Research Catalog

Title

[Interview with Al Hirschfeld : raw footage] [2002-02-11] [videorecording] / [directed by Michael Kantor]

Publication

New York, 2002.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Hirschfeld, Al
• Kantor, Michael, 1961-
• Squires, Buddy
• Broadway Film Project, Inc, donor.
• Thirteen/WNET, donor.

Description

2 videocassettes (VHS) (51 min.) : sd., col. SP; 1/2 in.

Summary

Raw interview footage used for the documentary Broadway, the American musical. Caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, known for his satirical, black and white line portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars, speaks about his experiences in the theater. Hirschfeld discusses the hit musical My fair lady; the Depression era anthem by E. Y. (Yip) Harburg "Brother, can you spare a dime?"'; the Great Depression, during which he sojourned in Bali for a year; burlesque and Vaudeville era comics like Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough, and the differences between the styles of these performers and present day actors; the songwriting team George and Ira Gershwin, creators of Girl crazy and the political satire Of thee I sing; the singing of Broadway siren Ethel Merman; blues singer Ethel Waters; the breakthrough musical Pins and needles by Harold Rome; the prevalence of left leaning politics among his peers during the 1930s; the shows of the 1920s in comparison with the '30s; the show Pal Joey; tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and comic actor Bert Lahr, both of whom he saw perform; the lyrics of Cole Porter; Oscar Hammerstein II, and his profound influence on the theater; showing Hammerstein his films from Siam which Hammerstein used as research for The king and I; his views on the musical Hair; the shows being produced in the musical theater currently; the show The producers; opening nights at the theater during the 1930s; his portraits of Ray Bolger and Carol Channing, and his subjects' reactions; going out of town to draw theatrical caricatures; performer Zero Mostel, an aspiring painter who played the lead role of Tevya in Fiddler on the roof; composer Harold Rome's discovery of Barbra Streisand while conducting auditions for I can get it for you wholesale; comedian Bert Lahr, and the training opportunities for comedians available in Lahr's time in comparison with today; his bewilderment at the success of the musical Cats; popular comedian Bert Williams, the preeminent Black entertainer of his time and and Al Jolson, both of whom performed in blackface makeup, and whose performances he saw; Shuffle along, one of the first African American hit musicals on Broadway; visiting Harlem speakeasies during the 1920s to hear jazz, and the corruption he witnessed and the behavior of gangsters whom he encountered; theatrical showman Billy Rose.

Alternative Title

• Broadway, the American musical
• Broadway film project : Hirschfeld
• Broadway film project : Hirschfeld Robbins

Subject

• Hirschfeld, Al > Interviews
• Williams, Bert, 1874-1922
• Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949
• Lahr, Bert, 1895-1967
• Clark, Bobby, 1888-1960
• McCullough, Paul, -1936
• Mostel, Zero, 1915-1977
• Theater > New York (State) > New York
• Musical theater > New York (State) > New York
• Musical theater > Production and direction
• Comedians
• African American comedians
• Vaudeville
• Burlesque (Theater)
• Depressions > 1929 > United States
• Theater and society
• Cartoonists > Interviews
• Broadway (New York, N.Y.)

Genre/Form

• Documentaries and factual works.
• Musicals.
• Unedited footage.

Note

• The first interview conducted with Al Hirschfeld for this documentary is available on NCOX 2149.
• This interview is one of a group of interviews with 90 individuals used in making the documentary Broadway, the American musical. The completed production is available on NCOX 2058.
• Credits for completed production from pbs.org: A film by Michael Kantor ; produced by Jeff Dupre, Michael Kantor and Sally Rosenthal ; written by Marc Fields, Michael Kantor, Laurence Maslon, and JoAnne Young ; directed by Michael Kantor.
• Time code on frame.
• Contains various takes, at occasional brief intervals, audio continues without sound.

Credits (note)

• Cameraman: Buddy Squires.

Performer (note)

• Interviewer: Michael Kantor. Interviewee: Al Hirschfeld.

Event (note)

• Videotaped at Al Hirschfeld's residence in New York, N.Y. on February 11, 2002.

Biography (note)

• Broadway, the American musical, which aired on PBS in October 2004, is a documentary chronicling the entire history of a unique American art form, the Broadway musical. Each of its six episodes covers a different era in American theater history, and features the Broadway shows and songs which defined the period. The series draws on feature films, television broadcasts, archival news footage, original cast recordings, still photos, diaries, journals, first-person accounts, and on-camera interviews with many of the principals involved in the development of the genre.

Call Number

NCOX 2128

OCLC

123505456

Title

[Interview with Al Hirschfeld : raw footage] [2002-02-11] [videorecording] / [directed by Michael Kantor]

Imprint

New York, 2002.

Credits

Cameraman: Buddy Squires.

Performer

Interviewer: Michael Kantor. Interviewee: Al Hirschfeld.

Event

Videotaped at Al Hirschfeld's residence in New York, N.Y. on February 11, 2002.

Biography

Broadway, the American musical, which aired on PBS in October 2004, is a documentary chronicling the entire history of a unique American art form, the Broadway musical. Each of its six episodes covers a different era in American theater history, and features the Broadway shows and songs which defined the period. The series draws on feature films, television broadcasts, archival news footage, original cast recordings, still photos, diaries, journals, first-person accounts, and on-camera interviews with many of the principals involved in the development of the genre.

Local Note

Gift of Broadway Film Project, Inc. and Thirteen/WNET, 2005.

Connect to:

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Added Author

Hirschfeld, Al, interviewee.

Kantor, Michael, 1961- interviewer.

Kantor, Michael, 1961- director.

Squires, Buddy, cameraman.

Broadway Film Project, Inc, donor.

Thirteen/WNET, donor.

Research Call Number

NCOX 2128