Broadway composer Jerry Herman, known for such hits as “Hello, Dolly!” “Mame” and “La Cage Aux Folles,” has died at 88, his goddaughter confirmed on Friday. Jane Dorian said that the winner of multiple awards, including Tonys for “Hello, Dolly!” and “La Cage Aux Folles,” died on Thursday. “There is never an evening .. when, somewhere in the world, the music and lyrics of Jerry Herman are not being sung by a lady in a red headdress, or a lady with a bugle, or a middle-aged man in a wig and a boa,” reads a quote on Herman’s website. The references are to the lead roles in “Hello, Dolly,” the 1964 Broadway musical popularised by Carol Channing, who died in January at age 97; “Mame” and “La Cage Aux Folles,” a Broadway musical based on the French play of the same name by Jean Poiret.
The tune “I Am What I Am” from “La Cage Aux Folles” became an anthem for the gay rights movement in the ‘80s. Herman began his Broadway career with “Milk and Honey” in 1961. He followed that up with “Hello, Dolly!” and “Mame” in 1966 and capped his Broadway career with “La Cage Aux Folles” in 1983. According to Herman’s website, he was the only composer-lyricist in history to have had three musicals that ran more than 1,500 consecutive performances on Broadway. All three were later adapted for cinema. — DPA
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