Oscar Hammerstein II

Oscar Hammerstein II and his partner Richard Rodgers were behind some of the most beloved Broadway and film musicals of all time including The King and I, South Pacific, Oklahoma and The Sound of Music. Before using the influence of his uncle, noted Broadway producer Arthur Hammerstein, to break into theater, young Hammerstein worked as a lawyer for a year. He went on to write librettos and lyrics alone or in conjunction with such luminaries as Jerome Kern and George Gershwin and then teamed up with Rodgers in the early 1940s. Some of his earliest musicals include Rose Marie, Sunny and Show Boat, all of which also became films. He has earned Oscars for his songs "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from Lady Be Good (1941) and " It Might as Well Be Spring" from State Fair (1945). In 1953, he and Rodgers made cameo appearances in Main Street to Broadway.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide