Harburg, E Y

Harburg, E(dgar) Y(ipsel)

 orig. Isidore Hochberg

(born April 8, 1896/98, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died March 5, 1981, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. lyricist, producer, and director. “Yip” Harburg attended The City College of New York with his friend Ira Gershwin. When his electrical-appliance business went bankrupt in 1929, he devoted himself to songwriting for Broadway, composing songs such as the Depression anthem “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (with Jay Gorney). From 1935 Harburg and Harold Arlen wrote songs for many films, notably The Wizard of Oz (1939). Blacklisted from films for his political views, Harburg returned to Broadway to write musicals, notably Finian's Rainbow (1947; with Burton Lane). Among his best-known songs are “April in Paris,” “It's Only a Paper Moon,” and “Over the Rainbow.”