Arthur Hammerstein Arthur Hammerstein Arthur Hammerstein (December 21, 1872 – October 12, 1955) was an American songwriter, dramatist, playwright and theater manager Born and educated to a Jewish family in New York City, Hammerstein was the son of the theater impresario and composer Oscar Hammerstein I. Arthur started out as a bricklayer and plasterer, working on projects with his father including the Victoria Theater and Manhattan Opera House. In 1908 Hammerstein started working on becoming a producer, signing Italian singer Luisa Tetrazzini to the family's Manhattan Center and negotiating with Otto Kahn before moving to London in 1910. While there Arthur 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,