- Born
- Died
- William Hammerstein was born on October 26, 1918 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and writer, known for The Bell Telephone Hour (1959), Come Blow Your Horn (1963) and 13 Stars for Channel 13 (1965). He was married to Jane-Howard Hammerstein, Jean Morris Peterson (Christina Lind) and Margaret Garland. He died on March 9, 2001 in Washington, Connecticut, USA.
- SpousesJane-Howard Hammerstein(May 14, 1972 - March 9, 2001) (his death)Jean Morris Peterson (Christina Lind)(April 27, 1950 - April 20, 1972) (divorced, 1 child)Margaret Garland(December 18, 1941 - ?) (divorced, 2 children)
- Oldest son of Oscar Hammerstein II. He directed numerous stage revivals of his father's most famous musicals.
- Great-grandson of Oscar Hammerstein.
- Named after his grandfather, William Hammerstein.
- Second cousin of Elaine Hammerstein.
- Grandnephew of Arthur Hammerstein.
- [on Oscar Hammerstein's response to the question of whether he wrote 'Ol' Man River' as a protest song]'No', replied my father, 'I wrote it because we needed it for a spot in the first act'. He went on to explain that he conceived it as a sort of cord to hold together the whole sprawling story. Remember, no one up to that time had ever tried to spread such an expanse of epic drams, covering such a span of time, over the musical stage, and it had to be held together somehow. He felt that the one constant element was the river, and that's what he wrote about.
- Perhaps he wouldn't agree with this, but I don't think dad ever felt comfortable in the movie medium. He understood the stage - he had a fantastic instinct for timing, for climactic construction of a play, how to deal with a live audience, how to fashion an entertainment for the people sitting in a legitimate theater. But I don't think he ever really grasped the movie as a form.
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