 George was born on Sept  He was Jewish.  Had an older brother named Ira and two younger siblings.

 His parents got his older brother, Ira, a piano but to their surprise, George played it.  Quit school at 15 to become a “song plugger” for $15 a week.  His first piece was “When You Want ‘Em You Can`t Get ‘Em, When You`ve got ‘Em You Don`t Want ‘Em” but he only made a sum of $5.

 Rhapsody in Blue (1924)  Piano Concerto in F (1925)  An American in Paris (1928)  Second Rhapsody (1931)  Cuban Overture (1932)  Variations on “I Got Rhythm” (1934)  Catfish Row (1936)

 His real name is Jacob, but he changed it to George.  He was born to two Russian immigrant parents.  His hobbies were painting and composing music.  Quit school at 15 to work as a “song plugger.”  He had a ten-year affair with Kay Swift.  He called Porgy and Bess (1935) a “folk opera.”

 Early 1937 he complained of blinding headaches and recurring impression that he was smelling burnt rubber.  Getting hit in the head with a golf-ball when he was younger caused a maligant brain tumor called globlastoma mulitiforme.  A few weeks after he had surgery he collapsed on July 11 th 1937 at the age of 38.  He was buried in the Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hasting-on-Hudson New York.

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