Harry Von Tilzer

Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer.<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref>

Early life

Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah (Tilzer) and Jacob Gumbinsky, were Polish Jewish immigrants.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Harry ran away and joined a traveling circus at age 14, where he adopted his mother's maiden name as his own, seeking to make it sound even classier by tacking on a "Von."<ref name="Larkin"/> So impressive seemed the transformation that eventually all his brothers changed their last name to match his.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

File:Harry Von Tilzer 1910.jpg

Von Tilzer, Template:Circa

Harry proved successful playing piano and calliope and writing new tunes and incidental music for shows. He continued doing this for burlesque and vaudeville shows for some years, writing many tunes which were not published or which he sold to entertainers for one or two dollars. In 1898, he sold his song "My Old New Hampshire Home"<ref name="Larkin"/> to a publisher for $15, and watched it become a national hit, selling over two million copies of the sheet music. This prompted him to become a professional songwriter.

He was made a partner of the Shapiro Bernstein Publishing Company.<ref name="Larkin"/> His 1900 number "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" became one of the biggest hits of the time.<ref name="Larkin"/> Von Tilzer became one of the best-known Tin Pan Alley songwriters. In 1902, Von Tilzer formed his own publishing company, where he was soon joined by his younger brother Albert Von Tilzer.<ref name="Larkin"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1914, Von Tilzer was a charter member of the performing rights society, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Harry Von Tilzer's hits included "A Bird in a Gilded Cage," "The Cubanola Glide," "Wait 'Til The Sun Shines Nellie," "Old King Tut," "All Alone," "Mariutch," "The Ragtime Goblin Man," "I Love My Wife, But Oh You Kid!" "They Always Pick On Me," "I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (with lyrics by William Dillon), "And The Green Grass Grew All Around," "On the Old Fall River Line," "Under the Anheuser Bush," and many others.<ref name="Larkin"/>

Death

He died in New York City on January 10, 1946.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lawrence Welk's Teleklew Productions acquired Harry Von Tilzer Music in 1957.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Work on Broadway

• The Fisher Maiden (1903) – opera – composer
• The Man From Now (1906) – musical – featured composer
• The Dairymaids (1907) – musical – featured songwriter
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1910 (1910) – revue – featured composer for "I'll Get You Yet"
• Doctor Jazz (1975) – musical – featured songwriter for "I Love It"
• Tintypes (1980) – revue – featured songwriter

External links

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• Sheet music for his song "Under the Anheuser Bush" from the collection of the San Francisco Public Library
• Harry Von Tilzer songs at Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project – Enter Harry Von Tilzer in Keyword Search window.
• Harry Von Tilzer recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
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