Biography
Praised for his bold and progressive voice within Germany’s Weimar era, Frederick Hollander was an Academy Award-nominated composer best known for his signature piece “Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt,” and its popularized version “Falling In Love Again,” with English lyrics by Reginald Connelly. First performed by Marlene Dietrich and the Frederick Hollander Orchestra within the 1930 film Der Blaue Engel, Dietrich later recorded and brought the English composition to international success. Since, the song has been interpreted by countless artists - most notably Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Dionne Warwick, Sammy Davis Jr., and The Beatles.
Caught up in the cultural and artistic maelstrom of Weimar Germany, in 1931 Hollander opened his own highly successful cabaret-style theater, "Tingel Tangel," ensconced beneath Berlin's "Theater des Westens." His shows were among the top attractions of the day, hailed for their jazzy music, witty lyrics, and daring political satire. Hollander's courageous and openly anti-Hitler revues, such as "Spuk in der Villa Stern," made him an early Nazi target and nearly cost him his life. Within two years, Hitler's unrelenting rise to power would force Hollander and his second wife, Hedi Schoop, to flee Germany for the United States.
In 1933, Hollander arrived in Hollywood to discover that his "Blue Angel" reputation had preceded him - as did Marlene Dietrich - and he continued writing songs for the actress, including "Boys In The Back Room," "You've Got That Look," "Illusions," "Black Market" and "I've Been In Love Before." Hollander's Hollywood career spanned twenty-three years and included songs and musical scores for hundreds of films, among them "Sabrina," "Destry Rides Again," "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," "A Foreign Affair" (in which Hollander also appears as Dietrich's night club piano player), "Desire," and the cult musical "The Five Thousand Fingers Of Dr. T."
He garnered four Academy Award nominations: 1937 for Best Song "Whispers In The Dark" (from "Artists And Models"); 1942 for Best Score (from "Talk Of The Town"); 1948 for Best Song "This Is The Moment," (from "That Lady In Ermine") and in 1953 for Best Musical Score (from "The Five Thousand Fingers Of Dr. T").
Hollander returned to Germany in 1956, where his music enjoyed a revival, presented in sprightly cabaret revues in Munich and Berlin. He continued to compose for musicals and wrote the score to the 1959 film, "Das Spukschloss im Spessart."
For Hollander's lasting contributions to German culture, he was awarded the Schwabinger Kunstpreis and in 1959 the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and posthumously received a center-city square named in his honor (Friedrich Hollaender Platz).
Additionally this January, Hollander’s songs from the Weimar-era were celebrated within Juilliard's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts and New York Festival of Song (NYFOS)’s program titled “Kurt Weill’s Berlin,” for being as “bracing and brilliant as the day they were written.”
Caught up in the cultural and artistic maelstrom of Weimar Germany, in 1931 Hollander opened his own highly successful cabaret-style theater, "Tingel Tangel," ensconced beneath Berlin's "Theater des Westens." His shows were among the top attractions of the day, hailed for their jazzy music, witty lyrics, and daring political satire. Hollander's courageous and openly anti-Hitler revues, such as "Spuk in der Villa Stern," made him an early Nazi target and nearly cost him his life. Within two years, Hitler's unrelenting rise to power would force Hollander and his second wife, Hedi Schoop, to flee Germany for the United States.
In 1933, Hollander arrived in Hollywood to discover that his "Blue Angel" reputation had preceded him - as did Marlene Dietrich - and he continued writing songs for the actress, including "Boys In The Back Room," "You've Got That Look," "Illusions," "Black Market" and "I've Been In Love Before." Hollander's Hollywood career spanned twenty-three years and included songs and musical scores for hundreds of films, among them "Sabrina," "Destry Rides Again," "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," "A Foreign Affair" (in which Hollander also appears as Dietrich's night club piano player), "Desire," and the cult musical "The Five Thousand Fingers Of Dr. T."
He garnered four Academy Award nominations: 1937 for Best Song "Whispers In The Dark" (from "Artists And Models"); 1942 for Best Score (from "Talk Of The Town"); 1948 for Best Song "This Is The Moment," (from "That Lady In Ermine") and in 1953 for Best Musical Score (from "The Five Thousand Fingers Of Dr. T").
Hollander returned to Germany in 1956, where his music enjoyed a revival, presented in sprightly cabaret revues in Munich and Berlin. He continued to compose for musicals and wrote the score to the 1959 film, "Das Spukschloss im Spessart."
For Hollander's lasting contributions to German culture, he was awarded the Schwabinger Kunstpreis and in 1959 the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and posthumously received a center-city square named in his honor (Friedrich Hollaender Platz).
Additionally this January, Hollander’s songs from the Weimar-era were celebrated within Juilliard's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts and New York Festival of Song (NYFOS)’s program titled “Kurt Weill’s Berlin,” for being as “bracing and brilliant as the day they were written.”