Jerry Bock
Encyclopedia
Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer
. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical
and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
with Sheldon Harnick
for their 1959 musical Fiorello!
and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof
with Harnick.
and raised in Flushing, Queens
, New York
, Bock studied the piano
as a child. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
, where he wrote the musical Big As Life, which toured the state and enjoyed a run in Chicago
. After graduation he spent three summers at the Tamiment Playhouse in the Poconos and wrote for early television
revues with lyricist Larry Holofcener.
debut in 1955 when he and Lawrence Holofcener
contributed songs to Catch a Star. The following year the duo collaborated on the musical Mr. Wonderful
, designed for Sammy Davis, Jr.
, after which they worked on Ziegfeld Follies of 1956, which closed out-of-town.
Shortly after, Bock met lyricist Sheldon Harnick
, with whom he forged a successful partnership. Although their first joint venture, The Body Beautiful
, failed to charm the critics, its score caught the attention of director George Abbott
and producer Hal Prince. They hired the team to compose a musical biography of former New York City
mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Fiorello!
(1959) went on to win them both the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
.
Bock's additional collaborations with Harnick include Tenderloin
(1960), Man in the Moon (1963), She Loves Me
(1963), Fiddler on the Roof
(1964), The Apple Tree
(1966), and The Rothschilds (1970), as well as contributions to Never Too Late (1962), Baker Street
(1965), Her First Roman
(1968), and The Madwoman of Central Park West
(1979). Bock wrote the music for the musical hit song "If I Were a Rich Man
".
Established in 1997, the Jerry Bock Award for Excellence in Musical Theater is an annual grant presented to the composer and lyricist of a project developed in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop
.
Bock spoke at the funeral of 98-year-old Fiddler playwright Joseph Stein
just 10 days before his own death, from heart failure at the age of 81.
Nominations
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Musical
This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack...
and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
with Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
for their 1959 musical Fiorello!
Fiorello!
Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock...
and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
with Harnick.
Biography
Born in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
and raised in Flushing, Queens
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Bock studied the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
as a child. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, where he wrote the musical Big As Life, which toured the state and enjoyed a run in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. After graduation he spent three summers at the Tamiment Playhouse in the Poconos and wrote for early television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
revues with lyricist Larry Holofcener.
Career
He made his BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in 1955 when he and Lawrence Holofcener
Lawrence Holofcener
Lawrence Holofcener is an American poet, lyricist, playwright, artist, novelist, actor, director and sculptor. He has dual British and American nationality.-Songwriter and musical writer:...
contributed songs to Catch a Star. The following year the duo collaborated on the musical Mr. Wonderful
Mr. Wonderful (musical)
Mr. Wonderful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, and music and lyrics by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, and George David Weiss....
, designed for Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
, after which they worked on Ziegfeld Follies of 1956, which closed out-of-town.
Shortly after, Bock met lyricist Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
, with whom he forged a successful partnership. Although their first joint venture, The Body Beautiful
The Body Beautiful
The Body Beautiful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The first collaboration by Harnick and Bock, and the only one to have a contemporary setting, its plot focuses on a wealthy Dartmouth College graduate who aspires to be...
, failed to charm the critics, its score caught the attention of director George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
and producer Hal Prince. They hired the team to compose a musical biography of former New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Fiorello!
Fiorello!
Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock...
(1959) went on to win them both the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
.
Bock's additional collaborations with Harnick include Tenderloin
Tenderloin (musical)
Tenderloin is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Jerome Weidman, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock, their follow-up to the highly successful Pulitzer Prize-winning Fiorello! a year earlier. The musical is based on a 1959 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams...
(1960), Man in the Moon (1963), She Loves Me
She Loves Me
She Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The musical is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the...
(1963), Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
(1964), The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree is a series of three musical playlets with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith...
(1966), and The Rothschilds (1970), as well as contributions to Never Too Late (1962), Baker Street
Baker Street (musical)
Baker Street is a musical with a book by Jerome Coopersmith and music and lyrics by Marian Grudeff and Raymond Jessel.Loosely based on the Sherlock Holmes story A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle, it is set in and around London in 1897, the year in which England celebrated the Diamond...
(1965), Her First Roman
Her First Roman
Her First Roman is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Ervin Drake, based on the 1898 George Bernard Shaw play Caesar and Cleopatra.-Original production:...
(1968), and The Madwoman of Central Park West
The Madwoman of Central Park West
The Madwoman of Central Park West is a semi-autobiographical one-woman musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and Phyllis Newman and songs by various composers and lyricists...
(1979). Bock wrote the music for the musical hit song "If I Were a Rich Man
If I Were a Rich Man (song)
"If I Were a Rich Man" is a song from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof. It was written by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. The song is performed by Tevye, the main character in the musical, and reflects his dreams of glory....
".
Established in 1997, the Jerry Bock Award for Excellence in Musical Theater is an annual grant presented to the composer and lyricist of a project developed in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop
BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop
The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is a workshop in New York for musical theatre composers, lyricists and librettists.-History:The BMI Workshop was founded in 1961 by Lehman Engel and the performing rights organization BMI ....
.
Bock spoke at the funeral of 98-year-old Fiddler playwright Joseph Stein
Joseph Stein
Joseph Stein was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as Fiddler on the Roof and Zorba.-Biography:...
just 10 days before his own death, from heart failure at the age of 81.
Awards and nominations
Awards- 1960 Tony Award for Best Musical – Fiorello!
- 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – Fiorello!
- 1965 Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist – Fiddler on the Roof
- 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical – Fiddler on the Roof
Nominations
- 1964 Tony Award for Best Musical – She Loves Me
- 1967 Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist – The Apple Tree
- 1967 Tony Award for Best Musical – The Apple Tree
- 1971 Tony Award for Best Original Score – The Rothschilds