Clark Gesner

Clark Gesner
Gesner (center, with flower) with director Joseph Hardy and the original 1967 cast of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Gesner (center, with flower) with director Joseph Hardy and the original 1967 cast of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Background information
Born(1938-03-27)March 27, 1938
Augusta, Maine, United States
DiedJuly 23, 2002(2002-07-23) (aged 64)
New York City, New York, United States
Occupation(s)Composer, author, actor

Clark Gesner (March 27, 1938 – July 23, 2002)[1] was an American composer, songwriter, author, and actor. He is best known for composing the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, based on the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts.[2]

None of his other musicals (most notably The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall in 1979) had been able to match the success of ...Charlie Brown, though he had small success in regional productions (mostly Animal Fair in 1990).[3]

Gesner's song "Happiness" became a hit standard in the 1960s, being recorded by various artists.[1] The latter was also recorded in a smooth jazz version by David Benoit in May 2000, shortly after Charles M. Schulz's death, on an album entitled Here's To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years![4] The album made it to #2 on the Top Jazz Albums chart.[5]

  1. ^ a b Clark Gesner at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ Peter, Thomas. "Top 10 Lists Announced for Most-Performed Plays and Musicals in High Schools" Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barns was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Here's to You, Charlie Brown!: 50 Great Years!". iTunes. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  5. ^ David Benoit. - Charts & Awards: Billboard Albums. - Allmusic. - Retrieved: 2008-07-20