Sheldon Harnick was a lyricist best known for his Broadway collaborations with composer Jerry Bock (1928–2010), including the hit musicals “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Fiorello!”
- Died: June 23, 2023 (Who else died on June 23?)
- Details of death: Died of natural causes at his home in New York City at the age of 99.
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Sheldon Harnick’s legacy
Early in his career, Harnick wrote music as well as lyrics, but he quickly settled into a comfortable partnership with Bock as the composer. Together, they turned out popular and award-winning musicals. Their first, 1958’s “The Body Beautiful,” was not a success, but it caught the right eyes. Director George Abbott (1887–1995) and producer Hal Prince (1928–2019) brought Harnick and Bock in to write the music for their new production, 1959’s “Fiorello!” Focusing on the influential New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the musical was a hit, winning Harnick and Bock a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize.
The team followed the success of “Fiorello!” with “Tenderloin” and “She Loves Me,” the latter of which was only a moderate success but went on to become a cult classic. Then came their most beloved and enduring hit. “Fiddler on the Roof” was first staged in 1964 with Zero Mostel (1915–1977) as the lead character Tevye and later featured Topol (1935–2023) in that role. It won Harnick and Bock two more Tony Awards and yielded several songs that became standards, including “If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset.” It set a record for the longest-running Broadway musical until “Grease” surpassed it 10 years later.
Harnick and Bock would only work on a handful of other musicals after “Fiddler on the Roof,” falling out over an issue with their final show, “The Rothschilds.” Harnick continued to write lyrics, working with such composers as Richard Rodgers (1902–1979), Mary Rodgers (1931–2014), and Michel Legrand (1932–2019). His later productions included “A Wonderful Life,” an adaptation of the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and an operatic adaptation of the children’s book “The Phantom Tollbooth.”
Notable quote
“I’d build a big, tall house with rooms by the dozen
Right in the middle of the town
A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below
There would be one long staircase just going up
And one even longer coming down
And one more leading nowhere, just for show.” —from “If I Were a Rich Man”
Tributes to Sheldon Harnick
Full obituary: The New York Times
