Harold Atteridge

Harold Richard Atteridge (July 9, 1886 – January 15, 1938) was an American lyricist and librettist who wrote the book and lyrics for more than twenty musicals and revues, the majority of them produced by the Shubert family. Born in Lake Forest, Illinois, the only child of Richard H. Atteridge and Ann T. O'Neill, he attended North Division High School before enrolling at the University of Chicago, where he joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and contributed to the Black Friars Club's Varsity show in 1907. He graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree, and later credited that early club work with giving him a practical foundation in revue and musical comedy technique before his professional career began.

Atteridge started out in Chicago writing lyrics for a music publishing firm. His work on two songs for the Chicago production of Madame Sherry attracted the attention of producer George Lederer, who encouraged him to relocate to New York. He arrived there in September 1910, connected with Jesse Louis Lasky, and was engaged for a production at the New York Folies Bergère. When that venue closed, a letter of introduction brought him to J. J. Shubert, for whom he auditioned original songs and was subsequently hired. That relationship defined the bulk of his Broadway career. Over the following two decades he wrote dozens of productions for the Shuberts, frequently supplying both book and lyrics, including multiple editions of the successful annual series The Passing Show and numerous shows starring Al Jolson. His Broadway credits include the revue A World of Pleasure, the musical The Dream Girl, the revue Doing Our Bit, the revue A Night in Spain, and the revue Broadway to Paris, among many others.

In a 1914 interview, Atteridge described his working process in detail. Preparation for a Winter Garden revue began six to eight weeks before opening with a private conference with J. J. Shubert, during which the two would outline a structural framework for the production. A composer would then be sought, and Atteridge would draft a series of lyrics — typically around thirty-five numbers — from which approximately ten would be cut before opening night. Chorus rehearsals began roughly six weeks out, with principals joining four weeks before the premiere. Atteridge attended every rehearsal, revising scenes, writing new material for late additions to the cast, and adjusting topical content in response to current events in politics, suffrage, and public affairs. Because Winter Garden productions opened in New York without out-of-town tryouts, dress rehearsals — usually three or four — served as the primary opportunity to trim a program that could run five hours or more down to its final length. Atteridge did most of his writing between midnight and five in the morning, working in longhand under a desk lamp. He gathered comic material by observing people in everyday settings — subways, restaurants, hotel lobbies, and barber shops — and read all the daily newspapers to stay current with the topics the revues were expected to satirize. He noted that the lyrics for "By the Beautiful Sea," one of his best-known songs, were drafted on the back of an envelope during a subway ride and handed that same evening to composer Harry Carroll, who set them to music immediately.

Atteridge married his first wife, Laura, in 1912, and his second wife, Mary Teresa Corless, on May 1, 1923. By 1930 his work had shifted toward Hollywood, where he wrote film continuities, with credits including story work on The Ladies Man (1928), dialogue for Her Golden Calf (1930) and Poppin' the Cork (1933), and adaptation work on Big Boy (1930). He subsequently wrote radio continuities for Al Jolson and Ed Wynn. Atteridge died on January 15, 1938, of cirrhosis of the liver in Lynbrook, New York, and was survived by his wife.