Ira Gershwin Drama for "Of Thee I Sing". In 1988 UCLA established The George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Musical Achievement Award in recognition of the brothers' contribution to music, and for their gift to UCLA of the fight song "Strike Up the Band for UCLA". Recipients include Angela Lansbury (1988), Ray Charles (1991), Mel Tormé (1994), Bernadette Peters (1995), Frank Sinatra (2000), Stevie Wonder (2002), k.d. lang (2003), James Taylor (2004), Babyface (2005), Burt Bacharach (2006), Quincy Jones (2007), Lionel Richie (2008) and Julie Andrews (2009). Ira Gershwin was a joyous listener to the sounds of the modern world. "He had a
George Plant George Plant George Plant (1904–1942) was an IRA member who was executed by the Irish Government in 1942. George Plant was born into a Church of Ireland farming family in Fethard County Tipperary, the second eldest child and son in a family of six children. One Sunday in 1916 George and his older brother Jimmy were arrested by the RIC after being seen speaking to two well known Republicans, Seán Hayes and Dan Breen. In custody the two brothers were beaten and mistreated; they both developed a hatred of the RIC. George served with the Irish Republican Army during the