Getting to Know Him: A Biography of Oscar Hammerstein II

I would never have expected to make the acquaintance of Oscar Hammerstein II, "Ockie" as I would now call him, until this wonderful book made it possible. You get to meet his grandfather, father, mother, and his whole family , including his protegé Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the moving introduction. It provided many enchanted evenings of reading and made me get out all my Rogers and Hammerstein (and Kern/ Hammerstein, Bizet/Hammerstein) LPs and play them with new appreciation and fondness. The book is written in a simple, honest style with prodigious detail. I was sorry to finish it, would have preferred that R & H would keep on having hit after hit. I enjoyed the many interesting and humorous anecdotes, for instance the one about the young Mary Martin auditioning for Oscar without knowing who he was, singing one of his songs and telling him he probably wouldn't recognize it. He replied simply, "I wrote it. I learned a lot about the American Musical theatre and its actors and actresses , and about the business of show business. Oscar Hammerstein's life is a great success story and this biography successfully describes it.

This is one of the better books about Oscar Hammerstein, that luckily enough, is now back in print. Hugh Fordin writes a wonderful book that looks at the personal and the professional side of America's pre-eminent lyricist. While fans of Richard Rodgers may be more inclined to enjoy the cynical wit of Larry Hart's lyrics, after reading this book, you can't help but be made into a Hammerstein convert. Here's a man with a sunny disposition, who believed in happy endings, and the best in people. One of the most telling stories Fordin recounts is how Hammerstein wrote "The Last Time I Saw Paris" (a pre-Rodgers song) because he was devastated by the fall of France in 1940. He would later point to that as the worst day of his life... not finding out his first wife had been cheating on him. That's the sort of guy Oscar Hammerstein comes across as in this book. You'll also explore his early high-water mark of "Show Boat" and its important role in American Theater, followed by his pre-Rodgers drought. If you read this book, you'll be glad you've Gotten to Know Him.

A wonderful, warm, authoritative biogrphaphy. It is obvious the Hammerstein family cooperatied fully with the author. The author is meticulous in his research. I advise next reading the autobiography of Richard Rodgers, and then reading the suburb biography of Stephen Soundheim, to whit, "Stephen Sondheim : A Life" by Meryle Secrest. Ockie was a great man...a man who never in his life visited a whore house and yet tried to write lyrics for a musical that was about a prostitute (i.e., the unsuccessful musical "PipeDream"). It fascinating how this book reprints some of the correspondance where John Steinbeck argues, in vein, for Oscar to stop sanitizing PipeDream to the point where the audience never knew the woman character was a lady of the evening. The book tells the story of every musical Hamerstein wrote lyrics for. I found myself buying CD cast albums as I encountered the story of each in the biography. The book is interesting and never boring, not even once.

This is one of the best theatrical biographies I've ever read. Hugh Fordin does a wonderful job of bringing Hammerstein, his family, and his times to life. Imagine a life that begins with Oscar's legendary grandfather, includes Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers, then ends with Oscar's befriending young Stephen Sondheim. It's the history of the 20th Century American theatre reflected in one amazing lifetime. Every page is rich with interesting detail. Its one thing for a biographer to get all the research right (which Fordin certainly has); what's even more important is getting to know something the soul of the subject. This is that kind of book. I've re-read it with delight several times, and I could not recommend it more highly.

This is one of the best biographies I have read. The author had full access to the files of Oscar Hammerstein. I was just as fascinated with the life of his grandfather and his father, this is a true theatrical dynasty. Oscar Hammerstein really believed there was a bright golden haze on the meadow and after reading this book I'm inclined to agree.