Richard Adler, who along with his partner Jerry Ross, was responsible for two of the biggest hits of mid-1950s Broadway, “The Pajama Game” and “Damn Yankees,” died at his Southampton, New York home on Friday. He was 90. Tragically, Ross died of lung disease at the age of 29 in 1955 while the runaway hit “Hernando’s Hideaway” was at the top of the charts. He never did live to witness the success of “Damn Yankees,” which won Adler and Ross a second Tony Award for Best Musical two years running. Adler continued to work on Broadway through the next several decades, but he was never able to capture his earlier success. Born in New York in 1921 to highly-regarded classical pianist Clarence Adler, Adler grew up with music his whole life. He served in the United States Navy Reserve during World War II prior to teaming up with Ross in 1950. He composed several ballets for the Chicago Ballet and penned a symphonic salute to the Statue of Liberty titled “The Lady Remembers” during the centennial celebrations held in 1986. Adler was also known as the producer of the famous birthday extravaganza at Madison Square Garden for President John Kennedy at which a very late and out of breath Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.” He is survived by his widow Susan Ivory, sons Andrew Adler and Charles Shipman, daughter Katherine Adler and three grandchildren. Adler’s son, lyricist Christoper Adler, died in November of 1984.
