Sheldon Harnick

Chicago-born Sheldon Harnick began writing music and comedy in high school, interrupting his budding career with a stint in the army and then obtaining a bachelor’s degree in music from Northwestern University. He moved to New York City in the early 1950s and began writing for Broadway. When he met composer Jerry Bock, Harnick’s career took off as the pair created the Pulitzer Prize–winning musical drama Fiorello! (1959) and later Fiddler on the Roof (1964), which garnered them both Tony Awards. He and Bock split up after the production of The Rothschilds (1970), but Harnick continued to be active into his eighties.