Kalmar and Ruby
Encyclopedia
Kalmar and Ruby refers to the famous songwriting team of the first half of the 20th century of Bert Kalmar
and Harry Ruby
.
lyricist
. Born in New York, New York, Kalmar ran away from home at the age of 10 to become a magician at a tent show, and retained an interest in magic all his life. He never got much of an education, but decided to make a career in show business. He earned enough money as a vaudeville
performer to start a music publishing company called, Kalmar and Puck.
. Ruby failed in his early ambition of becoming a professional baseball
player. Touring the vaudeville
circuit as a pianist
with the Bootblack Trio and the Messenger Boys Trio he met his long-time partner Bert Kalmar
.
. Before World War I
he had begun to write lyrics for a number of different composers. One of them, Ruby, who had also had a number of collaborators, saw a strong compatibility between the two, and by 1920
, Kalmar and Ruby recognized that they should form a permanent songwriting team. They also wrote comedy for stage and screen for Wheeler & Woolsey
, Eddie Cantor
and the Marx Brothers
.
Together, Kalmar and Ruby formed a successful team until Kalmar's death in 1947. This partnership is portrayed in the 1950 MGM musical Three Little Words
starring Fred Astaire
and Red Skelton
.
Bert Kalmar
Bert Kalmar was a Jewish American lyricist.He was born in New York, New York. He ran away from home at the age of 10 to become a magician at a tent show, and retained an interest in magic all his life. He never got much of an education, but decided to make a career in show business...
and Harry Ruby
Harry Ruby
Harry Ruby was a Jewish American songwriter and screenwriter.After failing in his early ambition to become a professional baseball player,...
.
Bert Kalmar
Bert Kalmar was born on February 10, 1884 and died on September 18, 1947. He was an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
. Born in New York, New York, Kalmar ran away from home at the age of 10 to become a magician at a tent show, and retained an interest in magic all his life. He never got much of an education, but decided to make a career in show business. He earned enough money as a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer to start a music publishing company called, Kalmar and Puck.
Harry Ruby
Harry Ruby was born on October 29, 1895 and died on February 23, 1974. Like Kalmar, Ruby was also born in New YorkNew 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...
. Ruby failed in his early ambition of becoming a professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player. Touring the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit as a pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
with the Bootblack Trio and the Messenger Boys Trio he met his long-time partner Bert Kalmar
Bert Kalmar
Bert Kalmar was a Jewish American lyricist.He was born in New York, New York. He ran away from home at the age of 10 to become a magician at a tent show, and retained an interest in magic all his life. He never got much of an education, but decided to make a career in show business...
.
The Partnership
Kalmar hired Ruby as a "song plugger", and as a result of a knee injury that stopped him from dancing professionally, turned to writing songs full-time. Ruby, who had gotten a job at the firm of Waterson, Berlin and Snyder, got Kalmar a job at the same firm writing song lyricsLyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
. Before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he had begun to write lyrics for a number of different composers. One of them, Ruby, who had also had a number of collaborators, saw a strong compatibility between the two, and by 1920
1920 in music
-Events:*January 19 - The Salzburg Festival is revived.*December 4 - Première of the opera Die tote Stadt by 23-year-old Erich Wolfgang Korngold...
, Kalmar and Ruby recognized that they should form a permanent songwriting team. They also wrote comedy for stage and screen for Wheeler & Woolsey
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....
, Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
and the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
.
Together, Kalmar and Ruby formed a successful team until Kalmar's death in 1947. This partnership is portrayed in the 1950 MGM musical Three Little Words
Three Little Words (film)
Three Little Words is a 1950 American musical film biography of the Tin Pan Alley songwriting partnership of Kalmar and Ruby and stars Fred Astaire as lyricist Bert Kalmar, Red Skelton as composer Harry Ruby, along with Vera-Ellen and Arlene Dahl as their wives, with Debbie Reynolds in a small but...
starring Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
.
Film credits
- Animal CrackersAnimal Crackers (film)Animal Crackers is a 1930 American comedy film, in which mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding. The film was both a critical and commercial success upon initial release, and remains one of the Marx...
(1930) - Check and Double CheckCheck and Double CheckCheck and Double Check is a 1930 comedy film made and released by RKO Pictures based on the then-popular Amos 'n' Andy radio show. The title was derived from a catchphrase associated with the show.-Production:...
(1930) - Horse FeathersHorse FeathersHorse Feathers is a Marx Brothers film comedy. It stars the four Marx Brothers and Thelma Todd. It was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, and Will B. Johnstone. Kalmar and Ruby also wrote some of the original music for the film...
(1932) - The Kid from SpainThe Kid from SpainThe Kid from Spain is a 1932 comedy film directed by Leo McCarey starring Eddie Cantor involving bullfighting. Songs were composed by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar. Noteworthy are the musical scenes, directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley....
(1932) - Duck Soup (1933)
- Hips Hips Hooray (1934)
- Kentucky Kernels (1935)
- Bright Lights (1935)
- Walking on Air (1936)