Parisian Women - Music

He Was Born Seymour Kaufman On June 14 1929 In New York City To Eastern European Jewish Parents And Was Raised In The Bronx. His Mother Ida Née Prizent Was An Apartment Landlady And His Father Was A Brickmason. He Was A Child Prodigy Who Gave Piano Recitals At Steinway Hall Town Hall And Carnegie Hall Between The Ages Of Six And Nine. Before Beginning His Fabled Broadway Career He Led The Cy Coleman Trio Which Made Many Recordings And Was A Much-In-Demand Club Attraction. Despite The Early Classical And Jazz Success He Decided To Build A Career In Popular Music. His First Collaborator Was Joseph Allen McCarthy Together They Wrote A Song Called The Riviera But His Most Successful Early Partnership Albeit A Turbulent One Was With Carolyn Leigh. The Pair Wrote Many Pop Hits Including Witchcraft And The Best Is Yet To Come. One Of His Instrumentals "Playboy's Theme " Became The Signature Music Of The Regular TV Shows And Specials Presented By Playboy And Remains Synonymous With The Magazine And Its Creator Hugh Hefner. Coleman's Winning Streak As A Broadway Composer Began When The Team Collaborated On Wildcat 1960 Which Marked The Broadway Debut Of Comedienne Lucille Ball. The Score Included The Hit Tune "Hey Look Me Over". When Ball Was Unable To Cope With The Rigors Of Eight Performances A Week She Left The Cast And The Show Soon Folded. Up Next For The Two Was Little Me With A Book By Neil Simon Based On The Novel By Patrick Dennis Auntie Mame . The Show Introduced Real Live Girl And I've Got Your Number Which Became Popular Standards. In 1964 Coleman Met Dorothy Fields At A Party And When He Asked If She Would Like To Collaborate With Him She Is Reported To Have Answered "Thank God Somebody Asked". Fields Was Revitalised By Working With The Much Younger Coleman And By The Contemporary Nature Of Their First Project Which Was To Become Sweet Charity Again With A Book By Simon And Starring Gwen Verdon And Introducing The Songs If They Could See Me Now I'm A Brass Band And Hey Big Spender. The Show Was A Major Success And Coleman Found Working With Fields Much Easier Than With Leigh. The Partnership Was To Work On Two More Shows – An Aborted Project About Eleanor Roosevelt And Seesaw Which Reached Broadway In 1973 After A Troubled Out-Of-Town Tour. Despite Mixed Reviews The Show Enjoyed A Healthy Run. The Partnership Was Cut Short By Fields' Death In 1974. Coleman Remained Prolific In The Late 1970s. He Collaborated On I Love My Wife 1977 With Michael Stewart On The Twentieth Century 1978 With Betty Comden And Adolph Green And Home Again Home Again With Barbara Fried Although The Latter Never Reached Broadway. In 1980 Coleman Served As Producer And Composer For The Circus-Themed Barnum Which Introduced Theatergoers To Jim Dale And Glenn Close. Later In The Decade He Collaborated On Welcome To The Club 1988 With A.E. Hotchner And City Of Angels 1989 With David Zippel. In The Latter Inspired By The Hard-Boiled Detective Film Noir Of The 1930s And '40s He Returned To His Jazz Roots And The Show Was A Huge Critical And Commercial Success. The 1990s Brought More New Coleman Musicals To Broadway The Will Rogers Follies 1991 Again With Comden And Green The Life 1997 A Gritty Look At Pimps Prostitutes And Assorted Other Lowlife In The Big City With Ira Gasman And A Revised Production Of Little Me. Coleman's Film Scores Include Father Goose The Standard Pass Me By The Art Of Love Garbo Talks Power And Family Business. In Addition He Wrote Shirley MacLaine's Memorable Television Specials If My Friends Could See Me Now And Gypsy In My Soul. Coleman Has Been The Only Composer To Win Consecutive Tony Awards For Best Score At The Same Time That The Corresponding Musicals Won For Best Musical City Of Angels And Will Rogers' Follies. Coleman Was On The ASCAP Board Of Directors For Many Years And Also Served As Their Vice Chairman Writer. read less