Richard Adler (1921-2012) was an American lyricist and composer. In Adler’s younger years, he was a protege to Frank Loesser (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) alongside Jerry Ross, his most notable writing partner. Together, they composed the hit song “Rags to Riches”, performed by Tony Bennett, reaching number one in 1953. The writing duo would then write the music for The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees. Both getting critically successful reviews and plenty of Tony Awards to match. After the passing of Jerry Ross in 1955, Adler would have one more Broadway debut with the show Kwamina, written for his wife at the time, which wasn’t as critically successful but Adler would still end up in the songwriters hall of fame alongside Jerry Ross.
More about Richard Adler
