Herman, Jerry (1931-2019), an American composer, wrote the music and lyrics for several hit American musical comedies. The best known is Hello, Dolly! (1964), one of the most popular musicals in American theater history.
Hello, Dolly! centers on Dolly Levi, a matchmaker living in New York City in about 1900. A matchmaker is a person who arranges, or tries to arrange, marriages for other people. The starring role was a triumph for the American actress Carol Channing. The show’s title song ranks among the most popular in theater history. Other familiar songs in Hello, Dolly! include “Before the Parade Passes By,” “It Only Takes a Moment,” and “Put on Your Sunday Clothes.”
Herman wrote the music and lyrics for two other hit musicals, Mame (1966) and La Cage Aux Folles (1983). Mame follows the adventures of a lively middle-aged woman. The American actress Angela Lansbury starred in the title role. Hit songs from the show include “Mame,” “Open a New Window,” “We Need a Little Christmas,” and “If He Walked into My Life.” La Cage Aux Folles is set on the French Riviera , an area of France that borders the Mediterranean Sea. The show portrays the relationship between a nightclub owner and the female impersonator who is the club’s featured entertainer. A female impersonator is a male performer who pretends to be a woman. Herman’s songs include “The Best of Times” and “With You on My Arm.”
Gerald Herman was born on July 10, 1931, in New York City. He earned a B.A. degree from the University of Miami in 1953. His first Broadway musical was Milk and Honey (1961), a romantic story set in modern Israel. His other Broadway musicals include Madame Aphrodite (1961), Dear World (1969), Mack and Mabel (1974), and The Grand Tour (1979). Herman became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2010. He died on Dec. 26, 2019.
