Posted on 11/23/2006 4:07:15 PM PST by Borges
Betty Comden, who with her longtime collaborator Adolph Green wrote the lyrics and often the librettos for some of the most celebrated musicals of stage and screen, died today at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. She was 89 and lived in Manhattan.
The cause was heart failure, said Ronald Konecky, her lawyer and the executor of her estate.
During a professional partnership that lasted for more than 60 years, and which finally ended with Mr. Greens death in 2002, the Comden-Green blend of sophisticated wit and musical know-how lit up stage shows like On the Town, Wonderful Town, Peter Pan and Bells Are Ringing. Their Hollywood credits included the screenplays for two landmark film musicals, Singin in the Rain and The Band Wagon.
Through the years, they worked with composers like Leonard Bernstein, Cy Coleman, Jule Styne and André Previn, creating songs like New York, New York, The Partys Over, Its Love and Some Other Time. They were adept at making their lyrics fit the mood, whether it was rueful (Lonely Town), raucous (100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man) or romantic (Just in Time).
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
They don't make musicals like that anymore. That's okay, they were made and we still have them.
Comden and Green - what a team! RIP, Betty. Thanks so much for all of the amazing shows.
Another old timer. May she rest in peace.
---Comden, Green & Charlap, 1952
Talent, modesty and graciousness.
Too true. Betty Comden and the rest have left behind a great legacy. They can be proud.
Betty Comden and Adolph Green
RUTH:
What do you think of our double malts...family vaults...epsom salts
Wouldn't you guys like to learn the waltz?
Nah, you just wanna...
BOTH:
Conga!
Well with Altman and that French actress dying this makes 3 celebrities that have died within the past few days.
Another legend of the music world died this morning - Anita O'Day - at age 87:
http://www.anitaoday.com/
Thanks for that! The only way I knew about Comden and Green was from the 'Peter Pan' songbook. I used to sing those songs to my son when he was small. They are beautiful and heartfelt!!
In a BBC Radio interview just before his death in the Seventies, Cyril Ritchard said that Captain Hook was his favorite role in a lifetime spent in the theater. No other role offered him the chance to chew the scenery the way that show did.
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