NPR : Fresh Air from WHYY

Filed Under:

Fresh Air Remembers Broadway's Richard Adler

June 25, 2012
Play associated audio
comments

This interview was originally broadcast on Aug. 9, 1990.

In 1955, The New York Times called Richard Adler and his writing partner, Jerry Ross, "Broadway's hottest young composers." Together, they wrote the music and lyrics for The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, two shows that became known for the songs "Hey There," "Steam Heat," "Hernando's Hideaway" and "Whatever Lola Wants."

Both The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees won a Tony Award for best musical, and both were directed by George Abbott. But everything changed for Adler when Ross died in 1955 at the age of 29, just months after Damn Yankees opened.

Last Thursday, Adler died at his home in Southampton, N.Y. He was 90 years old. He spoke to Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 1990, after the publication of his memoir You Gotta Have Heart.

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Arts & Culture

NPR

Book News: Judge's Comments Bruising To Apple's Price-Fixing Case

Also: Mary Karr on addiction and David Foster Wallace; Maria Semple calls Jonathan Franzen her "big daddy."

Food

NPR

Guava Paste And Tamarind? What To Do With Weird Food Gifts

Have a food that has you stumped? Submit a photo and we'll ask chefs about our favorites.

Politics

NPR

Political Attacks Ramp Up In U.S. Senate Race In Mass.

In Massachusetts, what's been a relatively lackluster campaign to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry is heating up. Veteran Democratic Rep. Ed Markey is running against Republican Gabriel Gomez, a businessman and former Navy SEAL. Gomez is a political newcomer.

Technology

NPR

Viewers To Decide If Amazon's Sample Shows Make The Cut

Amazon is piloting 14 possible shows for its streaming video service. The audience will vote on which shows it likes best. TV critic Eric Deggans says the process and the shows would like to be breaking ground for a new media — but they aren't.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.