November 22, 1943: Lorenz Hart Dies

November 22, 1943: Lorenz Hart dies in Manhattan. Years of hard drinking had caught up with him at the age of 48.

Lorenz Milton Hart was born on May 2, 1895 in Manhattan, to Jewish immigrant parents. He was introduced to Richard Rodgers at Columbia University in 1919, and the two of them wrote songs together for the next 24 years. Their hit musicals included On Your Toes, Babes In Arms and Pal Joey. Their individual hits included "Blue Moon," "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "My Funny Valentine."

But "Larry" Hart suffered from depression, which led him to drink heavily. It's been alleged that he was gay and in the closet. When the 1948 film Words and Music was made, with Tom Drake as Rodgers (who wrote the music for their songs) and Mickey Rooney as Hart (who wrote the lyrics), the film covered up for him, attributing his depression and his erratic behavior not to his drinking and his closeted nature, but to an obsession with a woman who rejected him.

In 1943, Rodgers had had enough, and ended their partnership. That same year, Hart's mother, with whom he lived, died. Depression overcame him, and he drank himself into a stupor on November 22, leaving him outside on a cold night, ending his life.

Oscar Hammerstein II, Rodgers' new partner, died in 1960. Rodgers lived on until 1979.

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November 22, 1943 was a Monday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. The NHL season was underway, but no games were scheduled for this day. So there were no scores on this day. But 2 sports legends were born: Tennis icon Billie Jean King, and hockey star Yvan Cournoyer.