One of the Greatest Songwriters in American History

IRVING BERLIN

• Born May 11, 1888 in Russia• Birth name was Israel Isidore Beilin

• Immigrated to America in 1893 where they settled in NYC• During the 1900 census the name Beilin changed to Baline

• Settled on Cherry Street in a basement flat with no windows in the Yiddish Theater District on the Lower East

Side• His Father took a job at a Kosher meat market, and taught

Hebrew lessons to support his struggling family• Father died when Berlin was 13 Became a newspaper boy• Selling newspapers allowed “Izzy” to hear the hits of the

day• At 14 Berlin left home to become a “foot soldier”

EARLY LIFE

• The only “skill” Irving Berlin acquired from his Father was

singing• In 1906 when Berlin turned 18 he

began working as a singing waiter in a Café in Chinatown

• First attempt at songwriting was “Marie from Sunny Italy”

• Made history because of a printer’s error

• Cover read ‘I. Berlin’• In 1908 at the age of 20 Berlin

took a new job at a saloon in the Union Square neighborhood

• 1909 big break as a staff lyricist with the Ted Snyder Company

EARLY MUSIC CAREER

• Written over 1,500 songs• Legend by the time he was 30

• Scores for 19 Broadway Shows & 18 Hollywood Films

• Most-Famous Songs Include:• “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”

• “Cheek to Cheek”• “There’s No Business Like Show Business”

• “Puttin On the Ritz”• “Easter Parade”• “White Christmas”• “God Bless America”

CAREER OVERVIEW

• “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”- 1911

• “When I Lost You”- 1912• Watch Your Step- Debut

Musical 1914• “Play a Simple Melody

“The always Follow Me Around”

“When I Discovered You”• By 1918 he had written

hundreds of songs• “A Pretty Girl is Like a

Melody”- written for Ziegfeld’s Follies of 1919

• Drafted into the army- 1917

• Yip! Yip! Yaphank!• “Oh, How I Hate To Get Up in

the Morning”• “Kitchen Police”

• “Dream On, Little Soldier Boy”

• Music Box Theater- 1921• By 1926- two editions of

Ziegfeld’s Follies and four Music Box Revues

• This is the Army- 1941

CAREER

• Annie Get Your Gun- 1946

• Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin

• Book: Herbert and Dorothy Fields

• Ran for 1,147 Performances

• **Most successful score!**

• “There’s No Business Like Show Business”

• “You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun”

• “They Say It’s Wonderful”• “Anything You Can Do”

CAREER

• Miss Liberty- 1949• “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor”

• “Follow the Leader Jig”

• “Miss Liberty”

• Call Me Madam- 1950• “Washington Square Dance”

• “Marrying for Love”

• “It’s a Lovely Day Today”

• Mr. President- 1962• “Meat and Potatoes”

• “I’m Gonna Get Him”

• “The Presidents Plane”

CAREER

Watch Your Step (1914)Stop! Look! Listen! (1915)The Century Girl (1916)Yip Yip Yaphank (1918)Ziegfeld Follies (1919)

Music Box Revue (1921-1924)The Cocoanuts (1925) Face the Music (1932)

As Thousands Cheer (1933)Louisiana Purchase (1940)

This Is the Army (1942)Annie Get Your Gun (1946)

Miss Liberty (1949)Call Me Madam (1950)Mr. President (1962)

White Christmas (2004 post-mortem production)Top Hat (2012 post-mortem production)

Stage

Film ScoresMadame Butterfly (1922)

The Cocoanuts (1929)Puttin' on the Ritz (1930)

Top Hat (1935)Follow the Fleet (1936)On the Avenue (1937)

Carefree (1938)Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

Second Fiddle (1939)Holiday Inn (1942)

This Is the Army (1943)Easter Parade (1948)

Annie Get Your Gun (1950)Call Me Madam (1953)

There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

White Christmas (1954)

• 1912- Married Dorth Goetz

• She died 6 months later of typhoid fever

• 1925- fell in love with a young heiress, Ellin

Mackay• Eloped in late 1920’s

• 4 children during their 63 years of marriage

• Ellin died at the age of 85• 9 Grandchildren

• Devoted to his Jewish faith, and advocate of civil

rights• Supported the presidential

candidacy of General Dwight Eisenhower and

was “consumed by patriotism”

PERSONAL LIFE

Death• Berlin died in his sleep on September 22, 1989 of natural causes in NYC at the age of 101

• The evening following the announcement of his death the

marquee lights of Broadway playhouses were dimmed

RECOGNITION AND AWARDS

1944- National Conference of Christians and Jews for “Advancing the aims of the conference to eliminate religious and racial conflict”1945- Army’s Medal of Merit from General Marshall, at the direction of the President1949- Young Men’s Hebrew Association, one of the 12 most outstanding Americans of Jewish faith1951- Tony Award for Best Score for the musical, Call Me Madam1963- Special Tony Award for his contributions to the American Musical1968- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award1970- Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame1994- Star on the Hollywood Walk of FameReceived induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame♪♪