John Kander
| John Kander | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Harold Kander |
| Born | March 18, 1927 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | Musical theatre, film, television |
| Occupations | Composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Associated acts | Kander and Ebb |
John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.
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Life and career[edit]
Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri to the assimilated Jewish family of Bernice (née Aaron) and Harold S. Kander.[1] Kander attended The Pembroke Country-Day School and Oberlin College before earning a Master's degree at Columbia University where he was a protégé of Douglas Moore and studied composition with Jack Beeson.[2]
Kander began his Broadway career as substitute rehearsal pianist for West Side Story. The stage manager for West Side Story then asked Kander to play the auditions for her next show, Gypsy. During the auditions, Kander met the choreographer, Jerome Robbins, who suggested that Kander compose the dance music for the show in 1959. After that experience, he wrote dance arrangements for Irma la Douce in 1960.
His first produced musical was A Family Affair, written with James and William Goldman. He met lyricist Fred Ebb in 1962 and began a songwriting collaboration that would last for more than four decades. Later that year rising star Barbra Streisand recorded two of the duo's songs, "My Coloring Book" and "I Don't Care Much." In 1965, Kander and Ebb landed their first show on Broadway, Flora the Red Menace, produced by Hal Prince, directed by George Abbott, and with book by George Abbott and Robert Russell,[disambiguation needed] in which Liza Minnelli made her initial Broadway appearance. Kander and Ebb have since been associated with writing material for both Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera, and have produced special material for their appearances live and on television.
The musicals Cabaret and Chicago have been made into films; the film version of Chicago won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Picture.
Kander, along with Ebb, also wrote songs for Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, and it was set to premiere in London, but the rights were pulled by Wilder's nephew. He also says that Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, the writers of The Fantasticks, wrote a musical of Wilder's Our Town and it took them thirteen years to write, only to have the rights pulled as well by the nephew.[3]
Kander's nephew, Jason Kander, is Missouri Secretary of State.
John Kander work[edit]
Lyrics by Fred Ebb unless otherwise noted
- Stage musicals
- A Family Affair (1962) - lyrics by William Goldman
- Flora the Red Menace (1965)
- Cabaret (1966)
- Go Fly a Kite (1966) - music and lyrics also by Walter Marks
- The Happy Time (1968)
- Zorba (1968)
- 70, Girls, 70 (1971)
- Chicago (1976)
- The Act (1978)
- Woman of the Year (1981)
- The Rink (1984)
- Diamonds (1984) - two songs: "Winter In New York" and "Diamonds Are Forever"
- And The World Goes 'Round (1991)
- Kiss of the Spider Woman (1992)
- Steel Pier (1997)
- Fosse (1999)
- Over and Over (1999) - working title: The Skin Of Our Teeth
- The Visit (2001)
- Curtains (2006) - additional lyrics by Rupert Holmes
- All About Us (2007 revision of Over and Over)
- The Scottsboro Boys (2010)
- Film
The duo also contributed songs for the following movies:
- Cabaret (1972) - 3 songs
- Funny Lady (1975) - 6 songs
- Lucky Lady (1976) - 2 songs
- A Matter of Time, aka Nina (1976) - 2 songs
- New York, New York (1977) - 4 songs
- French Postcards (1979) - 1 song
- Stepping Out (1991) - 1 song
- Chicago (2002) - 1 song
- Film scores
- Something for Everyone (1970)
- Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
- Still of the Night (1982)
- Blue Skies Again (1983)
- Places in the Heart (1984)
- An Early Frost (TV film, NBC, 1985)
- I Want to Go Home (1989)
- Billy Bathgate (1991)
- Breathing Lessons (TV film, CBS, 1994)
- The Boys Next Door (TV film, CBS, 1996)
- Television
- Liza! (1970)
- Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973) (Frank Sinatra)
- Liza with a Z (1972)
- Gypsy In My Soul (1976) (Shirley MacLaine)
- Baryshnikov on Broadway (1980)
- Liza In London (1986)
- Sam Found Out, A Triple Play (1988)
- Liza Minnelli, Live From Radio City Music Hall (1992)
Awards[edit]
- Tony Award (1967, for Cabaret)
- Tony Award (1981, for Woman Of The year)
- Tony Award (1993, for Kiss Of The Spiderwoman)
- Laurence Olivier Award (1998, for the London production of Chicago)
- Emmy Award (1973, for Liza With A Z)
- Emmy Award (1993, for Liza Minnelli Live! From Radio City Music Hall)
- Grammy Award (1967, for Cabaret, Original Cast Album)
- Grammy Award (1998, for Chicago, Musical Show Album)
The team also received numerous nominations, which include five more Tony Awards, two Academy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
In 1998, Kander and Ebb received the Kennedy Center Honors award for Lifetime Achievement.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ Kander biography filmreference.com, accessed February 16, 2009
- ^ John Kander in conversation with Frank J. Oteri, April 7, 2010 NewMusicBox
- ^ Cerasaro, Pat."InDepth InterView: John Kander" broadwayworld.com, November 2, 2010
- ^ List of Honorees kennedy-center.org, retrieved November 24, 2010
External links[edit]
- John Kander at the Internet Movie Database
- John Kander at the Internet Broadway Database
- John Kander at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Kander biography, allmusic.com
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