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Harold Richard Atteridge (July 9, 1886 – January 15, 1938) was an American lyricist and librettist, primarily for musicals and revues. He wrote the book and lyrics for over 20 musicals and revues for the Shubert family, including several iterations of The Passing Show.
His professional career began in Chicago as a lyricist for a music publishing firm. He first gained attention by writing the lyrics for two songs in the Chicago production of Madame Sherry. Producer George Lederer showed enthusiasm and advised Atteridge to move to New York."Harold Atteridge Makes new Record as a Librettist," New York Review, Sept. 2, 1915. He did so in September 1910.His scrapbooks, located in the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, indicate his address as: 612 West 112 Street. He met with Jesse Louis Lasky who engaged him for a show at the New York Folies Bergère. New York Sun, October 21, 1917. When that venue closed, and with a letter of introduction to J. J. Shubert, Atteridge auditioned some of his songs and was engaged to write for Shubert Brothers productions. Over the next two decades, he wrote dozens of shows, often writing both book and lyrics, for Broadway, including many starring Al Jolson, and several reviews in the successful series called The Passing Show.
Atteridge married his first wife, Laura, in 1912. He married his second wife, Mary Teresa Corless, on May 1, 1923. Who's Who in New York, Who's Who Publications, 1929.
By 1930 he was working in Hollywood, writing film continuities.The 1930 United States Federal Census, available on Ancestry.com, shows he was living at 257 South Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, California. Later he wrote radio continuities for Al Jolson and Ed Wynn.
Atteridge died on January 15, 1938, of cirrhosis of the liver in Lynbrook, New York. He was survived by his wife.
Recalling the creation of one of the songs for which he is best known, he said, "Coming downtown on the subway the other evening I scribbled on the back of an envelope the lyrics of a one-step, 'By the Beautiful Sea', and handed them that night to Harry Carroll. ... Carroll immediately wrote a melody for the words and now the tune is proving a favorite at local dance palaces, cabarets, and restaurants. Which goes to show that one can accomplish things of real value during otherwise idle moments."
Working methods
In a 2014 interview, Atteridge spoke of the process of writing a revue.
List of works
Stage works for Broadway
Film work
Notes
External links
Categories: 1886 Births, 1938 Deaths, American Musical Theatre Librettists, American Musical Theatre Lyricists, People From Lake Forest, Illinois, University Of Chicago Alumni, People From Lynbrook, New York, Deaths From Cirrhosis, 20th-century American Dramatists And Playwrights, American Male Dramatists And Playwrights, Songwriters From Illinois, 20th-century American Male Writers, 20th-century American Songwriters
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