The letters of Frank Loesser / edited by Dominic Broomfield-McHugh and Cliff Eisen

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Loesser, Frank, 1910-1969, author.

Contributor:

Broomfield-McHugh, Dominic, editor.

Eisen, Cliff, 1952- editor.

Standardized Title:

Correspondence. Selections

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Loesser, Frank, 1910-1969--Correspondence.

Loesser, Frank.

Jewish composers--United States--Correspondence.

Jewish composers.

Loesser, Frank, 1910-1969.

United States.

Genre:

personal correspondence.

Personal correspondence

Personal correspondence.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"The first collected correspondence of one of America’s greatest songwriters—revealing a fascinating life and lasting influence Frank Loesser was one of the most versatile and influential figures of the Golden Age of Broadway, most famous for Guys and Dolls. A Pulitzer Prize– and Academy Award–winning composer and lyricist, he was also a successful producer and businessman who maintained a wide and rich correspondence. From Richard Rodgers and Ira Gershwin to Sammy Davis Jr. and Marlon Brando, his milieu included the great creatives of the day. Dominic Broomfield-McHugh and Cliff Eisen draw together the best of Loesser’s letters to reveal the mind behind numerous hit musicals and a wealth of perennially popular songs. Clever, funny, and original, the letters shed light on Loesser’s creative process, his cultural Jewishness, and his keen business sense and relationship with the musical profession. This correspondence allows us dazzling new access to the world of Broadway at its height—and reveals the scale of Loesser’s influence to this day.; Dominic Broomfield-McHugh and Cliff Eisen draw together the best of Frank Loesser’s letters to reveal the mind behind Guys and Dolls and a wealth of perennially popular songs. Clever, funny, and original, this correspondence sheds light on Loesser’s creative process, his cultural Jewishness, and his keen business sense and relationship with the musical profession"-- De Gruyter Brill

Contents:

Early life to 1949 : (I am a good boy)

1950-53 : Guys and Dolls to Hans Christian Andersen

1953-54 : A new project, Adler and Ross, and running the business

1954-56 : Damn Yankees, the Guys and Dolls film and The Most Happy Fella

1956-58 : The Most Happy Fella and The Music Man

1958-60 : The Most Happy Fella in London and Greenwillow

1960-61 : Maintaining the business

1961-62 : How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

1961-64 : Loesser and Meredith Willson

1962-63 : Family, friends and business

1964-65 : Pleasures and Palaces, Anya and Señor Discretion Himself

1966-69 : The last years

Notes:

Includes bibliobraphical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed August 7, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Loesser, Frank, 1910-1969 Letters of Frank Loesser

ISBN:

9780300283143

0300283148

OCLC:

1568045433

Publisher Number:

CIPO000237901

CIPO000338790

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license