Herman told People Magazine in 1986 that his mother, who died in 1954, long before his success on Broadway, "was glamorous like Mame and witty like Dolly.

[citation needed] While an undergraduate student at the University of Miami, Herman produced, wrote and directed a college musical called Sketchbook.

"[20] In 1957, Herman approached the owner of a West Fourth Street jazz club called the Showplace and asked to put on a revue.

[22][23] In 1960, Herman made his Broadway debut with the revue From A to Z, which featured contributions from newcomers Woody Allen and Fred Ebb as well.

[24] That same year producer Gerard Oestreicher approached him after seeing a performance of "Parade", and asked if he would be interested in composing the score for a show about the founding of the state of Israel.

The musical of the same name, which starred Nancy Andrews in the title role, opened at the Orpheum Theatre in December 1961 but closed after 13 performances.

The failure of the musical hurt Herman, who felt that the direction and casting had not worked, but described his decision to make it as a "very brave thing for me to do...It was a dark piece, something more suited to early Sondheim than me".

[26] In 1964, producer David Merrick united Herman with musical actress Carol Channing and librettist Michael Stewart for a project that was to become one of his more successful, Hello, Dolly!.

Herman considers Mack & Mabel, also written in collaboration with Michael Stewart, his personal favorite score[30] with later composition La Cage aux Folles in a close second.

"Ticket sales were strong for its Boston tryout; a two-week extension required the box office to remain open for 36 hours straight to handle the demand.

[27] A revue of Herman's work ran on Broadway from December 1985 to April 1986: Jerry's Girls featured Dorothy Loudon, Leslie Uggams, and Chita Rivera.

[40] Other well known Herman showtunes include "Shalom" from Milk and Honey; "Before the Parade Passes By", "Put On Your Sunday Clothes", and "It Only Takes a Moment" from Hello, Dolly!

", "Open a New Window", "We Need a Little Christmas," and "Bosom Buddies" from Mame; and "Tap Your Troubles Away", "I Won't Send Roses" and "Time Heals Everything" from Mack & Mabel.

[43] The Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, the campus theater at the University of Miami, his alma mater, is named in his honor.

[47] A 90-minute documentary about his life and career, Words and Music by Jerry Herman, by filmmaker Amber Edwards, was screened in 2007 and then broadcast on PBS.

is a theme for the character WALL-E.[50] In 1989, American-playwright Natalie Gaupp wrote a short play titled The Jerry Herman Center.

Introduced by Angela Lansbury, there were performances by Carol Channing, Matthew Morrison, Christine Baranski and Christine Ebersole, Laura Benanti, Sutton Foster, Matthew Bomer and Kelli O' Hara, 2002 Kennedy Center Honoree Chita Rivera, an unknown choir that included the Gay Mens Chorus of Washington, and Lansbury.

Also honored were talk show host/actress Oprah Winfrey, dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones, country singer-songwriter Merle Haggard, and singer-songwriter/musician Paul McCartney.

[54] As noted in the Words and Music PBS documentary, "He is one of the fortunate ones who survived to see experimental drug therapies take hold and was still, as one of his lyrics proclaims, 'alive and well and thriving' over a quarter of a century later.