# Sheldon Harnick
**Sheldon Harnick** (April 30, 1924 – June 23, 2023) was an American lyricist best known for his Broadway collaborations with composer Jerry Bock, including the hit musicals *Fiorello!* and *Fiddler on the Roof*.[1](https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/sheldon-harnick-obituary?pid=204772902) Over a career that ran from the 1940s into the 2020s, he won the [Pulitzer Prize for Drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize-for-drama), multiple [Tony Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-awards), and [Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-awards), and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963) • [3](https://www.songhall.org/profiles/sheldon-harnick)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | April 30, 1924, Chicago, Illinois; June 23, 2023, New York, New York, aged 99[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645) |
| Signature partnership | Lyricist for Jerry Bock's scores: *Fiorello!* (1959), *Tenderloin* (1960), *She Loves Me* (1963), *Fiddler on the Roof* (1964), *The Apple Tree* (1966), *The Rothschilds* (1970)[5](https://www.atlantaopera.org/creator/sheldon-harnick/) |
| Major honors | Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for *Fiorello!*; Grammy Award for *She Loves Me*; Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, 2016[6](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/sheldon-harnick/) • [3](https://www.songhall.org/profiles/sheldon-harnick) • [4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645) |
| *Fiddler on the Roof* | Ran more than 3,000 performances on Broadway; songs include "Tradition," "Sunrise, Sunset," "Do You Love Me?," and "Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Find Me a Match"[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963) |
| Education | Bachelor of Music degree, Northwestern University, majoring in violin; moved to New York in 1950[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) |
| Translation work | English translations of Stravinsky's *L'Histoire du Soldat*, Ravel's *L'Enfant et les Sortileges*, Bizet's *Carmen*, and Lehar's *The Merry Widow*[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) |
| Guild service | Dramatists Guild member for more than 60 years, on its Council for over 50; President of the Dramatists Guild Foundation, 1992–2005[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645) |
## Early life and education
Harnick was born in Chicago in 1924. He played violin from an early age and learned about theater from an acting uncle; during high school he began writing comedy material.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963) After being drafted into the Army in 1943, he performed on several USO shows.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963) Following his World War II service, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree at [Northwestern University](https://www.edgepedia.org/northwestern-university), majoring in violin, and worked as a professional musician in and around Chicago before moving to New York in 1950 to pursue a career in musical theater.[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/)
## Revue work in the 1950s
Harnick's first song for a Broadway show was "The Boston Beguine" for the revue *New Faces of 1952*.[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) He then contributed songs to the revues *Two's Company* (starring [Bette Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/bette-davis)), *John Murray Anderson's Almanac*, and *The Littlest Revue*.[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) His career in this period also included revue songs such as "The Merry Little Minuet."[5](https://www.atlantaopera.org/creator/sheldon-harnick/)
## The partnership with Jerry Bock
Harnick met the composer Jerry Bock (1928–2010) in 1956 while doing repairs for a show.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963) Their first joint score was *The Body Beautiful* (1958), a musical about an aspiring boxer that had only a brief Broadway run.[6](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/sheldon-harnick/)
**Fiorello! and the breakthrough.** Their next collaboration, *Fiorello!* (1959), about New York's mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, with [Tom Bosley](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-bosley) in the title role, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and several Tonys, including one for Best Musical.[6](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/sheldon-harnick/) *Tenderloin* (1960) and *She Loves Me* (1963) followed, with *She Loves Me* earning a Grammy Award.[5](https://www.atlantaopera.org/creator/sheldon-harnick/) • [3](https://www.songhall.org/profiles/sheldon-harnick)
**Fiddler on the Roof.** The team's biggest hit, *Fiddler on the Roof*, appeared in 1964. Its songs included "Tradition," "Sunrise, Sunset," "Do You Love Me?," "Now I Have Everything," and "Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Find Me a Match," and the show played more than 3,000 performances on Broadway and earned dozens of awards.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963) The Atlanta Opera credits the show with a Tony Award for Harnick.[5](https://www.atlantaopera.org/creator/sheldon-harnick/)
**Later Bock shows and the end of the partnership.** *The Apple Tree* (1966) and *The Rothschilds* (1970), about the famous banking family, followed; *The Rothschilds* received several Tony nominations and two awards, for [Hal Linden](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-linden) as Best Actor in a Musical and Keene Curtis as Best Featured Actor in a Musical, and was subsequently revised as *Rothschild & Sons*.[6](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/sheldon-harnick/) • [5](https://www.atlantaopera.org/creator/sheldon-harnick/) According to AllMusic, friction between Harnick and Bock during *The Rothschilds* proved the death knell of their partnership.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963)
## Work after Bock
Harnick continued in the theater with other collaborators. He wrote lyrics for *Rex* with [Richard Rodgers](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-rodgers) (1976), *A Christmas Carol* with [Michel Legrand](https://www.edgepedia.org/michel-legrand) (1981), *A Wonderful Life* with Joe Raposo (1986), *The Phantom Tollbooth* with Arnold Black (1995), and *The Audition* with [Marvin Hamlisch](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvin-hamlisch).[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) • [5](https://www.atlantaopera.org/creator/sheldon-harnick/) He also wrote three musicals himself, providing book, lyrics, and music: *Dragons*, *A Doctor in Spite of Himself*, and *Malpractice Makes Perfect*.[5](https://www.atlantaopera.org/creator/sheldon-harnick/)
In opera, he provided librettos for Jack Beeson's *Cyrano*, *Dr. Heidegger's Fountain of Youth*, and *Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines*, Henry Mollicone's *Coyote Tales* and *Lady Bird: First Lady of the Land*, and Thomas Z. Shepard's *Love in Two Countries*.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645)
## Translation and adaptation
In the 1970s Harnick expanded into translating operatic and theatrical works, producing English versions of Stravinsky's *L'Histoire du Soldat*, Ravel's *L'Enfant et les Sortileges*, Bizet's *Carmen*, and Lehar's *The Merry Widow*. The *Merry Widow* translation was commissioned for a New York City Center production starring Beverly Sills, whose recording won a Grammy Award as the year's best-recorded opera.[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) He also did the English adaptation of the French text for Joseph Papp's production of *[The Umbrellas of Cherbourg](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-umbrellas-of-cherbourg)*, with music by Michel Legrand.[3](https://www.songhall.org/profiles/sheldon-harnick)
## Film and television work
Harnick wrote songs for the films *The Heartbreak Kid* (1972) and *Blame It on Rio* (1984), both with music by Cy Coleman, and *Aaron's Magic Village* (1995) with Michel Legrand.[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) He received an Emmy nomination for his lyrics for the theme song of *The Way We Were*, and his lyrics appeared on the gold-record-winning children's album *Free to Be You and Me*.[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) • [3](https://www.songhall.org/profiles/sheldon-harnick)
## Honors
Harnick was inducted into the [Songwriters Hall of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/songwriters-hall-of-fame) in 1972 and received that organization's Johnny Mercer Award in 1990.[3](https://www.songhall.org/profiles/sheldon-harnick) The Broadway League records a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement to Harnick in 2016, and a 1994 Tony nomination for Best Original Score as additional lyricist for *Cyrano – The Musical*.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645) Sources differ on his Tony total: Concord describes him as a winner of three Tony Awards,[7](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/) while the Dramatists Guild profile credits him with two Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, three gold records, and a platinum record.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645) He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dramatists Guild in 2010, having been a member for more than 60 years and served on its Council for over 50 of those years; he was President of the Dramatists Guild Foundation from 1992 to 2005.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645)
## Personal life and death
Harnick married Mary Boatner in 1950 (divorced 1957), the writer and performer [Elaine May](https://www.edgepedia.org/elaine-may) from 1962 to 1963 (divorced), and Margery Gray on November 29, 1965; that marriage lasted until his death.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645) He died on June 23, 2023, in New York, New York, at the age of 99.[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963)
## References
1. [Sheldon Harnick Obituary, Legacy.com](https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/sheldon-harnick-obituary?pid=204772902)
2. [Sheldon Harnick Biography by John Bush, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sheldon-harnick-mn0000748963)
3. [Sheldon Harnick, Songwriters Hall of Fame](https://www.songhall.org/profiles/sheldon-harnick)
4. [Sheldon Harnick – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheldon-harnick-8645)
5. [Sheldon Harnick, The Atlanta Opera](https://www.atlantaopera.org/creator/sheldon-harnick/)
6. [Sheldon Harnick, Masterworks Broadway](https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/sheldon-harnick/)
7. [Sheldon Harnick, Concord Music Publishing](https://concord.com/publishing-roster/sheldon-harnick/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Songwriters and record producers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license