Irving Caesar is a writer of popular songs and Broadway musical comedies; he is also a pacifist with a social conscience who has devoted much of his time and energy to improving society. He was born Isaac Caesar on July 4, 1895 in New York City. His father had been exiled from Rumania for his socialist beliefs; in the United States he earned a law degree, but made his living as a teacher, bookseller, and bookkeeper. In his youth Isaac changed his name first to Isidore, then to Irving Caesar. A child prodigy, he could play difficult piano pieces when he was five; and when he was eight, he had poems published in the New York papers. Caesar participated in activities of the University Settlement Society of New York City and worked as a part-time typist for writer and civic leader William English Walling. He attended a Quaker school, graduated from a New York high school in 1914, and in 1915 attended the College of the City of New York. Quitting the university, he served under Louis Lochner as a stenographer with the Ford Peace Expedition and was briefly a press correspondent. Both William English Walling and writer Ella Wheeler Wilcox considered Caesar a protegé.
Caesar's career in the theater has been long and successful. He and George Gershwin wrote the song Swanee which Al Jolson sang in Sinbad (Winter Garden, February 14, 1918). He and John Murray Anderson wrote the lyrics for The Greenwich Village Follies (Shubert, September 12, 1922; Winter Garden, September 20, 1923); Cole Porter worked with them on the Follies show that opened at the Winter Garden on November 24, 1924. No! No! Nanette! featured lyrics by Caesar and Otto Harbach. After writing lyrics for ten more musical comedies, Caesar contributed sketches and lyrics to the tenth edition of George White's Scandals (Apollo, September 23, 1923). Into the early 1940's Broadway generally featured a musical comedy with his lyrics, although 1930 was his most prolific season, with three openings.
His popular songs include the following:
- “Tea for Two,” “I Want to Be Happy,” and “Sometimes I'm Happy” (with Vincent Youmans)
- “Crazy Rhythm” (with Joseph Meyer and Roger Kahn)
- “Yankee Doodle Blues” (with George Gershwin)
- “Is It True What They Say About Dixie? ” (with Sammy Lerner and Gerald Marks)
- “That's What I Want for Christmas” (with Gerald Marks)
His writings and his songs reflect his lifelong commitment to social service. In 1939 he originated a “Peace By Wireless” plan, a protocol for an intergovernmental radio guarantee agreement which received world-wide recognition in 1939 and again in 1945. In the late 1950's and early 1960's he wrote front page articles for a New York newspaper, The Independent, on such topics as “The Cold War Is the Class Struggle” and “Payola, Uncle Sam, and Ivan.” His music for the Pledge of Allegiance was accepted by the U.S. Congress in 1954. The songs in his children's songbooks -- Sing a Song of Safety, Sing a Song of Friendship, Songs of Health, and Songs for the United Nations -- have been sung in classrooms throughout the United States and have been translated into numerous foreign languages. And he feels that his popular songs like “I Want to Be Happy” have offered people a valuable perspective on life.
Caesar is a member of ASCAP and served on its board of directors, 1930-1946, 1949 to the present. He also belongs to AFTRA, the Dramatists Guild, the Friars, AGVA, and AGAC (formerly the Songwriters Protective Association).
