They Made Us Happy

Betty Comden and Adolph Green were the writers behind such classic stage musicals as On the Town, Wonderful Town, and Bells Are Ringing, and they provided lyrics for such standards as "New York, New York," "Just in Time," "The Party's Over," and "Make Someone Happy," to name just a few. This remarkable duo, the longest-running partnership in theatrical history, also penned the screenplays for such cinematic gems as Singin' in the Rain and The Band Wagon. In the process they worked with such artists as Leonard Bernstein, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Judy Holliday, and Jule Styne. They Made Us Happy is the first book to tell the full story of their careers, lives, and work, starting with their acclaimed appearances as part of the sketch troupe the Revuers and moving through their bi-coastal lives as a pair of Broadway's top writers and two of Hollywood's most valued scribes. The book takes readers on a trip through almost the entirety of the twentieth century, and along the way there are appearances by the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Greta Garbo, and Charlie Chaplin. Author Andy Propst brings both their produced work to life as well as many of the projects that that never made it to the stage or the screen, including an aborted musical version of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, a bio-pic about director-choreographer Busby Berkeley, and their version of the book for Cole Porter's musical Out of This World. Comden and Green's wit and deft satire inspired laughs during their lives, and their musicals and movies have endured, amusing generation after generation. It's work that will always be making audiences happy.

Andy Propst is an arts journalist and the author of You Fascinate Me So: The Life & Times of Cy Coleman (2014). His career has encompassed work with New York Shakespeare Festival founder Joseph Papp and Tony Award-winning director George C. Wolfe, as well as five years as on-air talent at XM Satellite Radio's XM 28 On Broadway channel. His writing has appeared in The Village Voice, Time Out/NY, Back Stage, and The Sondheim Review, and online at the site he founded, AmericanTheaterWeb.com, as well as TheaterMania.com.

Preface Chapter 1 - Childhood Dreams Chapter 2 - The Revuers Emerge, Soar, and Coast Chapter 3 - Taking the Town Chapter 4 - Turning to the 1920s Chapter 5 - Theatrical Disaster... Cinematic Success Chapter 6 - Broadway to Hollywood and Back Again Chapter 7 - Turning Back the Clock Chapter 8 - Theatrical Adventures On Screen and On and Off Stage Chapter 9 - Serious Screen Fare, but Flying High on Stage Chapter 10 - Hollywood Passes, Broadway Says 'Yes' Chapter 11 - Throwing a Stage Party and a Cinematic Revel Chapter 12 - A Movie, Some TV ... and Jukeboxes Chapter 13 - Writing a Darker Musical Fairy Tale Chapter 14 - Stage and Screen Confections ... and Something a Little Deeper Chapter 15 - Part of the Times, Personally and Professionally Chapter 16 - Going Backstage, Then Getting Nostalgic [ Chapter 17 - Returning (Artistically) to the 1930s Chapter 18 - Ten Years of Performing and Writing Chapter 19 - A Follies Finish and Farewell Bibliography Index