Albert Hague

Albert Hague, born Albert Marcuse on October 13, 1920, in Berlin, Germany, was a composer, book writer, and performer whose career spanned Broadway, television, and film. He died on November 12, 2001, in Marina del Rey, California, from cancer, at the age of 81.

Hague was born into a Jewish family; his father, Harry Marcuse, was both a psychiatrist and a musical prodigy, and his mother, Mimi, née Heller, was a chess champion. Although the family raised him as a Lutheran, regarding their Jewish heritage as a liability, Hague later embraced that heritage after emigrating to the United States. Before he could be inducted into the Hitler Youth, he and his mother fled Berlin for Rome. He arrived in America in 1939 through the efforts of his sister, who lived in Ohio and secured him a musical scholarship at the University of Cincinnati. Because he lacked legal immigration status, he was adopted by an eye surgeon affiliated with the university. He graduated in 1942 and subsequently served in the United States Army's special service band during World War II.

His Broadway career as a composer produced several notable musicals. Plain and Fancy opened in 1955, followed by Redhead in 1959, the latter earning him a Tony Award for Best Musical. Cafe Crown came in 1964, and The Fig Leaves Are Falling, which featured lyrics by Allan Sherman, opened in 1969. He also appeared on Broadway in 1975 in A Gala Tribute to Joshua Logan. Among the songs he composed are "Young and Foolish," "Look Who's in Love," and "Did I Ever Really Live?" He additionally composed the music for the television animated special How the Grinch Stole Christmas and contributed songs to the 2000 stage musical version of that property.

Beyond composing, Hague worked as an actor. He originated the role of Benjamin Shorofsky, a music teacher, in the film Fame and continued in that role on the television series of the same name. He also appeared in a small role in the 1996 film Space Jam, playing a psychiatrist consulted by professional basketball players.

Hague and his wife, actress and singer Renee Orin, whom he married in 1951, occasionally performed together as a cabaret act. They appeared under the billing "Hague and Hague: His Hits and His Mrs." and later, in 1998, as "Still Young and Foolish," performing at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Cinegrill in Los Angeles, and Eighty Eight's in Manhattan. The couple had two children. Renee Orin Hague died in August 2000 from lymphoma at the age of 73. Hague was also a member of The Lambs, where he taught musical theatre to fellow members.