Ira Gershwin

Songwriter Ira Gershwin forged his reputation through repeated partnerships with his sibling George Gershwin, supplying lyrics for the stage successes Porgy and Bess, Ziegfeld Follies and Lady Be Good. Their numbers later entered the repertoires of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Chet Baker.

The elder brother, born in New York, first revealed his gifts for writing and drawing while contributing a column to his high-school newspaper. He briefly enrolled at the City College of New York, then left to concentrate on a literary career. In 1917 he placed his initial magazine piece and simultaneously began reviewing vaudeville productions. The following year marked the start of his enduring professional alliance with George.

Aware that his younger brother already commanded attention on Broadway, Ira adopted the pen name Arthur Francis. His first Broadway credit arrived in 1921 with the Vincent Youmans musical Two Little Girls In Blue. Three years later sustained theatrical triumphs allowed him to abandon the alias.

Thereafter the brothers supplied such enduring numbers as “The Man I Love,” “‘S Wonderful” and “Of Thee I Sing,” along with complete scores for Porgy and Bess, An American in Paris, The Country Girl and The North Star. Ira remained content for George to occupy center stage. After George’s death in 1937 Ira withdrew from songwriting, yet resumed activity in 1941.

That year he collaborated with Kurt Weill on Lady in the Dark and subsequently worked with Jerome Kern and Harold Arlen. A 1959 collection, Lyrics on Several Occasions, gathered his verses; he withdrew from professional work the next year after more than thirty years in the field.

Three Academy Award nominations recognized his craft: in 1938 for “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” from Shall We Dance?, in 1945 for “Long Ago and Far Away” from Cover Girl and in 1955 for “The Man That Got Away” from A Star Is Born. His contributions to the Broadway catalog continue to be performed, even though he consistently yielded the spotlight to his brother. Ira Gershwin died in Beverly Hills in 1983 and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 4 June 1998.