His "Fantastiks" ran 42 years off Broadway, longest running musical in history
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Harvey Schmidt
Inductee
Born
Inducted
With lyricist partner Tom Jones wrote three Tony nominated musicals
Composer Harvey Schmidt and lyricist Tom Jones are the legendary writing team best known for shaping the American musical landscape with their 1960 hit, The Fantasticks. The show, which was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1991, is the longest running musical in history. Its best known song "Try To Remember," has been recorded by hundreds of artists over the decades including Ed Ames, Harry Belafonte, Barbra Streisand and Placido Domingo.
"Soon It's Gonna Rain" and "They Were You" are also among the musical's most recognized songs, for which Schmidt composed and Jones crafted the lyrics. In 1963 they wrote the Broadway show 110 in the Shade, which earned the duo a Tony Award nomination for Best Composer and Lyricist. I DO! I DO!, their two-character Broadway musical followed in 1967, also earning them a Tony Award nomination for Best Composer and Lyricist.
In 1998, the duo was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Other awards and honors includean Obie Award, induction into the Broadway Hall of Fame, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers Award, and their "stars" added to the Off-Broadway Walk of Fame outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre in NYC.
