Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.
Life and career
Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. He was a child prodigy who gave piano recitals at venues such as Steinway Hall, Town Hall, and Carnegie Hall between the ages of six and nine. Before beginning his fabled Broadway career, he led the Cy Coleman Trio, which made many recordings and was a much-in-demand club attraction.
Despite the early classical and jazz success, Coleman decided to build a career in popular music. was with Carolyn Leigh. The pair wrote many pop hits, including "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come". Fields was revitalized by working with the much younger Coleman, and by the contemporary nature of their first project, which was Sweet Charity, again with a book by Simon, starring Gwen Verdon, and introducing the songs "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "I'm a Brass Band", "Big Spender" and "The Rhythm of Life". for the Rock opera Sensations, and took a full-page (back cover) advert in Billboard magazine to promote his upcoming star vocalist Steve Leeds.
thumb|left|Cy Coleman with playwright [[Neil Simon (right) during a rehearsal in 1982]]
In 1980, Coleman served as producer and composer for the circus-themed Barnum, which co-starred Jim Dale and Glenn Close. In addition, he wrote memorable television specials for Shirley MacLaine, If My Friends Could See Me Now and Gypsy in My Soul. Coleman has been the only composer to win consecutive Tony awards for Best Score at the same time that the corresponding musicals won for Best Musical: City of Angels and The Will Rogers Follies (although Stephen Sondheim actually won three consecutive Tony Awards for Best Score for Company, Follies, and A Little Night Music, Follies did not win for Best Musical). Coleman was on the ASCAP Board of Directors for many years and also served as their Vice Chairman Writer.
One final musical with a Coleman score played in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum between December 2003 and January 2004, under the title Like Jazz, as a Broadway tryout. Investor Transamerica Capital went forward with plans to mount a Broadway production renamed In the Pocket. Dirk Decloedt and Maurice Hines were announced as director and choreographer with an anticipated opening in Spring 2006 but it never opened.
Education
Coleman studied at New York's The High School of Music & Art and the New York College of Music, graduating in 1948.
Death
On November 18, 2004, Coleman attended the Broadway opening of Michael Frayn's play Democracy, and went to the premiere party afterward. He was survived by his wife, Shelby Coleman (née Brown) and their adopted daughter.
Theatre credits
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Music
! Lyrics
! Book
! Ref.
|-
|1960 || Wildcat || rowspan="7" | Music || rowspan="13" | Cy Coleman || rowspan="2" | Carolyn Leigh || N. Richard Nash ||
|-
|1962 || Little Me || rowspan="2" | Neil Simon||
|-
|1966 || Sweet Charity || rowspan="2" | Dorothy Fields||
|-
|1973 || Seesaw || Michael Bennett ||
|-
|1977 || I Love My Wife || colspan="2" |Michael Stewart ||
|-
|1978 || On the Twentieth Century || colspan="2" |Betty Comden & Adolph Green
|-
|1979 || Home Again, Home Again || Barbara Fried || Russell Baker ||
|-
|1980 || Barnum || Music & producer || Michael Stewart || Mark Bramble || and two Grammy Awards, and an Academy Award nomination.
Honors
Among his many honors and awards, Coleman was elected to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1981), and was the recipient of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award (1995) and the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers Award for lifetime achievement in American musical theatre. and received an Honorary Doctorate from Hofstra University in 2000.
References
External links
- Excerpts from Life Stories of Cy, Shelby's show about her late husband - YouTube