James Hammerstein James Hammerstein Hammerstein was the son of Oscar Hammerstein II, and his Australian-born second wife, Dorothy Kiaora Blanchard. He had four half-siblings, two through each of his parents' earlier marriages: William and Alice Hammerstein, and Henry and Susan Jacobson. The best known of these was Susan, whose husbands included Henry Fonda and Richard Widmark. Hammerstein attended George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where he met fellow student Stephen Sondheim. He began his Broadway career as a stage manager, notably for shows such as "South Pacific", "Me and Juliet", and "Flower Drum Song", all co-written by his father Oscar Hammerstein II and
Oscar Hammerstein II Hammerstein's musicals were named to the "Songs of the Century" list as compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Corporation: Hammerstein won two Oscars for best original song—in 1941 for "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in the film "Lady Be Good", and in 1945 for "It Might as Well Be Spring" in "State Fair." In 1950, the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York." Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards,