Leo Robin
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Leo Robin
Leo Robin, an American lyricist and a major contributor to ‘The Great American Songbook’ of popular songs, was respected by his Hollywood colleagues for his modesty and lack of egocentricity even at the height of his fame. Robin was born in Pittsburgh, PA and attended the University of Pittsburgh. His father Max was a poet; and poetry writing was Robin’s first love.
Robin’s career in songwriting actually came about by accident. While in New York in the early 1920s trying to break into show business as a director or playwright, he was asked to try his hand at lyric writing by composer Richard Meyers. The song they wrote, Looking Around, made it into the Broadway show “By the Way” (1925). Robin’s reputation in NY theater then continued to climb, and in 1927 he entered into a collaboration with Vincent Youmans and Clifford Grey on the score for an upcoming Broadway musical titled “Hit the Deck”. The show was a hit, and its song Hallelujah! Achieved worldwide success.
In 1947 Robin returned to Broadway to write the score, with composer Jule Styne, to the show “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, a musical of Anita Loos’ hit comedy set in the Roaring Twenties. Its show stopping song, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend was made famous by the show’s star Carol Channing and later by Marilyn Monroe in the film version of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” and continues to be a worldwide classic. The score to “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is testimonial to Robin’s great wit and poetic talent as a lyricist.
Robin continued songwriting throughout the 1950s when he retired from show business. He was married three times and had one son, Marshall.
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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Multiple Authors
Full-Length Musical, ComedyGentlemen Prefer Blondes
Jule Styne , Leo Robin ,Anita Loos , Joseph Fields
Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3w, 4m
Based on Anita Loos’s 1925 bestseller of the same title, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes follows Lorelei Lee, a blonde from Little Rock, Arkansas, who sails to Europe with her friend Dorothy to perform in a nightclub in Paris.
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Lorelei
Multiple Authors
Full-Length Musical, ComedyLorelei
Jule Styne , Betty Comden , Adolph Green , Kenny Solms , Gail Parent ,Anita Loos , Joseph Fields , Leo Robin
Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 6w, 8m plus ensemble
Subtitled Gentlemen Still Prefer Blondes, this ebullient musical comedy is a sequel to the hit show about Lorelei Lee, who is now a very wealthy widow looking back on her madcap youth.
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Hit the Deck
Multiple Authors
Full-Length Musical, DramaHit the Deck
Stephen Jones ,Paul Lannin ,Hubert Osborn , Herbert Fields , Leo Robin ,Clifford Grey ,Vincent Youmans
Full-Length Musical, Drama / 6w, 12m
Loulou is the owner of a Newport coffee house. She falls in love with Bilge, one of the many sailors who patronise her eatery whenever they're in port.
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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Multiple Authors
Full-Length Musical, ComedyGentlemen Prefer Blondes
Jule Styne , Leo Robin ,Anita Loos , Joseph Fields
Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 3w, 4m
Also available as: -
Lorelei
Multiple Authors
Full-Length Musical, ComedyLorelei
Jule Styne , Betty Comden , Adolph Green , Kenny Solms , Gail Parent ,Anita Loos , Joseph Fields , Leo Robin
Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 6w, 8m plus ensemble
Also available as: -
Hit the Deck
Multiple Authors
Full-Length Musical, DramaHit the Deck
Stephen Jones ,Paul Lannin ,Hubert Osborn , Herbert Fields , Leo Robin ,Clifford Grey ,Vincent Youmans
Full-Length Musical, Drama / 6w, 12m