George Gershwin

Jacob Gershowitz was born on 26 September 1898 in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. As a child, he was able to play popular and classical pieces on his brother Ira's piano by ear. In 1913, he left school to study music and began composing for Tin Pan Alley; by 1919, he had his first hit, "Swanee," and his first Broadway show, "La, La, Lucille." In less than three weeks in 1924, he composed "Rhapsody in Blue," originally written for Paul Whiteman's relatively small swing band and later orchestrated by Ferde Grofé. The following year, he composed "Concerto in F," and in 1926, his musical success "Oh, Kay!" (which featured "Someone to Watch Over Me"). His success continued with "Funny Face" (1927), the tone poem "American in Paris" (1928), "Girl Crazy" (1929), "Of Thee I Sing" (1931, the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize), and "Porgy and Bess" (1935), considered the first true American opera. He moved to Hollywood, where his songs were performed by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In 1937, he fell in love with Paulette Goddard, who was then married to Charlie Chaplin. He was heartbroken when she refused to leave her husband for him. That June, when he fell ill, it was attributed to stress. A month later, he died of a brain tumor, five hours after a failed surgical attempt to remove it. Funerals were held in both Hollywood and New York.