Oscar Hammerstein II's Daughter, Alice Hammerstein Mathias, Passes Away at 93

According to published reports, Alice Hammerstein Mathias, daughter of legendary theatre lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, passed away last week from pneumonia. She was 93 years old.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization writes:

Alice Mathias was, for many years, the Hammerstein family representative to The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, and continued to be the spokeswoman for her father's work. With the insight of having seen the original production of SHOW BOAT in 1927, she addressed the cast of the musical's New York Philharmonic concert performance last fall during rehearsals.

As a young woman, she worked for her father doing research on specific subjects to support her father's lyrics, becoming immersed in the tradition of the New England clambake for the song "A Real Nice Clambake" in CAROUSEL. The material presented to her father often far exceeded what was necessary, something she attributed to what she termed "research poisoning".

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