EBB AND MOE. Fred Ebb, lyricist of many songs and shows including Cabaret and Chicago, died of a heart attack on Saturday. He was 71.

When I interviewed Ebb several years ago, he seemed very happy with his chosen profession and his musical partnership with composer John Kander. "I love to write and I love the process. I love getting together with John," Ebb said. "Putting a score for any particular project together is a great joy for me."

Here's something else Ebb told me about his work: "Oh, it’s very joyful. I like the act of creation and I like doing it and I like, when it’s done, to feel proud of my piece and eager to have people hear it. And I think that’s something that you should all go for--being proud of your work and anxious to have it heard."

Ebb told me that one of his favorite experiences was working on the show 70 Girls 70, about senior citizens who go on a crime spree. The show did poorly on Broadway, but it's still performed from time to time. Perhaps one day the Encores! series will revive it in Manhattan. Here's a recent review by Everett Evans of a Houston production of 70 Girls 70. [See August 13, 2003, to read Blog About Town on Kander and Ebb's bad Oscar luck.]

Around the time that I learned of Ebb's death, I also read an obituary for musician Tau Moe (pronounced Mo-ay) in--of all places--Together, a publication of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors.

Master steel guitarist Tau Moe, who traveled with his family performing Hawaiian music for international figures including Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Aristotle Onassis, Gandhi and King Farouk recvently[sic] passed away. He was 95. Moe also helped at least 150 Jewish musicians escape Germany and Austria just before the height of Hitler's reign by having them impersonate groupies, relatives and stagehands. Moe hid some Jewish friends wearing his colorful stage costumes in his car's trunks....

Some story, huh? Here's more about the Moe family: an article written by Mary Vorsino for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (January 26, 2004).