CINCINNATI -- What does the University of Cincinnati have to do with “How the Grinch Stole Christmas?”
Quite a bit, considering UC alum Albert Hauge composed “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” for the 1966 cartoon.
The New York Times reported when Hauge played the song for Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), Dr. Seuss said, “Any man who slides an octave on the word Grinch gets the job.”
Did you know UC alum Albert Hague wrote "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" for the 1996 movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas?" #FunFactFriday pic.twitter.com/ROYTip58tE
— UC MainStreet (@UCMainStreet) December 16, 2016
Born and raised in Berlin, Hauge was almost enlisted in Hitler’s youth after graduating high school in 1937, according to The New York Times. He was able to escape with his mother to Rome, and she sent him to live in Ohio where she had family.
He attended UC, playing music as a saloon pianist in his time as a student. His first show, “Reluctant Lady,” premiered in Cleveland in 1948, but his Broadway breakthrough was not until 1955 with “Plain and Fancy.” Hauge won a Tony Award in 1959 for the musical “Redhead.”
Hauge died of cancer in 2001 at a hospital in California.
