Jule Styne

Jule Styne, Bountiful Creator Of Song Favorites, Dies at 88 By ELEANOR BLAU Published: September 21, 1994 Jule Styne, the versatile, prolific songwriter whose tunes became standards for three generations and the composer of such classic Broadway musicals as "Gypsy," "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "Funny Girl," died yesterday at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. He was 88 and lived in Manhattan. The cause was heart failure, said Shirley Herz, his press representative. He had undergone open-heart surgery six weeks ago. Mr. Styne's enduring songs are legion, among them the Oscar-winning "Three Coins in the Fountain," as well as "I Don't Want to Walk Without You," "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," "Everything's Coming Up Roses." But his name was always less familiar than his music. This was probably because of his very flexibility. "You write as well as who you write with," he said, and he usually let a musical's lyricist and star set the tone for the score. "If you can't be a collaborator," he said, "you don't belong in the theater." Of himself, he once said, "I am the greatest collaborator there is." In 1987, Mr. Styne estimated that he had written 2,000 songs, had published 1,500 and had 200 hits. "I'm talking about hit hits," he said. "The others were popular, but there were 200 hit hits." Also among them were "It's Been a Long, Long Time," "It's Magic," "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!," "Time After Time" and "Five Minutes More." In Hollywood, he teamed up with Sammy Cahn on such romantic fare as "I've Heard That Song Before," "I'll Walk Alone" and "Three Coins in the Fountain." On Broadway, he shifted from satire ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," with Leo Robin) to drama ("Gypsy," with Stephen Sondheim) to glitter ("Funny Girl," with Bob Merrill), also working with Betty Comden and Adolph Green on shows including "Two on the Aisle" and "Bells Are Ringing." "I had 15 No. 1 songs with Sammy Cahn," Mr. Styne said a few years ago. "He loved that big-band sound, so every song had that big-band sound. Then I read lyrics by Yip Harburg and Leo Robin and I thought, 'I'd like to write to those kinds of words.' Yip's syllables and sounds tingle with music. Leo had a wonderful edge, a suave and very sophisticated way of comedy." His songs often bore the stamp of the singers who introduced them: Carol Channing, Judy Holliday, Doris Day, Mary Martin, Barbra Streisand and Ethel Merman.