E.Y. Harburg*

Born in 1896, E. Y. "Yip" Harburg, was the child of Russian Jewish immigrants living in New York's Lower East Side. His father was a garment worker, and his mother made hairnets at home.

Harburg got his first job when he was in the first grade, putting pickles in jars at a small pickle factory. He had other odd jobs including lighting lamps along the docks of the East River. Harburg fell in love with the theater when a teacher took him and some classmates to see Peter Pan.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree from City College of New York, Harburg worked for a U.S. manufacturer in South America, but the business went bankrupt. In 1921, he and a friend started an electrical appliance company in New York that became quite successful before collapsing in 1929.

Harburg began writing lyrics for shows. In 1932, he collaborated with Jay Gorney to write "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", the unofficial anthem of the Great Depression. He wrote lyrics for many popular Broadway musicals and movies, including "Over the Rainbow," "It's Only a Paper Moon," and "April in Paris."