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
Willie Hammerstein Street and 7th Avenue, advertising "refined glamour" and featuring the biggest stars of vaudeville. Acts became harder to book, since performers did not want to be connected with a rival of the powerful Keith's circuit. Performers enjoyed playing the Victoria. Buster Keaton thought it was the greatest of the vaudeville houses. Hammerstein asked performers back many times if he liked them, as with the British comedian Harry Tate. In June 1905 Willie Hammerstein signed up Will Rogers to perform in the Victoria for afternoon matinees and in the Paradise Roof Garden in the evenings. The young Mae West played eleven