Richard Rodgers

Richard Charles Rodgers June 28 1902 December 30 1979 was an American composer of music with over 900 songs and 43 Broadway musicals leaving a legacy as one of the most significant composers of 20th century American music He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II His compositions have had a significant impact on popular music Rodgers was the first person to win what are considered the top American entertainment awards in television recording movies and Broadway an Emmy a Grammy an Oscar and a Tony Award now known collectively as an EGOT In addition he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize making him only one of two people to receive each award Marvin Hamlisch is the other Rodgers died in 1979 at the age of 77 after surviving cancer of the jaw a heart attack and a laryngectomy He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea In 1990 the 46th Street Theatre was renamed The Richard Rodgers Theatre in his memory In 1999 Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on United States postage stamps In 2002 the centennial year of Rodgerss birth was celebrated worldwide with books retrospectives performances new recordings of his music and a Broadway revival of Oklahoma The BBC Proms that year devoted an entire evening to Rodgerss music including a concert performance of Oklahoma The Boston Pops Orchestra released a new CD that year in tribute to Rodgers entitled My Favorite Things A Richard Rodgers Celebration Several American schools are named after Richard Rodgers Alec Wilder wrote the following about Rodgers Of all the writers whose songs are considered and examined in this book those of Rodgers show the highest degree of consistent excellence inventiveness and sophisticationAfter spending weeks playing his songs I am more than impressed and respectful I am astonished Richard Rodgers is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame Along with the Academy of Arts and Letters Rodgers also started and endowed an award for nonestablished musical theater composers to produce new productions either by way of full productions or staged readings It is the only award for which the Academy of Arts and Letters accepts applications and is presented every year Below are the previous winners of the award