Billy Rose

Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966)

Rose was diminutive in stature. When he attended a show, his practice was to book four seats: one for himself, one for his date, and the two in front of those so he would have an unobstructed view.

In 1929, he married Fanny Brice, who went on to star in the 1931 Broadway production of Billy Rose's Crazy Quilt. The marriage ended in divorce in 1938.

In 1938, he opened Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe, a nightclub in New York City's Times Square in the basement of the Paramount Hotel. It initially opened with a version of his Fort Worth show. The Diamond Horseshoe operated under that name until 1951.

At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Billy Rose's Aquacade This led to a syndicated column, Pitching Horseshoes, that Rose produced until December, 1950. At its height, it reached 2,000 newspapers.

Rose and Holm divorced in 1954. On July 2, 1956, he married showgirl Joyce Mathews (1919–1999), and they divorced July 23, 1959. They then remarried on December 29, 1961, only to divorce again on February 10, 1964, exactly two years before he died. Later in 1964, Rose married Doris Ruth Vidor (née Warner; 1912–1978), who was the widow of film director Charles Vidor.

Rose founded the Billy Rose Sculpture Garden at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Israel. His legendary pragmatism is illustrated by a seeming minor event at the sculpture garden opening ceremony, which Rose attended personally. When asked by one of the many distinguished guests what, in the event of war, Rose would have Israel do with these artworks, many of which were modern, steel abstracts, Rose unsmilingly replied, "Melt them down for bullets."

From 1949 until 1955, Rose was the owner-operator of the Ziegfeld Theatre. During that time, the theater housed four musicals and five plays. In 1965, he sold the theater to be demolished to make way for a new skyscraper, the Fisher Brothers' Burlington House.

Rose was a board member of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). ASCAP often slandered rock-and-roll songs. Because rock-and-roll performers increasingly wrote the music and lyrics themselves, professional songwriters lost their dominance in the music industry. As an ASCAP member, Billy Rose labeled rock-and-roll songs "junk" and was quoted as saying, "in many cases they are obscene junk much on the level with dirty comic magazines."

Later years and death

From 1959 until his death in 1966, he was also the owner–operator of the Billy Rose Theater. During that time the theater housed four plays, one musical, one revue, three ballets, and twenty-nine concert performances. After his death, the theater retained its name, and remained in the ownership of his estate until 1978, when it was renamed. Today, it is the Nederlander Theatre.

In 1965, Rose was offered, but declined, the role to oversee the 1964 New York World's Fair towards its conclusion.

Rose was a wealthy man when he died of lobar pneumonia at his vacation home in Montego Bay, Jamaica, at the age of 66. At the time of his death, his fortune was estimated at $42 million ($ in dollars), which he left entirely to the Billy Rose Foundation (for the support of fine and performing arts), disowning both of his sisters. He is interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

In 1970, Rose was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Depictions Rose was a leading character in the 1975 musical film Funny Lady, a sequel to Funny Girl, which continues the story of Fanny Brice, again played by Barbra Streisand. Despite physical dissimilarities, actor James Caan was cast as Rose.

The 1962 film Billy Rose's Jumbo, starring Doris Day, depicted the original Broadway show staged by Rose. Although he was not involved in the making of the film, a contractual stipulation made it mandatory that his name appear in the title.

Saul Bellow's novella, The Bellarosa Connection, depicts Billy Rose as a benevolent figure helping Jewish people to escape the Nazis in Europe.

Work on Broadway Charlot Revue (1925) – revue – featured co-lyricist for "A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You" with Al Dubin, music by Joseph Meyer Padlocks of 1927 (1927) – revue – lyricist Harry Delmar's Revels (1927) – revue – co-lyricist Sweet and Low (1930) – revue – composer, lyricist, and producer Billy Rose's Crazy Quilt (1931) – revue – producer, librettist, and director The Great Magoo (1932) – play – producer Ziegfeld Follies of 1934 (1934) – revue – featured lyricist for "Soul Saving Sadie", "Suddenly", "Countess Dubinsky", and "Sarah, the Sunshine Girl" Jumbo (1935) – musical – producer Clash by Night (1941) – play – producer Carmen Jones (1943) – musical – producer Seven Lively Arts (1944) – revue – producer Concert Varieties (1945) – vaudeville – producer Interplay (1945) – ballet – producer The Immoralist (1954) – play – producer The Wall (1960) – play – co-producer

Posthumous credits Ain't Misbehavin' (1978) – revue – featured lyricist for "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling" from film Applause (1929) Big Deal (1986) – musical – featured lyricist for "Me and My Shadow" Fosse (1999) – revue – featured lyricist for "Dancin' Dan (Me and My Shadow)"