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Quick Facts
- NAME: George Gershwin
- OCCUPATION: Songwriter
- BIRTH DATE: September 26, 1898
- DEATH DATE: July 11, 1937
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Brooklyn, New York
- PLACE OF DEATH: Hollywood, California
Best Known For
George Gershwin was one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, known for popular stage and screen numbers as well as classical compositions.
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Play NowGeorge Gershwin. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 10:32, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643.
George Gershwin. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"George Gershwin." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 10:32 http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643.
"George Gershwin," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"George Gershwin," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
George Gershwin [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643.
George Gershwin, http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
George Gershwin. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Gershwin called it his “folk opera,” and it is considered to not only be Gershwin’s most complex and best-known works, but also among the most important American musical compositions of the 20th century.
Following his success with “Porgy and Bess,” Gershwin moved to Hollywood and was hired to compose the music for a film titled “Shall We Dance,
” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was while working on a follow-up film with Astaire that Gershwin’s life would come to an abrupt end.
Untimely death
In the beginning of 1937, Gershwin began to experience troubling symptoms such as severe headaches and noticing strange smells.
Doctors would eventually discover that he had developed a malignant brain tumor. On July 11, 1937, Gershwin died during surgery to remove the tumor. He was only 38.
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