George Gershwin
Name at birth: Jacob Bruskin Gershvin
George Gershwin's popular songs and compositions from the 1920s and 1930s include "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and the symphonic jazz piece Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin dropped out of high school to work as a songwriter in New York's Tin Pan Alley, and had his first hit with 1919's "Swanee" (performed by Al Jolson). He teamed with his brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), and had a hit on Broadway with Lady Be Good in 1924. Until George died of a brain tumor in 1937, the brothers cranked out successful songs together and individually for Broadway shows and Hollywood movies. Gershwin's popular songs include "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "I Got Rhythm," and his compositions for orchestra include Rhapsody in Blue (1924), Concerto in F (1925) and An American in Paris (1928). The Gershwins helped elevate American musical theater to a legitimate art form and created some of the best known music of the 20th century.
Extra credit: Gershwin's father changed his name from Morris Gershovitz to Morris Gershvin sometime after immigrating to the United States and before George was born... Their 1931 show Of Thee I Sing won a Pulitzer Prize... Now considered a classic of American theater, the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (1935) was a financial failure.