Cy Coleman

Cy Coleman (June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist renowned for his innovative contributions to Broadway musical theater and popular music standards. Born Seymour Kaufman in New York City to Eastern European Jewish immigrant parents and raised in the Bronx, he emerged as a child prodigy, making his Carnegie Hall debut at age seven and later training at the High School of Music and Art and the New York College of Music.

Coleman's career spanned jazz performance, pop songwriting, and theatrical composition, beginning with nightclub piano gigs in New York and recordings with the Cy Coleman Trio for Capitol Records in the 1950s. He gained early acclaim for pop standards like "Witchcraft" (1957) and "The Best Is Yet to Come" (1959), co-written with Carolyn Leigh and recorded by artists including Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. His Broadway breakthrough came with Wildcat (1960), followed by landmark scores for Little Me (1962), Sweet Charity (1966) with lyrics by Dorothy Fields and direction by Bob Fosse, Barnum (1980), City of Angels (1989), The Will Rogers Follies (1991), and The Life (1997). Coleman also composed film scores, such as for Father Goose (1964), and television specials featuring stars like Shirley MacLaine and Lily Tomlin.

Cy Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish immigrant parents, Max Kaufman, a carpenter and brick mason, and Ida Kaufman, who worked as a landlady. As the youngest of five sons, Coleman grew up in a modest household shaped by his parents' working-class circumstances and the cultural traditions of their heritage.

He was raised in the Bronx, a bustling borough where immigrant families like his contributed to a vibrant working-class Jewish community, fostering a sense of resilience and communal support amid economic challenges. The family's home, an apartment building owned by his mother, reflected the everyday realities of urban Jewish life in the early 20th century, with influences from synagogue music and neighborhood gatherings embedding early rhythms into Coleman's worldview.