(sgiles@mscd.edu)
Photo by Andrew Bisset
(abisset1@mscd.edu)
The life of award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch holds the same spirit as the fight song he wrote for Metro: vivacious competition
You came from a musical family, was that a big influence on you?MH: My father was from Vienna. He was a musician. There was a piano in the house in New York so it wasn’t a question of what’s interesting.
I would have preferred to be the center field for the New York Yankees. I would have been really happy. But what I seem to have been able to do is [to] have an ear for music. And one of the things I have learned over my life is that kids who have an advantage of being able to do something with talent have a huge advantage because they have an identity.
I feel very bad for the kids [whose] parents either don’t know that they have some sort of talent, or worse, that we are losing it in the schools. I am very lucky because I was kind of a very crazy kid; I kicked my teacher in the second grade. Take away the piano and I would have been in big trouble!
How old were you when you started playing?
MH: 5, 6 years old.
You attended Juilliard? How old were you then?
MH: Well, I was accepted at the Juilliard School at 6 and a half. That, however, was not the college at that time. It was called a preparatory division. But it still makes you a child prodigy because you are in that school, and I wasn’t there because of my love for Beethoven or Bach. I was there because I was good at music.
What influence did growing up in New York City have on you and your music?
MH: There’s good influences and bad influences of N.Y.C. The competitiveness — that is a New York trait that can be very helpful at a young age because you are trying to make your way, you are trying to get going, and you are almost being pushed by that New York craziness to get going. In the kind of career that I am in, competition is part of it. Even today at 64, people say to me, When are you going to retire? And I say, “Never.”
You’re one of only 12 people to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. What do you do with your awards?
MH: All of my awards that I have are usually in my apartment behind me so I am not looking at them. I am very proud, don’t get me wrong. But I wish I could do it again.
What do you do to prepare for a performance?
MH: Preparation is the name of the game. Because it’s not like luck is going to strike and all of a sudden something that was lousy is going to become great only because tonight’s the night. No, it doesn’t work like that.
Do you ever second-guess or find yourself saying, “I could’ve done this or that?”
MH: I’m very well known that after the first performance I usually change things, (laughs). So I’ve been quoted saying I thought the eraser is one of God’s greatest gifts.
You attended Queens College, correct? What was that experience like.
MH: I went all the time. I had to, there was a problem. There was a thing called Vietnam. In order to avoid Vietnam, you needed 12 credits. So I had to find schools that would somehow give me 12 credits and I was still the rehearsal pianist for Bell Hour. So Bell Hour rehearsed from 10 to 5.
Wow, that’s a long time.
MH: Yeah, so, at 8 in the morning I was in Queens getting four to five credits from 8 to 9:30.
I had a standing taxicab waiting for me that could zoom me to New York and be there by 10 o’clock. In New York the universities are all tied [together]. You can get your 12 credits even though not all 12 are in Queens.
Is a degree necessary for show business?
MH: No. I’ve never seen an artist come up and say, “My name is Frank Sinatra, I graduated from…” Put up a show. You either got it or you don’t.
I mean, a degree may be more helpful for someone like a director, or a set designer, costume designers — when you are learning a craft. Singing and dancing a lot has to do with, you know, having nothing to do with talent, but there’s also people [who] have a look.
Do you have any advice for college students that want to be in show business?
MH: There are three components to know if you are really going to be in show business. One, you really have to be talented. Not just because your mother says you are good. Two, you have to be crying when you think that your life would be without show business. You would almost die if you didn’t make it.
And three, and this is the topper: I think it is very important for most college kids, to get a job, hopefully, in a theater, in a summer stock production of anything. Let it be the smallest part because after three weeks of summer stock, eight shows a week, you’re going to know if this is the life you want.
In show business, it’s a rough world. You might find that it was a great idea; it was a great thought, but you know, after three weeks, I really miss my life, I just miss having a life. So yes, I would think if there’s 100 people who all want to be in show business, probably five will get there.
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