Kern was one of the major US creators of the musical. With lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, he wrote his most important work in 1927—Show Boat—in which he integrated lyrical text with the dramatic demands of plot and character to create the first American musical play. He became one of the most influential songwriters in American musical theater and is credited with more than 1,000 songs, including the standards “Ol’ Man River” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” How did he cheat death in 1915? Discuss