Talk:Lorenz Hart

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[edit] Proposed Marriage to Vivienne Segal

Vivienne Segal once told me that Hart proposed marriage to him, and that she refused. 68.4.25.202 06:10, 23 July 2007 (UTC)John D.

the two wrote songs for a series of amateur and student productions until the smashing success of their score

'smashing success' doesn't sound encyclopaedia-like.

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.

The great American songbook? Is this an actual songbook or is the author being POV?

Hart struggled with his own homosexuality (in an era when such a lifestyle was socially unacceptable) and with severe alcoholism, which eventually contibuted to his death.

"Struggled with his own homosexuality" without any further information makes this seem more like a fansite trivia page than an encyclopaedia entry. "when such a lifestyle was socially unacceptable" helpfully uses the 'l' word - "when homosexuality was considered taboo" seems somewhat fairer. "severe alcholism" - what seperates severe from non-severe? In addition, various places indicate Hart died of pneumonia; if it is alcohol-related perhaps that could be expanded on. I'm assuming you weren't suggesting that homosexuality contributed to his death. (the above contribution is unsigned)

I notice that severe has since been removed. I agree that the passage in question still needs work, but I am unable to do much about it at the moment. Rodgers's autobiography doesn't mention Hart's homosexuality at all. Rodgers remarks repeatedly about Hart's drinking, and he also remarks about Hart's late-night carousing and fist-fighting but suggests he didn't ever know the particulars, that Hart's private life was a mystery to him. Alan Jay Lerner's autobiography says that Lerner befriended Hart toward the end of Hart's life, and surmises that Hart was forced to turn toward men for sexual gratification because his height and looks made women unavailable to him, which hardly seems a plausible explanation to me. In short, I don't know how Hart felt about his sexuality, how it may have affected his modus vivendi, or whether it is even worth bringing up in the article at all. TheScotch 06:50, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

I've skimmed Nolan's biography, which is to say, I looked for those sections that had to do with Hart's adult private life and read through the ones I found carefully. I still don't know how Hart felt about his sexuality, and now I gather that no one else does either. TheScotch 20:03, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mother

I have a bone to pick with the phrase "Strange relationship with his mother." I can't think of an alternative but I'm not sure what this means.--Tomstoner 15:31, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] No sourcing

I've placed on "unsourced" tag on this article. Though apparently accurate it does not cite a single source. Larry Hart was a fine composer and deserving of a properly sourced article that is significantly larger than it is at present. There are zillions of biographies on him. I happen to own one and will try to put in sources. I hope others chip in.--Silverscreen 23:05, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Um...Hart was not a "composer" at all; he was a lyricist. TheScotch 10:59, 22 September 2007 (UTC)