Harry Richman (born Henry Reichman Jr.; August 10, 1895 – November 3, 1972) was an American singer, actor, dancer, comedian, pianist, songwriter, bandleader, and nightclub performer, at his most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. In his peak years, he was one of the highest‐paid performers in show business. Early life Richman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Russian Jewish parents Henry and Katie (née Golder) Reichman. His father died when Richman was 14 years old. Career Richman began playing piano in a Cincinnati saloon at age 10. At 18, he changed his name to "Harry Richman", by which time he was already a professional entertainer in vaudeville. He claimed to be making $25,000 a week in 1931 ($415,000 in 2018 dollars) He also owned a popular night club – a Speakeasy, "Club Richman", which was located next to Carnegie Hall. The room was large, seating 240 people. It was designed to look like a patio with fake windows that opened out to scenes painted in the windows. The roof was painted with stars to reflect the spotlight on the performers. It was a popular location till it burned down in 1929. Eventually known for his nasal baritone, he started out and worked as a piano accompanist to such stars as Mae West and Nora Bayes. With Bayes' act, he made his Broadway debut in 1922. He appeared in several editions of the George White's Scandals in the 1920s to acclaim. Becoming a name, he appeared in "Scandals" as master of ceremonies in 1926; where on opening night the first seven rows of the orchestra commanded $50 a seat ($700 in 2018 dollars). He appeared in the 1931 Ziegfeld Follies. He made his feature movie debut in Hollywood in 1930 with the film Puttin' On the Ritz, featuring the Irving Berlin song of the same title, which gave Richman a phonograph record hit that year. His film career was short-lived due to his somewhat overpowering personality, and his limited acting skills. This made little difference to his career as he remained a popular nightclub host and stage performer. Leonard Maltin is widely quoted as having written of Puttin' On the Ritz: "A songwriter drinks and goes blind – after seeing this you'll want to do the same". In fact, the actual quote is "Famed nightclub entertainer Richman made his film debut in this primitive early talkie about vaudevillian who can't