George Gershwin: An Intimate Portrait

Table of Contents

contents one From Street Kid to Wunderkind 1 two Falling in Love With Kay 7 three A Piano Concerto 12 four Ira Takes a Wife 17 five Porgy 21 six Paris 28 seven “That Long Drip of Human Tears” 34 eight The Losing Streak Begins 43 nine “Something Big” 60 ten “Don’t Make It Too Good, George!” 69 eleven Kay, Jimmy, and FDR 76 twelve The Heart of American Music 83 thirteen Kay’s Divorce 87 fourteen Todd Duncan 93 fifteen Casting, Rehearsals, and an Omen 99 sixteen The Critics Have Their Say 107 seventeen Limbo 115 eighteen Hollywood Beckons 124 nineteen Pleasure Island 130 twenty Final Concert, Final Affair 139 twenty-one Last Songs 150 twenty-two Epilogue 163 Author’s Note 175 Notes 179 Index 191 Illustrations follow page 98 george฀gershwin ...