Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 17, 1996)[3] was an American lyricist and composer primarily for theater who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including "Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Crazy Rhythm", and "Tea for Two", one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written.[4] In 1972, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[5]
Biography
Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jewish lawyer and socialist, was born in New York City, United States.[4] His older brother Arthur Caesar was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. Around 1901, Caesar composed his first poem—which can be ascribed to his exposure to literature in the environment of his father's bookstore.[1] The Caesar brothers spent their childhood and teen years in Yorkville, the same Manhattan neighborhood where the Marx Brothers were raised. Caesar knew the Marx Brothers during his childhood. He was educated at Chappaqua Mountain Institute in Chappaqua, New York.
In the late 1930s, along with composer Gerald Marks, he wrote a famous series of children's songs focusing on safety. Caesar made hundreds of appearances in schools performing the "Sing a Song of Safety," "Sing a Song of Friendship" (a United Nations-inspired series focusing on world peace, racial tolerance and friendship) and "Songs of Health" collections.[5]
Caesar served on the songwriters' performance-rights organizationASCAP board of directors from 1930 to 1946 and again from 1949 to 1966. He was a founder of the Songwriters Guild of America.[5] He died, aged 101, in New York on December 18, 1996, at which point he had been married to Cristina Ballesteros, whose daughter Danya Barazanji assisted in his caretaking since 1992.[6][4]
Broadway credits
Note: All productions are musicals unless otherwise stated.
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