Lewine, Richard 1910–2005

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born July 28, 1910, in New York, NY; died May 19, 2005, in New York, NY. Television producer, composer, and author. The Emmy Award-winning Lewine was well known for his years as a television producer, during which he brought quality children's programs and musicals to the small screen. He attended Columbia University in the late 1920s, then, instead of completing a degree, he began a career in musical theater as a composer, lyricist, director, and producer. Among his early stage works are Fools Rush In (1934) and It's All Yours (1942). World War II interrupted his career while he served in the U.S. Army, but upon returning home he picked up where he had left off, winning acclaim for the music review Make Mine Manhattan (1948). Lewine entered the television business as vice president of the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1952, and for the next nine years became respected for producing musical specials, including the series of Young People's Concerts featuring Leonard Bernstein from 1957 until 1961. After leaving CBS, Lewine became a freelance producer, creating such shows as Hootenanny, which ran from 1963 to 1964, and the 1965 Barbara Streisand special My Name Is Barbara, which earned him an Emmy award. He also began writing reference works, coauthoring the Encyclopedia of Theater Music (1964) and Songs of the American Theater (1973). Lewine focused considerable energy in the early 1980s serving as managing director of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization following the death of composer Richard Rodgers.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, May 27, 2005, section 3, p. 8.

Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2005, p. B14.

New York Times, May 26, 2005, p. A27.