Bert Kalmar
b. 10 February 1884, New York City, New York, USA, d. 18 September 1947. Ill-educated and a runaway before he was in his teens, Kalmar's life was completely immersed in showbusiness. In the years before World War I he wrote lyrics for a number of songs with various composers, among them Harry Ruby. For the next few years each wrote with other collaborators, but by the beginning of the '20s they recognized the special qualities of their work together. Throughout the '20s they wrote for Broadway musicals such as LADIES FIRST, BROADWAY BREVITIES OF 1920, Ziegfeld FolliesOF 1920, MIDNIGHT ROUNDERS OF 1921, Greenwich Village FolliesOF 1922, HELEN OF TROY-NEW YORK, PUZZLES OF 1925, THE RAMBLERS, FIVE O'CLOCK GIRL, LUCKY, GOOD BOY, and ANIMAL CRACKERS. The latter score was written for the Marx Brothers, and contained songs such as Who's Been Listening To My Heart?, Watching The Clouds Roll By, and Hooray For Captain Spaulding. Other songs from those shows included Oh! What A Pal Was Mary, So Long, Oo-long, Who's Sorry Now?, Thinking Of You, The Same Old Moon, Dancing The Devil Away, Some Sweet Someone, and I Wanna Be Loved By You. By the '30s Kalmar and Ruby were writing songs for films and one of their first, and the song by which they are best remembered, was Three Little Words (from CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK). It became the title of the songwriters’ 1950 film biography when they were played by Fred Astaire and Red Skelton. Their other film work included THE CUCKOOS, HORSE FEATHERS, The Kid From Spain, HIPS HIPS HOORAY, KENTUCKY KERNELS, THANKS A MILLION, aand The Story Of Vernon And Irene Castle. They contained numbers such as I Love You So Much, What A Perfect Combination, Only When You're In My Arms, and Keep Romance Alive. Most of their songs were written for either stage or screen but among their great successes were Nevertheless and A Kiss To Build A Dream On—written for neither medium. (This last song did not become popular until the '50s after some rewriting by Oscar Hammerstein II.)