Rupert Holmes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rupert Holmes
Holmes in 1979
Background information
Birth name	David Goldstein
Born	(1947-02-24) February 24, 1947 (age 78) Northwich, Cheshire, England
Origin	Nanuet, New York, U.S.
Genres	Soft rock pop rock show tunes
Occupation(s)	Composer singer-songwriter playwright author
Instruments	Vocals keyboards saxophone
Years active	1969–present
Labels	Epic Records Infinity Records MCA Records Elektra Records

Rupert Holmes (born David Goldstein; February 24, 1947) is a talented British-American composer, singer, songwriter, and writer. He is famous for his hit songs "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (1979) and "Him" (1980). He is also well-known for his musicals like The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which won him two Tony Awards, and Curtains. Besides music and theater, he created the TV show Remember WENN and wrote the novel Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide.

About Rupert Holmes

Rupert Holmes was born David Goldstein in Northwich, Cheshire, England. His father, Leonard Eliot Goldstein, was a bandleader in the United States Army, and his mother, Gwendolen Mary, was English. Both of his parents loved music. Rupert Holmes has citizenship in both Britain and America. When he was six, his family moved to Nanuet, New York, where he grew up. He went to Nyack High School and later studied clarinet at the Manhattan School of Music. His brother, Richard, is also a singer and has performed in many operas.

In 1969, Holmes married his childhood friend, Elizabeth "Liza" Wood Dreifuss. They have two sons, Nick and Timothy. Sadly, their daughter Wendy passed away at a young age in 1986. In 2009, the family moved to Cold Spring, New York.

Rupert Holmes as a Songwriter and Singer

When Rupert Holmes was in his 20s, he worked as a session musician. This meant he helped produce music, wrote and arranged songs, and played instruments. In 1969, he and Ron Dante recorded a song called "Jennifer Tomkins." This song became a hit, reaching number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970.

Holmes also played piano for other groups and wrote songs for many famous artists. These included Dolly Parton, Barry Manilow, and even characters from the TV show the Partridge Family. He also wrote music for a 1970 movie called Five Savage Men.

His first album, Widescreen, came out in 1974. It showed his unique style of telling witty stories through his songs, often with a touch of humor. Famous singer Barbra Streisand loved this album and asked to record some of his songs. She even used his music in her 1976 movie A Star Is Born. Holmes also helped Streisand with several of her albums.

His song "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" was on his fifth album, Partners in Crime. It became the number one song in the U.S. at the end of 1979! Another popular song from that album was "Him", which reached number 6 on the charts. In 1986, he wrote "You Got It All", which was a big hit for the group The Jets. Later, Britney Spears recorded her own version of this song.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Holmes also performed in clubs, sharing funny stories about his life and playing his songs. In 2021, he received a special honorary degree from the Manhattan School of Music.

Rupert Holmes as a Playwright

Rupert Holmes started writing plays with his musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1985. This musical was based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens. What made it special was that the audience got to vote on who the murderer was each night! This meant the show could have a different ending every time. Drood was a huge success and won Holmes Tony Awards for both the story and the music.

After Drood, Holmes wrote many other plays and musicals. He wrote the play Say Goodnight, Gracie (2003), which was about the famous comedy duo George Burns and Gracie Allen. This play became one of the longest-running solo shows on Broadway. He also wrote the mystery play Accomplice in 1990, which won an Edgar Award.

Holmes also helped finish the musical Curtains after the original writers passed away. He rewrote parts of the story and added new lyrics. Curtains was a hit on Broadway, starring David Hyde Pierce. Holmes also wrote the story for the musical The First Wives' Club and Robin and the 7 Hoods, which was inspired by a movie starring Frank Sinatra.

He adapted the John Grisham novel A Time to Kill for the stage in 2011. He also wrote the story and lyrics for The Nutty Professor musical, based on the 1963 film. This musical was directed by the famous comedian Jerry Lewis.

Rupert Holmes as a Television Writer and Novelist

In 1996, Rupert Holmes created the TV series Remember WENN for American Movie Classics. He wrote the theme song and almost all of the show's 56 episodes.

He also became a novelist. His first novel, Where the Truth Lies, was published in 2003 and was later made into a movie. In 2005, he released Swing, which was a unique project combining a novel with a music CD that gave clues to the story's mystery. His most recent novel, Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide (2023), was a bestseller, reaching number six on The New York Times list.

Discography

This section lists the albums Rupert Holmes released.

Albums

Holmes also worked on the disco album Shobizz in 1979 and was a vocalist on Lake Freeze - The Raccoons Songtrack in 1983.

Singles

Other Works

Theatre

Images for kids

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  Rupert Holmes in 1979

See also

In Spanish: Rupert Holmes para niños