Michael Stewart (August 1, 1924 – September 20, 1987) was an American playwright and dramatist, librettist, lyricist, screenwriter and novelist.
Michael Stewart | |
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Born | Myron Rubin August 1, 1924 New York City, U.S. |
Died | September 20, 1987 New York City, U.S. | (aged 63)
Occupation | Playwright, librettist |
Education | City University of New York, Queens (BA) Yale University (MFA) |
Period | 1955–1985 |
Genre | Musical theatre |
Notable works |
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Notable awards | |
Relatives | Francine Pascal (sister) John Pascal (brother-in-law) |
Born Myron[1] Stuart Rubin in Manhattan, Stewart attended Queens College, and graduated from the Yale School of Drama with a Master of Fine Arts in 1953.[2][3]
His early work was writing sketches for the revues The Shoestring Revue (1955),[4] The Littlest Revue (1956),[5] and Shoestring '57 (1956, Barbizon-Plaza, New York).[6] He then joined the staff writers of Sid Caesar's television program, Caesar's Hour.[2]
He met Charles Strouse and Lee Adams in 1954, and several years after collaborated with them and Gower Champion on the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie.[2] He worked again with Champion and Jerry Herman, with their musical Hello, Dolly! opening on Broadway in 1964.[2]
Stewart died on September 20, 1987, in New York City. Jule Styne said of him: "He was an extremely talented and knowledgeable man of the theater. He was one of the great musical-theater writers, and his string of hits showed that."[2] Stewart's sister was writer Francine Pascal and brother Burt Rubin.[2][7]