Harnick was born in Chicago on April 30, 1924, and
graduated from Northwestern University's School of Music in 1949.
After contributing lyrics and music to WAA-MU productions, he went
on to numerous achievements in musical theater. He contributed to
Broadway and off-Broadway productions beginning in 1952. In 1960,
Harnick won the Pulitzer Prize for the lyrics to Fiorello, a musical
about New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. Harnick was the lyricist
for the now classic musical Fiddler on the Roof, which won ten Tony
awards, including Best Composer and Lyricist. In addition to his
original creations, Harnick did adaptations for A Christmas Carol,
A Wonderful Life, and Cyrano, and for the operas Carmen and The
Merry Widow. Harnick was inducted into the American Academy of Arts
and Letters in 1993.
