Legendary Broadway Songwriter Jerry Herman Dies at 88

A proud master of the hummable show tune, he wrote Hello, Dolly!, Mame, La Cage aux Folles and more

Some of Herman’s songs transcended the stage to become part of mainstream pop culture. “I Am What I Am” from La Cage has long been a gay anthem, and the 2008 Pixar movie WALL-E prominently featured two Hello, Dolly! numbers, “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” and “It Only Takes a Moment,” introducing his work to a new generation.

While his aforementioned three hit musicals are well-known and frequently revived (though we’re long overdue for Mame to come back!), he had some flops, including Mack and Mabel, about silent film pioneers Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand, which is getting a rare mounting at City Center’s Encores! this February. Below is a wonderful, star-studded tribute to Herman from 2010, when he was a Kennedy Center honoree, and you can read a more in-depth obit in The New York Times. He will be greatly missed.