Oscar Hammerstein I an early age. His mother died when he was fifteen years old. During his youth, Hammerstein's father wanted him to continue with his education, and to specialize in subjects such as algebra, but Hammerstein wanted to pursue music. After Oscar went skating in a park one day, his father found out and whipped him as punishment; this would spur Hammerstein to run away to North America. After selling his violin, Hammerstein ran away to Liverpool, and from there, took a three-month journey to the United States arriving in New York City in 1864. Hammerstein made ends meet initially by working
Elaine Hammerstein opposite William Haines. With the latter film, the studio tried to promote Hammerstein and Haines as a couple, however, in real life, Haines was a gay man. Hammerstein wed James Walter Kays in Los Angeles, California, on June 10, 1926. Kays was a Los Angeles fire commissioner and had also served as finance director for the California Democratic Party. Upon her marriage, Hammerstein retired from acting. Her last film appearance is in the Columbia Pictures drama "Ladies of Leisure" (1926). In August 1948, while returning from a trip to the Mexican border town of Tijuana, the Kays and three friends