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Page 22 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 5, 1986
Arts & Entertainment
Irving Caesar still making ‘Crazy Rhythm’
by Gerry Morris
11 \
-NEW YORK
W'hen Irving Caesar isn’t hap
pily writing or performing his
lyrics to Broadway hit songs, he’s
diligently depositing his royalty
checks in the bank.
He has written the lyrics to
2.000 songs, among them the
American classics “Swanee,”“Tea
For Two,"“Sometimes I’m Hap
py,” “Crazy Rhythm.” “It I For
get You.”“I W ant To Be Happy.”
“Just a Gigolo" and “Is It True
What They Say About Dixie?”
He prefers counting his ac
complishments to his 91 birth
days. and this is one Caesar
they're not going to bury in a
hurry. Other than tailing vision,
his health is soiid, and he is
blessed with one of the best
memories in show business.
And he just can’t stop work
ing. “If l get an idea for a new
song I have to write it or bust.” he
confessed.
The vibrant lyricist has out
lasted all his collaborators, some
of them the most remarkable
composers of the century: George
Gershwin. Vincent Youmans.
Victor Herbert. Sigmund Rom
berg and Rudolf Frimi.
All of this seemed like yester
day to cigar-chomping Caesar as
he shared reminiscences in his
home and office here. He has one
of those faces that seems to have
New York carved all over it. His
grav ely baritone voice retains the
rhythms of Manhattan’s Lower
East Side. Short and stocky, he
has brown eyes behind thick
glasses and a shock of w hite hair.
His parents were Rumanian
Jews who immigrated to Amer
ica in 1892. Caesar was the
youngest of three children. His
father, a lifelong radical, struggled
in a second-hand bookstore on
the Lower East Side and was one
of the founders of the Jewish
Daily Forward Yiddish news
paper.
“I was a product of the people
who ran the settlement houses.”
Caesar recalled. “I adored them
all they were wonderful wom
en devoted, dedicated.”
The settlements were supported
by wealthy German Jewish bank
ers who introduced many fam
ous people to the children. “It
was my entrance into the greater
world. Unfortunately. I was a
restless little kid who was full of
music and tun. and 1 didn’t prac
tice," he admitted. “But I did
learn to play the piano with one
hand and began to write poems
and songs. I wrote my first song
when I was 5.” He then pro
ceeded to sing his “Sailor Boy.”
He qualified for Townsend
Harris High School tor bright
kids and went on to the College
of i he City of New York. He lett
in his freshman year and plunged
into an adventure as Henry Ford's
personal stenographer and cor
respondent on Ford’s peace ship
expedition to Europe in 1915.
He soon returned to Tin Pan
Alley. “George Gershwin and I
talked of writing a song about
the Swanee River during a F r iIth
Avenue bus ride to Riverside
Drive where the Gershwins lived.
At the apartment there was a
card game in progress, but that
didn't stop us. Gershwin sat at
the piano and played the melodv
as 1 worked on the lyrics.”
Within half an hour they came
up with “Swanee." It caught fire
when A1 Jolson performed it at
the Winter Garden, and then it
swept the nation.
Some artists create based on
their experiences, but Caesar
works differently. “My songs were
never autobiographical,” he said.
"Take ‘Swanee.’ We had never
seen the Swanee River never
been south of 14th Street. After
the song became a hit, we decided
to take a trip south and look at
the river that flowed gold for us.
It was a lucky thing that song w as
written first
“Then there as ‘Lady Play
Your Mandolin,’ written with
Oscar Levant. 1 never knew a
lady who could play a mandolin.
I didn't especially like the man
dolin, and good as the song is. 1
got more of a bang out of hearing
someone sing a parody of ii
‘Lady. Let Your Mendel In’
than I did out ol the original.”
The work that absorbs most of
his time (and is closest to his
heart) and returns the least money
is the promotion of his “Book of
Children’s Songs of Friendship.
Safetv, Manners and Health.”
'40s. at his own expense, its 45
children's songs have been trans
lated into several languages, and
include such compelling titles as
‘How To Spell Friendship.”
“There’s Something About A-
merica!”“ T homas Jefferski and
“This Is Our Last Chance For
Peace.”
At one time it was estimated
that about 10 million children
throughout the United States sang
these songs. The Anti-Defamation
League of B’nai B’rith distrib
uted more than 100.000 copies
and sent Caesar on a nationwide
tour to perform concerts for chil
dren.
“Maybe these songs for chil
dren will send me to the songwri
ter’s heaven when my hi-dee-
ho songs would be sure to send
me a hotter region.” he joked.
He still sings in public. “1 love
to face an audience and com
municate, whether by talk or
song.” he explained. “Eve been
singing for my supper all my life.
Maybe the lyric ‘1 want to be
happy, but 1 won’t be happy tiil 1
make you happy too.’ says it all
for me.”
(jerri Morns of Toronto, a
free-lance writer, profiles enter
tainment celebrities. The carica
ture is by AI Hirschfelil.
Yinglish Theatre
to hold auditions
The AJC’C Yinglish Theatre
w ill hold auditions for “The Ed
ucation of Hyman Kaplan” from
2-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7. and
from 7-9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8,
in the Gallery at AJC’C Peach
tree. The cast is composed ol
seven females and nine males.
Prepared solos are not required.
The director for this produc
tion is Joan Taibbi and the musi
cal director is Kim Blitch.
The musical is peopled with an
assortment of immigrants who
are attending night classes at a
New York public school where
they strive, with the help of a
bewildered teacher, to learn
enough English and American
hfstory to pass their naturaliza
tion tests. It has been described
as “enchanting; filled with bright
comedy, unexpected romance and
a refreshing love of America.”
Production dates are Feb. 5. 7.
8, 14 and 15. For more informa
tion, call Beverly Shmerling at
875-7881.
Have
regular
medical
check-ups.
/V/
<> ,ss c
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