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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 7000 HOLIDAY ENCHANTMENTS It s amazing that one lovable dinosaur could create so much holiday excitement at one wonderful toy store. But Rex has been busy filling The The Enchanted Village with over 70(X) toys, games and learning aids from the finest toymakers in the world, including Santa, of course. Visit us soon. ENCHANTED VILLAGE The toy store where young minds can grow. 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