Irving Caesar on AllMovie

American songwriter Irving Caesar worked with some of the century's great songwriters, most notably George Gershwin. A native of New York City, Caesar got his start working on Tin Pan Alley. He and Gershwin teamed up in 1916. One of their first songs was "Swanee." The song attracted some notice but did not become a hit until singer Al Jolson heard Gershwin perform it at a party. Jolson recorded it and the song became a million seller both in records and sheet music. The song was a bigger boost to Gershwin's career than Caesar's, but Caesar, while never as well known, went on to pen a few hits of his own including "Just a Gigolo" and the Shirley Temple hit "Animal Crackers in My Soup." Working with Vincent Youmans, Caesar also penned the classic Broadway musical No, No Nanette (1925), which included the hit "Tea for Two." In his latter years, Caesar appeared in a few documentaries. He died in New York City at the age of 101.