Annie Get Your Gun (musical) Annie Get Your Gun (musical) Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music by Irving Berlin and a book by Dorothy Fields and her brother Herbert Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley (1860–1926), a sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and her romance with sharpshooter Frank E. Butler (1847–1926). The 1946 Broadway production was a hit, and the musical had long runs in both New York (1,147 performances) and London, spawning revivals, a 1950 film version and television versions. Songs that became hits include "There's No Business Like
Lillian Smith (trick shooter) was already competing by the age of 10. In 1886, at the age of 15, she joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, where she met her rival, Annie Oakley. Apparently, Smith and Oakley were never on very friendly terms; Smith was a braggart and at one point declared "Annie Oakley was done for." Moreover, in contrast to Annie, who was an extremely conservative dresser, Lillian enjoyed flashy clothing and had a reputation as a "shameless flirt." Both Smith and Oakley traveled to Great Britain with the Wild West Show and met Queen Victoria in 1887. Smith's poor performance at