Kern, Jerome (1885-1945), an American composer, wrote the music for many musical comedies and motion pictures. He composed such famous songs as “All the Things You Are,” “Bill,” “Make Believe,” “Ol’ Man River,” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”
Jerome David Kern was born on Jan. 27, 1885, in New York City. He first became known for a series of musicals that he created mainly with the English writers Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse. These musicals were called the “Princess shows” because they were presented at the Princess Theatre in New York City. The Princess shows included Very Good Eddie (1915), Oh, Boy! (1917), and Oh, Lady! Lady!! (1918). They were written for small casts and orchestras and had modern, everyday settings. They introduced a realistic style into musicals, in contrast to the fantasy of the operettas that were popular at the time.
Kern’s greatest success was Show Boat (1927), for which Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyrics. Show Boat was one of the first musicals in which the songs and dances were integrated into the plot. Kern’s other musicals included The Cat and the Fiddle (1931), Music in the Air (1932), and Roberta (1933). After 1933, Kern concentrated on composing for films. He won Academy Awards for his songs “The Way You Look Tonight” from Swing Time (1936), with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and “The Last Time I Saw Paris” from Lady Be Good (1941), with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Kern died on Nov. 11, 1945.
