Lorenz Hart

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Lorenz Hart (right) with Richard Rodgers (1936)

Lorenz "Larry" Hart (May 2, 1895 - November 22, 1943) was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. His most memorable lyrics include, "Blue Moon", "Isn't It Romantic?", "The Lady is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered", and "My Funny Valentine".

Hart was born in Harlem to Jewish immigrant parents. He attended Columbia University, where a friend introduced him to Rodgers, and the two joined forces to write songs for a series of amateur and student productions. In 1919, the team's song "Any Old Place With You" was included in the Broadway musical comedy A Lonely Romeo. The smashing success of their score for the 1925 Theatre Guild production, The Garrick Gaieties, brought them great acclaim. They continued working together until Hart's death in 1943, along the way producing scores for a series of hit shows and making a substantial contribution to the Great American Songbook.

Hart struggled with both homosexuality, in an era when such a lifestyle was socially unacceptable, and alcoholism, which contributed to his death. His concerns with sexuality and repressed emotions were often reflected in his songs and the ways they are referenced in popular culture. "My Funny Valentine" was featured in the film The Talented Mr Ripley, and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" was heard in The History Boys, both songs used in dramatically similar scenes in which one male character expresses his unrequited love for the other (straight) man by singing to him.

Hart also suffered great emotional turmoil toward the end of his life. His personal problems were often the cause of friction between him and Rodgers, and in fact led to a brief breakup in 1943, at which time Rodgers started working with Oscar Hammerstein II, who was actually a school friend of Hart.

Rodgers and Hart teamed up one final time in the fall of 1943 for a revival of A Connecticut Yankee. Five days after this show opened, Hart died of pneumonia from exposure. He is believed to have died alone. He is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Queens County, New York.