Rudolf Friml

Charles Rudolf Friml[1] (December 7, 1879 – November 12, 1972) was a Czech-born composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist.

After musical training and a brief performing career in his native Prague, Friml moved to the United States, where he became a composer.

Friml was born Rudolf Antonín Frymel on December 2, 1879, in Staré Město 445, Prague, Bohemia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire) and was baptized Roman Catholic at the Kostel svatého Jiljí.

He toured with Kubelik twice in the United States (1901–02, 1904) and moved there permanently in 1906, apparently with the support of the Czech singer Emmy Destinn.

His first regular post in New York was as a repetiteur at the Metropolitan Opera, but he had made his American piano debut at Carnegie Hall.

Not finding another theatre composer of comparable reputation to Herbert, Hammerstein settled on the almost unknown Friml because of his classical training.

[7] After tryouts in Syracuse, New York, The Firefly opened at Broadway's Lyric Theatre on December 2, 1912, to a warm reception by both the audience and the critics.

[1] Another show, Sometime, written with Rida Johnson Young and starring Ed Wynn and Mae West, ran successfully on Broadway in 1918–19.

[11] Rather than trying to adapt to popular taste, Friml decided to focus on playing the piano in concert and composing art music, which he did into his nineties.

"The Donkey Serenade" from the film version of The Firefly, "The Mounties" and "Indian Love Call" are still frequently heard, often in romantic parody or comic situations.

[13][page needed] In 1969, Friml was celebrated by Ogden Nash on the occasion of his 90th birthday in a couplet which ended: "I trust your conclusion and mine are similar: 'Twould be a happier world if it were Frimler."

The song "The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz" includes the lyric, "Your lips were like wine (if you'll pardon the simile) / The music was lovely, and quite Rudolf Friml-y."

"[14] Friml died in Los Angeles in 1972 and was interred in the "Court of Honor" at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.