Howard Ashman

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Howard Ashman
Partner(s)Stuart White (1969–1980, 1983)
Bill Lauch (1984–1991)
Awards2 Academy Awards (1989, 1991)
5 Grammy Awards (1991, 1993, 1994)

Howard Elliott Ashman (May 17, 1950 – March 14, 1991) was an American playwright, lyricist and stage director.

took over to write the rest of the songs for the latter film after Ashman's death in 1991.

Early life and education

Ashman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Shirley Thelma (née Glass) and Raymond Albert Ashman, an ice cream cone manufacturer.[7] His family was Jewish.[8][9] He started his theater experiences with the Children's Theater Association (CTA), playing roles such as Peter Pan.[10] Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College (with a stop at Tufts University's Summer Theater) and then went on to earn a master's degree in Fine Arts at Indiana University in 1974.[11]

Career

After graduating from Indiana University in 1974, Ashman moved to New York and worked as an editor at

Grammy Award nomination.[12] Ashman also directed the workshop of Nine by Yeston at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and after asking why Guido's wife stays with him after she knows he has not been faithful, inspired Yeston to write "My Husband Makes Movies".[13]

Ashman was director, lyricist, and book writer for the 1986 Broadway musical

Little Shop of Horrors, as well as contributing the lyrics for two new songs, "Some Fun Now" and "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space
", the latter of which received an Academy Award nomination.

In 1986, Ashman was brought in to write lyrics for a song in

Under The Sea
" with Ashman and Menken winning for the latter.

In 1988, while working on The Little Mermaid, Ashman pitched the idea of an animated musical adaptation of Aladdin to Disney. After he wrote a group of songs with partner Alan Menken and a film treatment, a screenplay was written by Linda Woolverton, who had worked on Beauty and the Beast.[17] Directors John Musker and Ron Clements then joined the production, and the story underwent many changes, with some elements of the original treatment being dropped. Out of the 16 songs written for Aladdin, three of Ashman's songs ended up in the finished film, which was released after his death.

During early production of Aladdin, Ashman and Menken were approached to help reinvigorate and save the production of Beauty and the Beast, which was going nowhere as a non-musical. Ashman, wishing to focus on Aladdin and his health, reluctantly agreed. It was at this time that his health began to decline due to his illness. Regardless, he completed lyrical work on Beauty and the Beast before his death in March 1991. The film was released mere months after his death and is dedicated to him. In May 2020, Beauty and the Beast co-director Kirk Wise said, "If you had to point to one person responsible for the 'Disney Renaissance', I would say it was Howard."[18]

Along with Menken, Ashman was the co-recipient of two

Grammy Awards
, two Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards.

Personal life

Ashman met Stuart White, one of his first partners, at a summer university program in 1969.[19] Originally close friends, the two formed a bond which led to a relationship.[20] They both completed master's degrees at Indiana University and then moved to upstate New York. Ashman and White re-opened the Workshop of Players Art Foundation (WPA) together as artistic directors.[21] The two fell out in 1980, but reunited briefly in 1983.

Ashman then met Bill Lauch in 1984, who worked as an architect. Lauch accepted Ashman's posthumous Oscar for Beauty and the Beast in 1992, after Ashman's death.[22][23]

Death

Ashman was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in January 1988, as he continued to write songs. Peter Kunze noted that Ashman was supported by Jeffrey Katzenberg; Disney created a production unit near his home in Beacon, New York, allowing him to continue working on Beauty and the Beast, while undergoing treatment at the Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers in New York City.[11][24] Ashman died at Saint Vincent's on March 14, 1991, at the age of 40, prior to the film's completion.[11][25] Beauty and the Beast was dedicated to his memory, featuring the message after the end credits: To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice, and a beast his soul. We will be forever grateful. Howard Ashman 1950-1991. He was buried in the Ohev Shalom Cemetery in Reisterstown, Maryland.[26]

Awards and nominations

Over the course of his career, Ashman won two Academy Awards (one posthumous) out of seven nominations. Of these nominations, four are posthumous nominations, the most in Academy Awards history.[

Grammy Awards
(three of them posthumous), among other accolades.

Accolades

Award Year Project Category Outcome
Academy Awards
1986 Little Shop of Horrors Best Original Song
for the song "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space"
Nominated
1989 The Little Mermaid Best Original Song
for the song "Under the Sea"
Won
Best Original Song
for the song "Kiss the Girl"
Nominated
1991 Beauty and the Beast Best Original Song
for the song "Beauty and the Beast" (Posthumous)
Won
Best Original Song
for the song "Be Our Guest" (Posthumous)
Nominated
Best Original Song
for the song "Belle" (Posthumous)
Nominated
1992 Aladdin Best Original Song
for the song "Friend Like Me" (Posthumous)
Nominated
British Academy Film Awards 1992 Beauty and the Beast
Best Film Music
Nominated
Drama Desk Awards 1983 Little Shop of Horrors Outstanding Lyrics Won
Outstanding Director of a Musical Nominated
1994 Beauty and the Beast Outstanding Lyrics
(Posthumous)
Nominated
2014 Aladdin Nominated
Evening Standard Awards
1983 Little Shop of Horrors Best Musical Won
Golden Globe Awards
1989 The Little Mermaid Best Original Song
for the song "Under the Sea"
Won
Best Original Song
for the song "Kiss the Girl"
Nominated
1991 Beauty and the Beast Best Original Song
for the song "Beauty and the Beast" (Posthumous)
Won
Best Original Song
for the song "Be Our Guest" (Posthumous)
Nominated
1992 Aladdin Best Original Song
for the song "Friend Like Me" (Posthumous)
Nominated
Best Original Song
for the song "Prince Ali" (Posthumous)
Nominated
Grammy Awards
1984 Little Shop of Horrors Best Musical Cast Show Album Nominated
1990 Oliver and Company: Story and Songs from the Motion Picture
Best Recording for Children
Nominated
1991 The Little Mermaid: Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack Won
The Little Mermaid Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television
for the song "Under the Sea"
Won
Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television
for the song "Kiss the Girl"
Nominated
1993 Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Best Musical Album for Children
(Posthumous)
Won
Album of the Year
(Posthumous)
Nominated
Beauty and the Beast Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television
for the song "Beauty and the Beast" (Posthumous)
Won
Song of the Year
for the song "Beauty and the Beast" (Posthumous)
Nominated
1994 Aladdin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Best Musical Album for Children
(Posthumous)
Won
Aladdin Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television
for the song "Friend Like Me" (Posthumous)
Nominated
Laurence Olivier Awards
1983 Little Shop of Horrors Musical of the Year Nominated
1998 Beauty and the Beast Best New Musical
(Posthumous)
Won
New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards
1983 Little Shop of Horrors Best Musical Won
Outer Critics Circle Awards
Best Off-Broadway Musical Won
Best Score Won
Tony Awards
1987 Smile Best Book of a Musical Nominated
1994 Beauty and the Beast Best Original Score
(Posthumous)
Nominated
2008 The Little Mermaid Nominated
2014 Aladdin Nominated

Special recognitions

Tributes

On the 2002 Special Edition DVD of Beauty and the Beast, the Disney animators teamed up again and added a new song called "Human Again", which Ashman and Menken had written for the film but had been cut from the finished product. On Disc 2, there is a short documentary entitled Howard Ashman: In Memoriam that features many people who worked on Beauty and the Beast who talk about Ashman's involvement on the film and how his death was truly a loss for them.

Jeffrey Katzenberg claims there are two angels watching down on them that put their magic touch on every film they made. Those two angels are Ashman and Walt Disney himself.[28]

An album of Ashman singing his own work entitled Howard Sings Ashman was released on November 11, 2008, by PS Classics as part of the Library of Congress "Songwriter Series".

The 2009 documentary, Waking Sleeping Beauty, which centers around Disney's animation renaissance, is dedicated to him, as well as Frank Wells, Joe Ranft, and Roy E. Disney.

In March 2017, Don Hahn confirmed he was working on a documentary biographical film about Howard Ashman.

Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 2018,[2][30] before having a limited theatrical run on December 18, 2018. It was released on Disney+ on August 7, 2020, and was initially slated for removal on May 26, 2023.[31] However, Disney reversed course in response to fan outcry.[32]

Like with the original Beauty and the Beast, the 2023 live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid was also dedicated to his memory.

Credits

References

  1. ^ Obituary Variety, March 18, 1991.
  2. ^ a b c d e Robinson, Joanna (April 20, 2018). "Inside the Tragedy and Triumph of Disney Genius Howard Ashman". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 21, 2018..
  3. ^ Knegt, Peter (March 11, 2021). "The remarkable story of Howard Ashman, who changed Disney forever while battling AIDS". CBC. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Brady, Tara (August 3, 2020). "The untold story of the man who gave Disney's beast its soul". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  5. Observer
    . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  6. ^ Landis, Michael (November 5, 2019). "The Little Mermaid' Has Been Subverting Expectations for Decades". Smithsonian. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "Howard Ashman Biography (1950–1991)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  8. ^ "Don Hahn interview: Beauty And The Beast, Howard Ashman, The Lion King, South Park and Frankenweenie". Den of Geek. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Glassman, Marvin. "'Beauty' cast member proud of her Jewish roots". Jewish Journal. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  10. ^ Hahn, Don (August 7, 2020). Howard (Documentary). 6 minutes in.
  11. ^ a b c Blau, Eleanor (March 15, 1991). "Howard Ashman Is Dead at 40; Writer of 'Little Shop of Horrors'". The New York Times. p. A23. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "26th Annual Grammy Awards (1983)". Grammy. 1983. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  13. ^ "ATW's Working in the Theatre #67 Playscript (Winter 1982)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
  14. New York Times
    . Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  15. ^ Hahn, Don (August 7, 2020). Howard (Documentary). 46 minutes in.
  16. ^ Lenker, Maureen (August 7, 2020). "12 things we learned from the Disney+ documentary Howard". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  17. ^ "Aladdin: Crew Reunion". Animated Views. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  18. ^ "10 Things We Learned from Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale During WDFM Happily Ever After Hours". Laughing Place. May 14, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  19. ^ Roberts, Jon (May 31, 2019). "Howard Ashman: A Queer Legacy Not to be Forgotten". Storyhouse. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  20. ^ Hahn, Don (August 7, 2020). Howard (Documentary). 8 minutes in.
  21. ^ Renick, Kyle (January 9, 2019). "A SHORT HISTORY OF THE WPA THEATRE (WORKSHOP OF THE PLAYERS ART FOUNDATION, INC.)". Howard Ashman. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  22. ^ "Beauty And The Beast" Wins Original Song: 1992 Oscars (Video). March 29, 1993 [2015]. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
  23. ^ "Top 10 Notable People Who Died From AIDS – Listverse". Listverse. December 1, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  24. Washington Post. Archived
    from the original on April 22, 2022.
  25. ^ Hahn, Don (March 26, 2010). Waking Sleeping Beauty (Documentary). Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
  26. .
  27. ^ Howard Ashman Papers (Report). January 1, 2011. p. 13.
  28. ^ Howard Ashman: A short tribute. YouTube. August 19, 2013. Event occurs at 2:19. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021.
  29. ^ Hetrick, Adam (March 7, 2017). "Beauty and the Beast Lyricist Howard Ashman Subject of New Documentary Film". Playbill. New York City: Playbill, Inc. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  30. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (April 11, 2018). "'Howard' Clip: Tribeca Docu Spotlights Oscar-Winning Disney Lyricist Howard Ashman". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  31. ^ Weatherbed, Jess (May 19, 2023). "Disney will remove over 50 shows from Disney Plus and Hulu this month". The Verge. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  32. ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (May 19, 2023). "'Howard' Documentary Will Remain On Disney+; List Of Disney Streaming Removals Still Being Finalized – Update". Deadline. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  33. ^ "Alan Menken on Losing Disney Lyricist Howard Ashman to AIDS: 'It Was Crushing'". HuffPost. August 12, 2020.

External links