Biography
Jule Styne (/ˈdʒuːli staɪn/; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was a British-American songwriter and composer renowned for numerous Broadway musicals, including several well-known and frequently revived productions.
Born Julius Kerwin Stein to a Jewish family in London, England, his parents were Ukrainian immigrants from the Russian Empire who operated a small grocery store. At eight years old, he relocated with his family to Chicago, where he began piano lessons early on. A prodigy, he performed with the Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit Symphonies before turning ten.
Styne studied at the Chicago Musical College. Prior to that, he caught the attention of Mike Todd, a fellow teenager who later became a successful film producer. Todd commissioned him to compose a song for a musical act he was producing. This marked the start of Styne's career, during which he wrote over 1,500 published songs. His first hit, "Sunday," came in 1926. By 1929, Styne was performing with the Ben Pollack band.
He worked as a vocal coach for 20th Century Fox until Darryl F. Zanuck dismissed him, stating vocal coaching was "a luxury" being cut, and encouraged him to focus on songwriting, which "lasts forever." Styne then formed his own dance band, catching the attention of Hollywood, where Frank Sinatra became one of his supporters. He began collaborating with lyricist Sammy Cahn, producing numerous songs for films, including "It's Been a Long, Long Time," "Five Minutes More," and the Oscar-winning title track for Three Coins in the Fountain (1954). Alongside Leo Robin, he co-wrote the score for the 1955 musical film My Sister Eileen. Ten of his songs received Oscar nominations, many co-written with Cahn, such as "I've Heard That Song Before" (which topped charts for 13 weeks in 1943 with Harry James and His Orchestra), "I'll Walk Alone," "It's Magic" (a #2 hit for Doris Day in 1948), and "I Fall in Love Too Easily."
In 1947, Styne penned his first Broadway musical score for High Button Shoes with Cahn. Over the following decades, he composed music for numerous Broadway productions, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Peter Pan (additional music), Bells Are Ringing, Gypsy, Do Re Mi, Funny Girl, Sugar, and the Tony Award-winning Hallelujah, Baby!.
His collaborators included Sammy Cahn, Leo Robin, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Stephen Sondheim, and Bob Merrill.
Styne passed away from heart failure in New York City at age 88. His archive, containing original handwritten compositions, correspondence, and production materials, is preserved at the Harry Ransom Center.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981. Styne received a Drama Desk Special Award and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1990. He won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Three Coins in the Fountain," and Hallelujah, Baby! earned the 1968 Tony Award for Best Original Score.
