The Academy presents a magical musical celebration honoring the centennial of film composer Harold Arlen, featuring film clips and live musical performances highlighting an unforgettable body of work.

Nominated for nine Academy Awards for Original Song, Arlen and writing partner E.Y. Harburg took home the statuette their first time out of the gate, for the timeless "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz in 1939. For the next fifteen years, Arlen, with writing partners Harburg, Johnny Mercer, Ted Koehler, Leo Robin and Ira Gershwin, was a perpetual nominee.

Arlen's contributions to the now-classic American songbook include "Blues in the Night," "Black Magic," and "Accentuate the Positive." His songs as interpreted by Judy Garland throughout her career are among the most memorable in movie history, beginning with "Over the Rainbow" and including "Get Happy" (Summer Stock, 1950) and "The Man That Got Away" (A Star Is Born, 1954). Numerous other great musical performers got a chance to bring Arlen's music to the screen as well, including Ethel Waters ("Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe," Cabin In the Sky), Lena Horne ("Stormy Weather," Stormy Weather) and Fred Astaire ("One For My Baby," The Sky's the Limit), all of these in 1943 alone!

Born February 15, 1905 in Buffalo, New York, Arlen came from a musical family. His father was a cantor in their synagogue, and Arlen studied piano as a child. Gigs as a pianist and singer in a dance band led him to New York City, where after stabs at breaking into Vaudeville and Broadway he became the staff composer for the Cotton Club in Harlem. With lyricist partner Ted Koehler, they wrote songs for Cab Calloway and Ethel Waters, including "I've Got the World on a String" and "Ill Wind." Broadway and then the world of film opened up to him, first with Harburg as partner and later with Mercer. Few composers have had as long-lasting an impact on American music as Harold Arlen.