Albert Hague

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{{Infobox person

| name = Albert Hague

| image = Albert Hague (1982 NBC press photo).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Hague, {{circa|1982}}

| birth_name = Albert Marcuse

| birth_date = October 13, 1920

| birth_place = Berlin, Germany

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|11|12|1920|10|13}}

| death_place = Marina del Rey, California, U.S.

| alma_mater = University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music

| occupation = {{hlist|Songwriter|actor}}

| years_active =

| spouse = {{marriage|Renee Orin|1951|August 26, 2000|reason=died}}

| children = 2

}}

Albert Hague (born Albert Marcuse, October 13, 1920 – November 12, 2001) was a German–born American songwriter and actor.

Early life

Hague was born to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. His father, Harry Marcuse, was a psychiatrist and a musical prodigy, and his mother, Mimi (née Heller), a chess champion.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/77/Albert-Hague.html|title=Albert Hague Biography (1920-2001)|website=www.filmreference.com}} His family considered their Jewish heritage a liability and raised him as a Lutheran (although he would later embrace his Jewish heritage after coming to the United States).{{Cite web|title=All those Holiday/Christmas Songs: So Many Jewish Songwriters!|publisher=Jewish World Review|date=December 22, 2014|url=http://jewishworldreview.com/1214/jewz_xmas.php3}} Shortly before he was to be inducted into the Hitler Youth, he and his mother fled to Rome.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/15/arts/albert-hague-81-a-composer-and-actor.html|title= Albert Hague, 81, a Composer and Actor|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 15, 2001}} Hague came to America in 1939 after his sister, who lived in Ohio, got him a musical scholarship at the University of Cincinnati. However, as he did not have a legal immigration status to be in the country, he was adopted by an eye surgeon associated with the university. After graduating in 1942, he served in the United States Army's special service band during World War II.Shirley, Don. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-16-me-4891-story.html "Albert Hague, 81; 'Fame' Teacher Wrote Scores for Broadway, TV"] Los Angeles Times, November 16, 2001

Career

Hague's Broadway musicals include Plain and Fancy (1955),{{cite web|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/5811/Plain-and-Fancy|title=Plain and Fancy: Broadway|publisher= www.playbillvault.com|access-date= January 17, 2016}} Redhead (1959),{{cite web|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/3113/Redhead|title=Redhead': Broadway|publisher=www.playbillvault.com|access-date=January 17, 2016}} Cafe Crown (1964),{{cite web|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/8249/Cafe-Crown|title=Cafe Crown: Broadway|publisher=www.playbillvault.com|access-date= January 17, 2016}} and The Fig Leaves Are Falling (1969, with lyrics by Allan Sherman).{{cite web|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/2046/The-Fig-Leaves-Are-Falling|title=The Fig Leaves Are Falling: Broadway|publisher=www.playbillvault.com|access-date=January 17, 2016}}

Famous songs he wrote include "Young and Foolish", "Look Who's in Love" and "Did I Ever Really Live?" He was the composer for the TV musical cartoon How the Grinch Stole Christmas and some songs in the 2000 musical version.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/546845/dr-seuss-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas|title=How the Grinch Stole Christmas|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=January 17, 2016}} He also was an actor, most notably on the TV series Fame, where he played Benjamin Shorofsky, the music teacher. It was a part he originated in the film of the same name.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/313421 |title=Fame: Film Overview|publisher= Turner Classic Movies|access-date=January 17, 2016}} Hague also played a small role in the movie Space Jam (1996), as the psychiatrist that the professional basketball players go to when they lose their "skill".{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/303895/space-jam |title=Space Jam|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=January 17, 2016}}

Hague and his wife Renee occasionally presented a cabaret act, first as "Hague and Hague: His Hits and His Mrs." and later, in 1998, under the title "Still Young and Foolish".{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/features/article/albert-hague-and-renee-orin-still-young-and-foolish-in-ny-cabaret-act-101272# |title=Albert Hague and Renee Orin: Still "Young and Foolish" in NY Cabaret Act|publisher=www.playbill.com|date= November 2, 1998}} They played at Carnegie Hall, the Cinegrill in Los Angeles, and Eighty Eight's in Manhattan.{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/albert-hague-grinch-and-redhead-composer-is-dead-99762# |title=Albert Hague, 'Grinch' and Redhead Composer, Is Dead|publisher=www.playbill.com|date= November 15, 2001}}

Hague was a member of The Lambs where he often taught musical theatre to members.{{cite web|url=http://www.the-lambs.org|title=The Lambs Club, established 1874|publisher=www.the-lambs.org|access-date=February 13, 2018}}

Personal life and death

His wife, Renee Orin, an actress and singer, with whom he often collaborated, died, aged 73, in August 2000 from lymphoma.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/30/arts/renee-orin-73-actress-in-broadway-musicals.html?pagewanted= |title=Renee Orin, 73, Actress in Broadway Musicals|newspaper= New York Times|date= August 30, 2000}} They had been married since 1951. They had two children. Albert Hague died at age 81 from cancer{{cite web|url=http://www.gravehunter.net/obituaries.html|title=Celebrity Obituaries at Grave Hunter|website=www.gravehunter.net|access-date=January 6, 2008|archive-date=December 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215070529/http://www.gravehunter.net/obituaries.html|url-status=dead}} at a hospital in Marina del Rey, California in November 2001.

Filmography

Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" \| Film
1980	Fame	Shorofsky
1983	Nightmares	Mel Keefer	(segment "Night of the Rat")
1996	Space Jam	Psychiatrist
1996	Playing Dangerous 2	Professor Agranoff
1999	The Story of Us	Dr. Siegler	(final film role)