Dorothy Hammerstein Dorothy Hammerstein Dorothy Hammerstein (7 June 18993 August 1987) was an Australian-born American interior designer and decorator. She was the second wife of the lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Dorothy Marian Kiaora Blanchard was born to Henry James Blanchard (1862–?), a New Zealand-born master mariner (Dorothy's second middle name Kiaora is a traditional greeting in the Māori language of New Zealand). Her mother was Marion (née Parmenter; 1867–1946), born in Scotland. There were four other daughters of the marriage. Henry Blanchard became a ship's pilot on Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay, and they resided in the bayside suburb of Williamstown, in a
Rodgers and Hammerstein from Syracuse" (1938), "Pal Joey" (1940), and "By Jupiter" (1942), as well as many successful film projects. Hammerstein, a co-writer of the popular Rudolf Friml 1924 operetta "Rose-Marie", and Sigmund Romberg operettas "The Desert Song" (1926) and "The New Moon" (1928), began a successful collaboration with composer Jerome Kern on "Sunny" (1925), which was a hit. Their 1927 musical "Show Boat" is considered to be one of the masterpieces of the American musical theatre. Other Hammerstein/Kern collaborations include "Sweet Adeline" (1929) and "Very Warm for May" (1939). Although the last of these was panned by critics, it contains one of