Frederick Loewe

Frederick Loewe, who died last month, was not only one of this century’s most accomplished composers (“My Fair Lady” alone will surely be his passport to heaven), but he was an unpretentious man of wit and charm as well.

Fritz often spent time at Sardi’s or the Lambs Club’s bars in New York listening to young actors spin their dreams, offering advice, reciting marvelous theatrical anecdotes. There was a common touch about the man that made his contributions to the American musical theater all the more thrilling and uplifting.

It is rare indeed to know anyone in our lives who can touch so many people aesthetically and yet remain as down-to-earth and personally accessible as Fritz Loewe. I was privileged to have been one of those who did.

FRED WAYNE

Santa Monica