[1] He attended North Division High School,[2] followed by college at the University of Chicago, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
It must be remembered that there are more principals for whom parts and song numbers must be arranged, and that, due to the nature of travesties indulged in, constant revisions are necessary up until the very week before the premiere.
Seven or eight weeks ahead I have a private conference with J.J. Shubert, who engages the cast and chorus, plans the scenery and lighting effects, and superintends the production and together we map out a skeleton idea of the forthcoming revue.
Certain lines must be eliminated and scenes built up; new entertainers are engaged and special parts must be written at short notice for them; a turn in the Mexican situation, politics, woman suffrage, eugenics, or any other much-discussed current topic, necessitates a re-arrangement of certain travesty material.
The weak spots are bolstered up, certain song numbers that lack the necessary dash and spirit are eliminated, and the entire programme routine condensed and rearranged.
Most of the comedy dialogue that I write for the Winter Garden revues I observe in every day life – on the subway, in restaurants, on the street, in hotel lobbies, at church, in barber shops, in business offices, and most any place where ordinary people are to be seen.
The winter Garden revues, especially the annual 'Passing Show,' is a resumé of theatrical, business, and political topics of the past season set to song, dance and laughter.
"[2]Recalling the composition 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.