Oscar Hammerstein II Romberg; but he is best known for his collaborations with Richard Rodgers, as the duo Rodgers and Hammerstein which include "Oklahoma!", "Carousel", "South Pacific", "The King and I", and "The Sound of Music". Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was born in New York City, the son of Alice Hammerstein (née Nimmo) and theatrical manager William Hammerstein. His grandfather was the German theatre impresario Oscar Hammerstein I. His father was from a Jewish family, and his mother was the daughter of Scottish and English parents. He was raised Episcopalian. Although Hammerstein's father managed the Victoria Theatre for his father and was
Willie Hammerstein one-week engagements in 1912 and 1913, a good fit with the audience through her suggestion of notoriety. Hammerstein often booked acts from Europe, who sometimes made up half the show. He introduced the dancers Gertrude Hoffmann and Constance Stewart-Richardson to the vaudeville stage. A review in the "New York Dramatic Mirror" of 12 August 1905 gives a sense of the shows: Willie Hammerstein became known for his "freak acts". Typically these featured people who had scandalized the public and gained notoriety. Members of love triangles involving murders or suicides were popular, if one of their members was free to appear