Yip Harburg

Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg was born Isidore Hochberg on the Lower East Side of New York on April 8, 1896. His parents, Lewis Hochberg and Mary Ricing, were Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jews who had emigrated from Russia; he later said his love of theater began in boyhood visits to Yiddish theater (ייִדיש טעאַטער) and vaudeville with his father. He wrote the words to “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” and, with Harold Arlen, all the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including “Over the Rainbow.” He was blacklisted in Hollywood from 1950 to 1962. He died in Los Angeles on March 5, 1981.