrics, Shangri-La, NY, 1956
• Portofino, Adelphi Theatre, New York City, 1958
• The Body Beautiful, Broadway Theatre, New York City, 1958-61
• Fiorello!, Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 1959
• Vintage '60 (revue), Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City, 1960
• Tenderloin, 46th Street Theatre, New York City, 1960-61
• Never Too Late, Playhouse Theatre, New York City, 1962-65
• Man in the Moon, Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 1963
• She Loves Me, Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York City, 1963-64, other productions, including Criterion Center Stage Right, New York City, 1993, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City, 1993-94, and Savoy Theatre, London, beginning 1994
• To Broadway, with Love, New York World's Fair, 1964-65
• Fiddler on the Roof, Imperial Theatre, New York City, 1964-67, Majestic Theatre, New York City, 1967-70, Broadway Theatre, New York City, 1970-72, several other productions, including Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, 1976-77, Lincoln Center, New York State Theater, New York City, beginning 1981, additional song added to production at Minskoff Theatre, New York City,beginning 2004
• (With others) Wet Paint, Renata Theatre, New York City, 1965
• The Apple Tree, Shubert Theatre, New York City, 1966-67, revised production later produced
• The Rothschilds, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, 1970-72
• Pinocchio, Bil Baird Marionettes, off-Broadway production, 1973
• Alice in Wonderland, Bil Baird Marionettes, off-Broadway production, 1975
• Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (opera), Lyric Opera of KansasCity, Kansas City, MO, 1975
• Rex, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 1976
• Dr. Heidigger's Fountain of Youth (opera), National Arts Club, NewYork City, 1978
• Frustration--A Mini-Opera (opera), Encompass Theatre, New York City, 1979
• The Madwoman of Central Park West, 22 Steps, 1979
• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (stage version of film), New York Shakespeare Festival, New York City, 1979
• It's a Wonderful Life, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1986, other productions, including Beck Center for Cultural Arts--Main Stage, Cleveland, OH, 2000, and Surflight Theatre, Beach Haven, NJ, 2000
• Barbara Cook: A Concert for the Theatre (concert), Ambassador Theatre, New York City, 1987
• (With others) Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Imperial Theatre, New YorkCity, 1989-90
• Love in Two Countries (two one-act operas), Music Theatre Works, Theatre at St. Peter's Church, New York City, 1991
• (With others) Cyrano-The Musical, Neil Simon Theatre, New York City, 1993-94, Theatre Hagen, Hagen, Germany, c. 1994
• Back from Broadway (benefit concert), Vivian Beaumont Theatre, 2002
• (With others) Free to Be ... You and Me, Greenwich House Theatre,New York City, 2002
• Mostly Sondheim (concerts), Vivian Beaumont Theatre, 2002
• Dragons, Luna Stage Company, Montclair, NJ, 2003
• Sunrise, Sunset--The Songs of Sheldon Harnick (revue), Jewish Theatre of New England, 2003
• American Musical Theater Salutes Series, John Drew Theater at Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY, 2004
• Barbara Cook's Broadway (concerts), Vivian Beaumont Theatre, 2004
• Moments of Being, with Betsy, Stella Adler Theatre, New York City,2004
• Lyrics & Lyricist: A Celebration of Sheldon Harnick (also known as Celebration of Sheldon Harnick), 92nd Street Y, New York City, 2005
• Major Tours
• A Christmas Carol, Christmas tours, 1981, 1982
• Sunrise, Sunset--The Songs of Sheldon Harnick (revue), 2004-2005
• English Translations and Adaptations
• Igor Stravinski, L'histoire du soldat, Bil Baird Marionettes, Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 1967
• (English translation) Maurice Ravel, L'enfant et les sortileges, Manhattan School of Music, New York City, 1971
• (English version) Franz Lehar, The Merry Widow (operetta; also known as Die luestige Witwe), San Diego Opera, San Diego, CA, 1977
• (English translation) Georges Bizet, Carmen, Houston Opera, Houston, TX, 1981, later Vivian Beaumont Theatre, New York City, 1984
• Joseph Canteloube, Songs of the Auvergne (concert), New York City,1982
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, L'oca del Cairo (also known as The Goose from Cairo), Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, 1982
• (Translations of Yiddish songs with Jim Friedman) Ghetto, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1986
• Charles Ives, "Elgie," Ives, Songs, Lincoln Center, New York StateTheater, New York City, 1988
• J. S. Bach, The Contest between Phoebus and Pan (cantata), Stony Brook, NY, 1988
• J. S. Bach, The Appeasement of Aeolus (cantata), Stony Brook, NY,1990
• Involved in the adaptation or translation of the musical pieces The Heiress, by Jean-Michel Damase; Le monde ou l'on s'ennuie (also known as A World Where Boredom Reigns), by Edouard Pailleron; Le voyagede Monsieur Perrichon (also known as Monsieur Perrichon's Vacation), by Eugene Labiche and Edouard Martin; Un education manquee (also known as A Flawed Education), by Emmanuel Chabrier; (with Michel Legrand) L'amour fantome; and Renard.
• Stage Music
• Musicals
• Dragons, Luna Stage Company, Montclair, NJ, 2003
• Stage Songs
• John Murray Anderson's "Almanac" (revue), New York City, 1953
• The Shoestring Revue, New York City, 1955
• The Littlest Revue, New York City, 1956
• Shoestring '57 (revue), off-Broadway production, 1957
• (Uncredited) Baker Street (also known as Baker Street: A Musical Adventure of Sherlock Holmes), Broadway Theatre and Martin Beck Theatre, both New York City, 1965
• (With others) City Center Encores! Broadway Bash!, City Center, New York City, 2001
• Vickie Phillips: Different Dreams, Different Times, Don't Tell Mama, New York City, 2002
• Tonight at Eight: A Celebration of the Musicals of Bock and Harnick, The Supper Club, New York City. 2003
• Songwriter for Kaleidoscope, New York City; also songwriter for Julius Monk cabaret shows.
• Writings for the Stage
• Books for Musicals
• The Apple Tree (based on various short stories), Shubert Theatre,New York City, 1966-67, revised production later produced
• It's a Wonderful Life, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1986, other productions, including Beck Center for Cultural Arts--Main Stage, Cleveland, OH, 2000, and Surflight Theatre, Beach Haven, NJ, 2000
• Continuity, Good Company (also known as Good Company--Songs That Made It from Shows That Didn't), Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge, MA, 1997
• (With Norton Juster) The Phantom Tollbooth (based on Juster's book), Harwich Junior Theatre, Cape Cod, MA, 2002, Wheelock Family Theatre, Boston, MA, 2003
• Dragons (based on the play by Yevgeny Schwarz), Luna Stage Company, Montclair, NJ, 2003
• Opera Librettos
• Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, 1975
• Dr. Heidigger's Fountain of Youth, National Arts Club, New York City, 1978
• Cyrano-The Musical, Neil Simon Theatre, New York City, 1993-94, Theatre Hagen, Hagen, Germany, c. 1994
• Coyote Tales, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, 1998
• Other
• Texts, Sutter's Gold--A Cantata (cantata), Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston, MA, 1980
• Film Lyrics
• Fiddler on the Roof (musical), United Artists, 1971
• Title song and other songs, Blame It on Rio, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1984
• Die Schelme von Schelm (animated; also known as Aaron's Magic Village, The Real Shlemiel, and Le monde est un grand chelm), Avalanche Releasing, 1995
• Contributed lyrics to songs for unproduced films.
• Film Scores
• (With Michel Legrand) Die Schelme von Schelm (animated; also knownas Aaron's Magic Village, The Real Shlemiel, and Le monde est un grand chelm), Avalanche Releasing, 1995
• Film Songs
• Title song, The Heartbreak Kid, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1972
• Harnick's songs have been featured in films, television broadcasts, and video collections.
• Television Lyrics
• Specials
• (With Ogden Nash) Art Carney Meets Peter and the Wolf, ABC, 1958
• "William's Doll," Marlo Thomas and Friends in Free to Be ... You and Me (also known as Free to Be ... You and Me), ABC, 1974
• She Loves Me, PBS, 1979
• The Way They Were, syndicated, 1981
• "The Man with the Sign" (version of "Stars and Stripes Forever"), I Love Liberty, ABC, 1982
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit (animated), HBO, 1991
• Translated the lyrics of the aria "Questa o quella" into English for a Placido Domingo television special, 1985.
• Pilots
• Title song lyrics, Marriage Is Alive and Well, NBC, 1980
• Television Music and Lyrics
• Series
• Cavalcade of Stars, DuMont, c. 1952
• We'll Get By, CBS, 1975
• Television Music
• Episodic
• "The Canterville Ghost," ABC Stage 67, ABC, 1966
• Television Music and Lyrics
• Pilots
• We'll Get By, CBS, 1975
• Albums
• Evening with Sheldon Harnick, DRG, 1971
• Regards to the Lindsay Years, 1973
• Musical Life in Concert, DRG, 1994
• Harnick's music has been featured in cast albums, such as The Apple Tree, Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello!, The Merry Widow,and She Loves Me; and several other recordings and translated for foreign recordings.