Lou Holtz (April 11, 1893 â€" September 22, 1980 in Beverly Hills,
California) was an American vaudevillian, comic actor, and theatrical
producer.Born in 1893 in New York City, Holtz was discovered by
vaudevillian Elsie Janis in San Francisco when still in his teens, and
came to New York. In 1913, he appeared in his first Broadway show,
titled World of Pleasure. He appeared on Broadway in other shows with
small parts, then became a star in George White's Scandals of 1919. He
reappeared in the Scandals in 1920 and 1921. Holtz became a close good
friend of George Gershwin when appearing in the Scandals, which
Gershwin wrote the music for. Gershwin later wrote Tell Me More, a
musical, for Holtz in 1925, which was not received favorably and was
short-lived on Broadway.Several years later, Holtz had a big hit on
Broadway in 1931 when he hired his pianist, Harold Arlen, to write a
show for him. The musical, which Holt produced, was called ″You Said
It″ (music by Harold Arlen and lyrics and book by Jack Yellen) and
the show ran on Broadway for 192 performances. Holt's pianist, Harold
Arlen, would go on to write the music for The Wizard of Oz in 1939.In
the 1920s, Holtz became the highest paid entertainer on Broadway, with
articles touting his salary as an unheard of $6,000 per week.
Unfortunately for Holtz, all of that money was invested in the stock
market. He later told friends that he came out of the 1929 crash with
$500, while he had been worth more than $1 million the previous year.
California) was an American vaudevillian, comic actor, and theatrical
producer.Born in 1893 in New York City, Holtz was discovered by
vaudevillian Elsie Janis in San Francisco when still in his teens, and
came to New York. In 1913, he appeared in his first Broadway show,
titled World of Pleasure. He appeared on Broadway in other shows with
small parts, then became a star in George White's Scandals of 1919. He
reappeared in the Scandals in 1920 and 1921. Holtz became a close good
friend of George Gershwin when appearing in the Scandals, which
Gershwin wrote the music for. Gershwin later wrote Tell Me More, a
musical, for Holtz in 1925, which was not received favorably and was
short-lived on Broadway.Several years later, Holtz had a big hit on
Broadway in 1931 when he hired his pianist, Harold Arlen, to write a
show for him. The musical, which Holt produced, was called ″You Said
It″ (music by Harold Arlen and lyrics and book by Jack Yellen) and
the show ran on Broadway for 192 performances. Holt's pianist, Harold
Arlen, would go on to write the music for The Wizard of Oz in 1939.In
the 1920s, Holtz became the highest paid entertainer on Broadway, with
articles touting his salary as an unheard of $6,000 per week.
Unfortunately for Holtz, all of that money was invested in the stock
market. He later told friends that he came out of the 1929 crash with
$500, while he had been worth more than $1 million the previous year.
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