Lyricist Fred Ebb (b. New York City, April 8, 1933(?); d. New York City, September 11, 2004), was the literary half of the brilliant songwriting team of Kander and Ebb. Together John Kander and Fred Ebb created at least sixteen Broadway shows, Flora the Red Menace (1965), Cabaret (1966), Chicago (1976), and Curtains (2006) among them. They also contributed material to fourteen films and television specials over their forty-year association. Kander and Ebb were recipients of many Awards: three Tony Awards® (Cabaret 1967, Woman of the Year 1981, Kiss of the Spider Woman 1993), Britain’s Laurence Olivier Award (1998, for the London production of Chicago), two Emmys® (1973 and 1993, both for Liza Minnelli television specials), and two Grammys® (Original Cast Album of Cabaret 1967, Musical Show Album of Chicago 1998). The duo also received several award nominations, including five for Tonys®, two for Oscars®, and four for Golden Globes®. Both Cabaret and Chicago were made into films; the screen version of Chicago won the 2002 Academy Award® for Best Picture. Ebb was born to a Jewish family in Manhattan, and worked during his teens bronzing baby shoes, loading trucks, selling hosiery, and clerking in a department store credit office. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from New York University in 1955 and a Master’s from Columbia in 1957. His first professional songwriting partnership was with Phil Springer; their first song, “I Never Loved Him Anyhow,” was sung by Carmen McRae. Another Springer and Ebb song was “Heartbroken” (1953), recorded by Judy Garland, the mother of Liza Minnelli who would later become a close colleague.
