Adele Astaire Bunch and Judy" (1922), and then the Gershwin brothers' first Broadway collaboration "Lady, Be Good!", followed by their "Funny Face". Both were hits in America and in London. After Fred's success in Hollywood, Astaire gave consideration in 1935 to making a film, but ultimately declined the opportunity. She sang and recorded duets with Fred, George Vollaire and Bernard Clifton. While performing in England in 1927, Astaire had met Lord Charles Cavendish, the second son of His Grace The 9th Duke of Devonshire. When Charles visited her in the United States in 1929 the pair began courting. On March 5, 1932,
Ira Gershwin role that Ira played. His mastery of songwriting continued, however, after the early death of George. He wrote additional hit songs with composers Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Harry Warren and Harold Arlen. His critically acclaimed 1959 book "Lyrics on Several Occasions", an amalgam of autobiography and annotated anthology, is an important source for studying the art of the lyricist in the golden age of American popular song. Gershwin was born in New York City, the oldest of four children of Morris (Moishe) and Rose Gershovitz (née Rosa Bruskin), who were Russian Jews, born in St Petersburg, who had emigrated to