Who is Oscar Hammerstein?
Oscar Hammerstein II was an American playwright and songwriter who worked predominantly on musicals. He was born in New York in 1885, and died in 1960 at the age of 65. Over the course of his life he won a Pulitzer Prize and two Oscar awards, making him the only person named Oscar to ever win an Oscar. Oscar Hammerstein the younger’s father was an important man in the theatre, and from a young age little Oscar was surrounded by the world of theatre. His grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein I, was one of the great innovators in vaudeville, most noted for having invented the pie-in-the-face gag. William Hammerstein, young Oscar’s father, managed the Victoria Theatre for his father, and wanted Oscar to get out of the family business. An obedient son, Oscar Hammerstein followed his father’s wishes and attended Columbia University to study law. When his father died in 1914, however, he felt freed to pursue a life in the theatre, and began taking part in local plays. He eventually quit law school
