Rodgers and Hammerstein to the musical-play form – with such masterworks as "Carousel", "The King and I" and "South Pacific". The examples they set in creating vital plays, often rich with social thought, provided the necessary encouragement for other gifted writers to create musical plays of their own." 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." They were also honored in 1999 with a United States Postal Service stamp commemorating their partnership. The Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City is
Oscar Hammerstein II Jerome Kern had written "Ol' Man River." "Indeed not," she retorted. "Jerome Kern wrote 'dum, dum, dum-dum.' My husband wrote 'Ol' Man River'." Other Kern-Hammerstein musicals include "Sweet Adeline", "Music in the Air", "Three Sisters", and "Very Warm for May". Hammerstein also collaborated with Vincent Youmans ("Wildflower"), Rudolf Friml ("Rose-Marie"), and Sigmund Romberg ("The Desert Song" and "The New Moon"). Hammerstein's most successful and sustained collaboration began when he teamed up with Richard Rodgers to write a musical adaptation of the play "Green Grow the Lilacs". Rodgers' first partner, Lorenz Hart, originally planned to collaborate with Rodgers on this piece,