{{short description|American playwright and lyricist}} '''Henry Martyn Blossom Jr.''' (May 10, 1866 – March 23, 1919) was an American writer, playwright, novelist, opera librettist, and lyricist. He first gained wide attention for his second novel, ''Checkers: A Hard Luck Story'' (1896), which was successfully adapted by Blossom into a 1903 Broadway play, ''Checkers''. It was Blossom's first stage work and his first critical success in the theatre. The play in turn was adapted by others creatives into two silent films, one in 1913 and the other in 1919, and the play was the basis for the 1920 Broadway musical ''Honey Girl''. ''Checkers'' was soon followed by Blossom's first critical success as a lyricist, the comic opera ''The Yankee Consul'' (1903), on which he collaborated with fellow Saint Louis resident and composer Alfred G. Robyn. This work was also adapted into a silent film in 1921. He later collaborated with Robyn again; writing the book and lyrics for their 1912 musical ''All for the Ladies''.
Blossom had a lengthy and fruitful partnership as a librettist for the operetta composer Victor Herbert. He began his collaboration with Herbert with ''Mlle. Modiste'' (1905). This was followed by several other operettas, of which the best known are ''Mlle. Modiste'' (1905), ''The Red Mill'' (1906), ''The Princess Pat'' (1915), and ''Eileen'' (1917). For the 1916 musical ''The Century Girl'', both he and Herbert collaborated with composer Irving Berlin. He also collaborated with Herbert on the musicals ''The Only Girl'' (1914) and ''The Velvet Lady'' (1919). The latter work premiered shortly before Blossom's death in 1919 and marked their final collaboration. Several of their works have been adapted into films.
Blossom also wrote the lyrics and books for Broadway musicals made with composers Leslie Stuart, Raymond Hubbell, and Zoel Parenteau. He was also involved with several shows that failed to reach Broadway.
==Biography== Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Blossom was the son of Henry Martyn Blossom and Susan S. Blossom.<ref name="Obit">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/03/24/102855237.html|title=H.M. Blossom, Author, Dies; Playwright and Librettist of Many Famous Broadway Shows|work=The New York Times|date=March 24, 1919|page=13}}</ref> He was educated at the Stoddard School in Saint Louis,<ref name="Obit"/> and worked for his father's insurance company before pursuing a career as a writer.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvNQEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Henry+Blossom%22+%221919%22&pg=PA78|title=The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television|author=Thomas S. Hischak|year=2008|chapter=Blossom, Henry|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199887323|page=78}}</ref> His first published works were short stories in American magazines.<ref name="Cline">{{cite journal|title=The Tribulations of a Librettist|author=Louis Cline|page=334|journal=The Theatre|date=June 1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6-k9AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Henry+Blossom%22+%22The+Documents+in+Evidence%22%C2%A0&pg=PA334|volume=25}}</ref> In 1893 his first novel, ''Documents in Evidence'', was published.<ref name="Cline"/><ref name="Dreiser">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-RfB-mL32sC&dq=%22Henry+Blossom%22+%22The+Documents+in+Evidence%22%C2%A0&pg=PA707|page=707|title=Newspaper Days: An Autobiography|author=Theodore Dreiser|year= 2000|publisher=Black Sparrow Press|isbn=9781574231380}}</ref> His second novel, ''Checkers: A Hard Luck Story'', was published in 1896.<ref name="silent">{{Cite web|url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/C/Checkers1913.html|title=Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List|website=www.silentera.com}}</ref> The plot involves a love story about a man trying to win approval of his would-be father-in-law as he faces career hurdles and tries to distance himself from gambling and horse racing.<ref name=silent/> He adapted it into a successful play starring Thomas W. Ross.<ref name=afi/> It was subsequently adapted into two silent films titled ''Checkers''. The first film from 1913 used a screenplay by Eustace Hale Ball and Lawrence McGill,<ref name=afi>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/18244|title=AFI|Catalog|website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref> and was directed by Augustus Thomas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S0w_AAAAYAAJ&q=Eustace+Hale+Ball&pg=PA391|title=The Moving Picture World|date=April 16, 1913|publisher=Chalmers Publishing Company|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="silent"/> The second film, ''Checkers'', was released in 1919. A second play by Blossom, ''A Fair Exchange'', reached Broadway in 1905.
Blossom's first project as an opera librettist was for the 1903 comic opera ''The Yankee Consul'' which he created in collaboration with fellow Saint Louis resident and composer Alfred G. Robyn. This work premiered in Boston on 21 September 1903 at the Tremont Theatre in a production produced by Boston opera impresario Henry Wilson Savage.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/09/22/archives/-the-yankee-consul-henry-w-savage-produces-a-new-comic-opera-in.html|title="THE YANKEE CONSUL"; Henry W. Savage Produces a New Comic Opera in Boston with Raymond Hitchcock as Star|date=September 22, 1903|page=6|work=The New York Times}}</ref> The work reached Broadway in 1904 and was a tremendous critical success for its star, Raymond Hitchcock, in the role of Abijah Booze.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Complete Book of 1900s Broadway Musicals|author=Dan Dietz|year=2022|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=9781538168943|chapter=The Yankee Consul}}</ref> Blossom later collaborated with Robyn again on the 1912 Broadway musical ''All for the Ladies'' for which he wrote both the book and lyrics.<ref name="Ladies"/> His first musical, ''The Slim Princess'', had debuted the year before and was created in collaboration with composer Leslie Stuart.<ref name="Slim"/>
While Blossom worked with a number of composers during his career, his most frequent and fruitful partnership was with composer Victor Herbert with whom he created several popular light operas or operettas.<ref name="Obit"/> These include ''Mlle. Modiste'' (1905), ''The Red Mill'' (1906), ''The Princess Pat'' (1915), and ''Eileen'' (1917).<ref name="Obit"/> While musically more akin to opera or operetta than musical theatre, some of these works used a dramatic structure more closely related to the American musical; "meshing elements of comic opera into a musical comedy framework".<ref>Mordden, p. 16</ref> The pair also created the "musical farce" ''The Only Girl'',<ref>Mordden, p. 15-16</ref> and collaborated with Irving Berlin on the 1916 musical ''The Century Girl''.<ref name="Century"/> They also wrote the songs "It's Not the Uniform That Makes the Man" with A. Baldwin Sloane in 1917 and "I Want to Go Back to the War" with Percival Knight (music was by Raymond Hubbell) in 1919.<ref>{{Cite book|title=World War I Sheet Music - Volume 1|last=Parker|first=Bernard S.|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7864-2798-7|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|pages=260, 319, 785}}</ref> Several of their works were adapted into films, including ''Mlle. Modiste'' which was the basis for the film ''Kiss Me Again'' (1931).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/henry-blossom-mn0000674046|title=Henry Blossom {{!}} Biography & History {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-06-21}}</ref>
Blossom was also involved with several shows that failed to reach Broadway.<ref name=":0" /> He died from pneumonia in New York City at the age of 53. A member of The Lambs, his funeral service was organized by that organization.<ref name="Obit"/>
==Partial list of works== ===Musicals=== *''The Slim Princess'' (1911)<ref name="Slim">{{cite book|pages=58–59|chapter=The Slim Princess|author=Dan Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1910s Broadway Musicals|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2021|isbn=9781538150283}}</ref> * ''The Man from Cook's'' (1912)<ref>{{cite book|page=1201|chapter=Little Stories of the New Plays; "The Man from Cook's"|title=The Green Book Album|date=January 1912|publisher=Story-Press Association|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o_9ul9hToyMC&dq=%22The+Man+from+Cook%27s%22+%C2%A0%22Flavia+Arcaro%22&pg=PA1201|editor=Louis Eckstein}}</ref> * ''All for the Ladies'' (1912)<ref name="Ladies">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/12/31/archives/bernard-at-his-best-in-all-for-ladies-blossoms-adaptation-of-french.html|title=BERNARD AT HIS BEST IN 'ALL FOR LADIES'; Blossom's Adaptation of French Farce Provides Him with Fine Chance for Fun|date=December 31, 1912|page= 7|work=The New York Times}}</ref> * ''The Only Girl'' (1914)<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0-xCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22The+Only+Girl%22+NOVEMBER+1914&pg=PA260|title=Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical|author=William A. Everett, Paul R. Laird|year=2015|pages=260–261|chapter=The Only Girl|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=9781442256699 }}</ref> *''The Century Girl'' (1916)<ref name="Century">{{Cite book |last=Everett |first=William A. |title=The A to Z of the Broadway musical |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |others=Paul R. Laird, William A. Everett |isbn=978-0-8108-7044-4 |location=Lanham |pages=60 |oclc=667271476}}</ref> *''Miss 1917'' (1917)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/11/06/archives/miss-1917-a-hit-at-the-century-the-dillinghamziegfeld-show-sets-a.html|title='Miss 1917' A Hit at the Century|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 November 1917}}</ref> *''Follow the Girl'' (1918)<ref>{{cite news|author=Theodore Strongin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/03/04/archives/follow-the-girl-to-the-44th-st-roof-musical-comedy-of-a-type-new-to.html|date=March 4, 1918|page=9|work=The New York Times|title=FOLLOW' THE GIRL' TO THE 44TH ST. ROOF; Musical Comedy of a Type New to This Theatre Pleases by Gay Good Taste}}</ref> *''The Velvet Lady'' (1919) *''Tintypes'' (1980; revue featuring music with lyrics by Blossom)
===Novels=== *''Documents in Evidence'' (1893)<ref name="Dreiser"/> *''Checkers: A Hard Luck Story'' (1896)<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oWSHXCqXMQC&dq=%22Checkers:+A+Hard+Luck+Story%22&pg=PA40|title=The Chicago of Fiction: A Resource Guide|page=40|author=James A. Kaser|chapter=Blossom, Henry Martin, Jr. "Checkers: A Hard Luck Story"|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2011|isbn=9781461672586}}</ref>
===Plays=== *''Checkers'' (1903)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/09/22/archives/new-plays-in-washington-the-light-that-lies-in-womans-eyes-and.html|title=NEW PLAYS IN WASHINGTON.; " The Light That Lies in Woman's Eyes" and "Checkers" Draw Large Audiences|work=The New York Times|date=September 22, 1903|page=6}}</ref> *''A Fair Exchange'' (1905)
===Operas and operettas=== * ''The Yankee Consul'' (1903)<ref name="nyt"/> * ''Mlle. Modiste'' - libretto (1905)<ref name="Traubnerone">Traubner, p. 351</ref> * ''The Red Mill'' - book and lyrics (1906)<ref name="Traubnerone"/> * ''The Prima Donna'' (1908)<ref name="Traubnerone"/> * ''Baron Trenck'' (1911 premiere in London,;<ref>{{cite book|author=J. P. Wearing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KMFnAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT197|title=The London Stage 1910–1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2014| isbn=9780810893009 }}</ref> 1912 Broadway production)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/03/12/archives/baron-trenck-has-a-merry-melody-a-minuet-the-merry-merry-way-full.html|title='BARON TRENCK' HAS A MERRY MELODY|work=The New York Times|date=March 12, 1912|page=13}}</ref> * ''The Princess Pat'' - book and lyrics (1915)<ref name="Traubnertwo">Traubner, p. 353</ref> * ''Eileen'' - lyrics (1917)<ref name="Traubnertwo"/>
== Citations == {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book|title=Broadway Babies: The People who Made the American Musical|author=Ethan Mordden|year=1988|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195054255}} *{{cite book|author=Richard Traubner|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cyC-YCK7FigC&dq=%22Light+Opera+of+Manhattan%22+Modiste&pg=PA351|title=Operetta: A Theatrical History| publisher=Psychology Press|year=2003|isbn=0-415-96641-8}}
== External links == *{{Gutenberg author | id=35482| name=Henry Blossom}} *{{Internet Archive author |sname=Henry Martyn Blossom}} *{{IMDb name|0089342|Henry Blossom}} *[http://hdl.handle.net/1802/2216 ''Hearts of Erin''; a romantic comic opera / book and lyrics by Henry Blossom; music by Victor Herbert] (From the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blossom, Henry}} Category:1866 births Category:1919 deaths Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:American lyricists Category:American librettists Category:19th-century American novelists Category:Writers from St. Louis Category:Henry Blossom Category:Members of The Lambs Club Category:American male novelists