Willie Hammerstein Nimmo. He never took part in Broadway night life, and he did not want his two sons to get involved in theater. However, Oscar Hammerstein II became famous as a lyricist and musical comedy writer. Willie Hammerstein suffered from a disease of the kidneys, and died in New York on 10 June 1914. He was aged 38. He had made the Victoria his own. His brother, Arthur, took over management but was unable to recapture the spirit. The theater soon had to be closed. The Victoria Theatre was pulled down two years after Willie Hammerstein died, and the Rialto was
Oscar Hammerstein II off for one minute, and London's West End lights were dimmed in recognition of his contribution to the musical. He was cremated, and his ashes were buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. A memorial plaque was unveiled at Southwark Cathedral, England, on May 24, 1961. He was survived by his second wife, Dorothy, his three children and two stepchildren. Hammerstein married his first wife, Myra Finn, in 1917; the couple divorced in 1929. He married his second wife, the Australian-born Dorothy (Blanchard) Jacobson, on May 13, 1929. He had three children: William Hammerstein (1918–2001) and Alice Hammerstein