# Al Goodman

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For the American singer, see [Al Goodman (singer)](/source/Al_Goodman_(singer)).

**Alfred Goodman**[1] (August 12, 1890 – January 10, 1972) was a [conductor](/source/Conducting), [songwriter](/source/Songwriter), stage composer, [musical director](/source/Musical_director), [arranger](/source/Arranger), and [pianist](/source/Pianist).

## Early years

Goodman was born in [Nikopol, Ukraine](/source/Nikopol,_Ukraine),[citation needed] (another source says that he was born in Odessa, Ukraine).[1] His father, Tobias Goodman,[2] was a cantor in a synagogue in Odessa. Goodman sang in a choir when he was 5 years old[3] and had become fluent in reading music by age 6. When he was about 7, the family left Russia to escape a [pogrom](/source/Pogrom). Disguised as farmers, they made their way to Romania. There they lost their money but escaped to the United States and settled in Baltimore. Goodman graduated from [Baltimore City College](/source/Baltimore_City_College) and the [Peabody Conservatory](/source/Peabody_Conservatory) in [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore). He earned money by playing piano for films at the Pickwick Theatre in Baltimore.[1]

## Career

Goodman worked as a musician in a nickelodeon and chorus boy in one of the Milton Aborn's operettas.[2] Before he was 20, Goodman began working in Chicago as orchestrator for [M. Witmark & Sons](/source/M._Witmark_%26_Sons), a music publishing company. He moved to Los Angeles, where he began conducting in addition to composing and arranging. There, he met [Al Jolson](/source/Al_Jolson), which led to his going to New York to become Jolson's conductor.[1]

Goodman was first introduced to musical comedy by the late Earl Carroll, who persuaded him to collaborate in producing his musical, *So Long Letty*. The success, followed by the hit "Sinbad,"[2] which he produced with Al Jolson, led to positions as orchestra conductor for many [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) productions including the highly successful *Flyin' High*, *[The Student Prince](/source/The_Student_Prince)*, and *[Blossom Time](/source/Blossom_Time_(operetta))*. In all, during this period of his career, Goodman directed over 150 first-night performances and became one of the Great White Way's most popular conductors.[citation needed] He debuted as a musical director on Broadway with *Canary Cottage* (1917), and his final Broadway production was *[Hold on to Your Hats](/source/Hold_On_to_Your_Hats)* (1940).[4]

He was in such demand that it was not uncommon for him to conduct the orchestra of a show for the first few performances, and then hand the baton over to another while he prepared for a new production. In addition to his many assignments as one of [RCA Victor](/source/RCA_Victor)'s most talented conductors and arrangers, Goodman was kept busy directing the music for radio network shows.

Programs on which he worked included *Al Goodman's Musical Album* (1951–1953),[5] *[The Bob Hope Show](/source/The_Pepsodent_Show)*,[5] *The Family Hour*,[5] *[The Fred Allen Show](/source/The_Fred_Allen_Show)* (1945–1949),[5] *The Gulf Show*,[5] *Hit the Jackpot*,[5] *The Intimate Revue*,[5] *The James Melton Show*,[5] *[Palmolive Beauty Box Theater](/source/Palmolive_Beauty_Box_Theater)* (1935–1937),[5] *The Prudential Family Hour*,[5] *Showboat*,[5] *[Texaco Star Theater](/source/Texaco_Star_Theater)*,[5] *[Your Hit Parade](/source/Your_Hit_Parade)* (1935–1938),[5] and *[The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air](/source/The_Ziegfeld_Follies_of_the_Air)* (1932),[5]

On television, Goodman worked on *[Colgate Comedy Hour](/source/Colgate_Comedy_Hour)*,[6] *[The Donald O'Connor Show](/source/The_Donald_O'Connor_Show)*,[6] *[Fireball Fun for All](/source/Fireball_Fun_for_All)*,[6] and *Sound Off Time*.[6]

Goodman wrote some memorable songs such as "When Hearts Are Young", "Call of Love" and "Twilight". He also worked on several musicals such as *[The Band Wagon](/source/The_Band_Wagon)*, *[Good News](/source/Good_News_(musical))* and *[Ziegfeld Follies](/source/Ziegfeld_Follies)*.

## Personal life and death

Goodman was married to Fannie Sneidman.[7] He died in New York City.

## References

1. ["Who's Who on the Stage"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/103594176). *The New York Times*. May 10, 1925. p. X 2. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

1. Spiegel, Irving (October 15, 1944). ["Of Al (Not B.) Goodman"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/106969666). *The New York Times*. p. X 7. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

1. Musiker, Naomi & Musiker, Reuben (2014). [*Conductors and Composers of Popular Orchestral Music: A Biographical and Discographical Sourcebook*](https://books.google.com/books?id=CH3sAgAAQBAJ&q=%22Al+Goodman%22+music&pg=PT117). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-91777-7. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

1. ["Al Goodman"](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/al-goodman-3927). *Internet Broadway Database*. The Broadway League. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210112080321/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/al-goodman-3927) January 12, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

1. Terrace, Vincent (1999). *Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows*. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.

1. Terrace, Vincent (2011). *Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010*. 2nd ed. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.

1. ["Mrs. Al Goodman"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/115271292). *The New York Times*. October 15, 1961. p. 88. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

- Book: *Broadway: An Encyclopedia*, by [Ken Bloom](/source/Ken_Bloom_(writer))

## External links

- [http://www.playbill.com/person/detail/813/al-goodman](http://www.playbill.com/person/detail/813/al-goodman)
- [Al Goodman](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0328998/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Al Goodman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Goodman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Goodman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.