ASCAP
Board Vice-Chairman Cy Coleman, one of the all-time
great composers of Broadway musicals died last night
in Manhattan at the age of 75, apparently of a heart
attack. Coleman's numerous Broadway hits included
Wildcat, Little Me, I Love My Wife, Sweet Charity,
On the Twentieth Century, Barnum, City of Angels and
Will Rogers Follies. Among Coleman's many standards
are "If My Friends Could See Me Now," "Big Spender,"
"The Best Is Yet to Come," "Witchcraft," "Pass Me
By," "Hey, Look Me Over," "Real Live Girl," "I've
Got Your Number," and "The Colors of My Life." Over
the years, Coleman collaborated with many great lyricists,
including Dorothy Fields, Carolyn Leigh, Michael Stewart,
David Zippel, A.E. Hotchner, Betty Comden & Adolph
Green and, most recently, Alan and Marilyn Bergman.
Cy Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929
in the Bronx to East European Jewish immigrant parents
in a decidedly non-musical family. His father was
a carpenter and his mother owned apartment buildings.
He once reminisced that his family came into possession
of its first piano from a tenant who "skipped
out on the rent" and left the instrument. Coleman
became "obsessed" with the piano and was
given lessons beginning at age four. He soon proved
to be a prodigy and gave solo piano recitals at Steinway,
Town and Carnegie Halls. His first piano teacher was
Constance Tallarico, grandmother of Aerosmith singer
Steven Tyler. He later attended the High School of
Music and Art. After graduating, he opted to work
as a pianist in clubs, becoming as he recalled, "High
Society's darling." He soon turned his
attention to jazz, leading a trio, which became a
successful club attraction and recording act. Early
composing efforts for Coleman included writing piano
preludes in the style of George Gershwin. His first
lyric-writing partner was Joseph A. McCarthy, with
whom he wrote "Why Try to Change Me Now,"
recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1952. Upon teaming with
Carolyn Leigh and scoring a major hit for Sinatra
with "Witchcraft" in 1958, Coleman turned
his full attention to writing.
Leigh and Coleman became a Broadway team with Wildcat,
starring Lucille Ball in 1960. The show ran for six
months and featured "Hey, Look Me Over." 1962 brought
another Broadway collaboration with Little Me,
starring Sid Caesar. That show included "Real Live
Girl" and "I've Got Your Number." Coleman's next Broadway
venture was Sweet Charity, this time in collaboration
with veteran lyricist Dorothy Fields. Gwen Verdon
starred in this musical takeoff of the Fellini film,
Nights of Cabiria and it became a major success,
yielding the standards, "Big Spender" and "If My Friends
Could See Me Now." The show was later made into a
film, starring Shirley MacLaine. Subsequent Coleman
musicals featured collaborations with different lyricists,
ranging from Betty Comden & Adolph Green (1978's
On the Twentieth Century and 1991's Will
Rogers Follies) to Michael Stewart (1977's I
Love My Wife and 1980's Barnum) and
David Zippel (1990's City of Angels). Coleman received
Tony Best Score honors for On the Twentieth Century,
City of Angels, and Will Rogers Follies.
Coleman film scores include Father Goose, The
Art of Love, Garbo Talks and Family Business.
In addition, he scored Shirley MacLaine's memorable
television specials, If My Friends Could See Me
Now and Gypsy in My Soul. Coleman was
the recipient of numerous honors, including induction
into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Songwriters
Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Lifetime Achievement Award,
and The ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers Award, among
many others.
Commenting on the passing of Coleman, ASCAP President
& Chairman Marilyn Bergman said, "Cy's
intellect and integrity, coupled with his warmth and
humor, made him a vital and effective presence on
the ASCAP Board of Directors for 38 consecutive years,
more than half of his life. He was dedicated to ASCAP,
even as he pursued a world-class career as a composer.
On a personal note, he was a great friend and great
collaborator. Over the last year, Cy, Alan and I wrote
the score for a new musical "Like Jazz"
which is planned for Broadway in 2005. To work with
him was to watch a creator in total command of his
art. We will miss him - his voice, his friendship,
his music."
Coleman joined ASCAP as a songwriter member in 1953
and was elected to the ASCAP Board of Directors in
October 1966. He was very active in ASCAP and music
industry affairs, frequently traveling to Washington
in support of copyright holders' rights. He
is survived by his wife, Shelby and their daughter,
Lily Cy, of Manhattan.
2004 marks the 90th anniversary of the founding
of ASCAP. As the world's largest Performing Rights
Organization, ASCAP has nearly 200,000 composer, lyricist
and music publisher members representing all genres
of music. ASCAP is committed to protecting the rights
of its members by licensing and collecting royalties
for the public performance of their copyrighted works,
and then distributing these fees to the Society's
members based on performances. ASCAP's Board of Directors
is made up solely of writers and publishers, elected
by the membership every two years.
