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Albert Hague

Albert Hague (1920–2001) moved between composing and acting with the natural authority of someone who understood how music is built, taught and performed. His most notable screen role, Benjamin Shorofsky in Fame, made especially good use of that background. Hague originated the part of the music teacher in the film and continued it in the television series, bringing a working composer’s credibility to the classroom. Born in Berlin to a Jewish family, Hague was raised as a Lutheran before later embracing his Jewish heritage in the United States. Shortly before he was due to be inducted into the Hitler Youth, he fled to Rome with his mother. He came to America in 1939 through a musical scholarship at the University of Cincinnati, graduated in 1942 and served in the United States Army’s special service band during World War II. Music remained the central thread of his career. Hague composed the Broadway musicals Plain and Fancy, Redhead, Cafe Crown and The Fig Leaves Are Falling, the last with lyrics by Allan Sherman. His songs included “Young and Foolish,” “Look Who’s in Love” and “Did I Ever Really Live?” He also composed the music for the television cartoon How the Grinch Stole Christmas and contributed songs to the 2000 musical version. Although Shorofsky is the role most closely associated with Hague, he also appeared in Space Jam in 1996, playing the psychiatrist consulted by professional basketball players after they lose their skills. It is a small part, but one that again places him behind a desk, calmly facing other people’s confusion. Hague continued performing music away from the screen as well. With his wife, Renee, he presented cabaret acts titled Hague and Hague: His Hits and His Mrs. and, in 1998, Still Young and Foolish. Their venues included Carnegie Hall, the Cinegrill in Los Angeles and Eighty Eight’s in Manhattan. As a member of The Lambs, he also taught musical theatre to fellow members—a fitting extension of a career in which composing, performing and teaching repeatedly met.