Lerner, Alan Jay

Lerner, Alan Jay
born Aug. 31, 1918, New York, N.Y., U.S.
died June 14, 1986, New York City

U.S. librettist and lyricist.

Born to a prosperous retailing family, he studied at Juilliard and Harvard. He wrote more than 500 radio scripts between 1940 and 1942, the year he met the composer Frederick Loewe. The two began collaborating, and their first Broadway success came with Brigadoon (1947; film, 1954). It was followed by Paint Your Wagon (1951; film, 1969). My Fair Lady (1956) was an unprecedented triumph, setting a record for the longest original run of any musical; the film version (1964) won seven Academy Awards. Their film musical Gigi (1958) received nine Academy Awards. Camelot followed in 1960 (film, 1967). Lerner also collaborated with Kurt Weill (Love Life, 1948) and Burton Lane (On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, 1965; film, 1970), among others. His film scripts include An American in Paris (1951, Academy Award).

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▪ American screenwriter and songwriter
born Aug. 31, 1918, New York, N.Y., U.S.
died June 14, 1986, New York, N.Y.
 American librettist and lyricist who collaborated with composer Frederick Loewe (Loewe, Frederick) on the hit Broadway musicals Brigadoon (1947), Paint Your Wagon (1951), My Fair Lady (1956), and Camelot (1960) and the film Gigi (1958).

      Lerner, whose parents were prosperous retailers (Lerner Stores, Inc.), was educated at Bedales School, Hampshire, Eng.; Choate School, Wallingford, Conn.; the Juilliard School of Music, New York City; and Harvard University (B.S., 1940), where he contributed lyrics to Hasty Pudding shows. He wrote more than 500 radio scripts between 1940 and 1942, the year he met Loewe (who had been composing theatrical songs with little success) at The Lambs theatrical club in New York City. One Lerner and Loewe Broadway production failed, and a second had a five-month run before the 1947 success of Brigadoon.

      My Fair Lady, their fifth musical, based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, was an unprecedented triumph in American musical theatre. Produced by Columbia Broadcasting System, it set a record at the time for the longest original run of any musical production in London or New York City, was mounted in more than 20 countries, translated into 11 languages, toured the United States for several years, and was revived several times. The film version (1964) won seven Academy Awards. Brigadoon (1954), Paint Your Wagon (1969), and Camelot (1967) were also made into popular motion pictures. Gigi, Lerner and Loewe's collaboration directly for film, received nine Academy Awards.

      Without Loewe, Lerner wrote the book and lyrics for Kurt Weill's Love Life (1948), and he produced scripts for several films, including An American in Paris (1951), for which he won an Academy Award. He attempted to collaborate with Richard Rodgers in the 1960s, but the partnership did not work out; and Lerner joined the composer Burton Lane for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, successfully produced on Broadway in 1965 and filmed in 1970. Lerner also collaborated with Lane on Carmelina (1979) and with the composers André Previn on Coco (1969), Leonard Bernstein on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976), and Charles Strouse on Dance a Little Closer (1983).

      In 1978 Lerner published an autobiography, The Street Where I Live (the title being an echo of one of the famous songs in My Fair Lady).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • LERNER, ALAN JAY — (1918–1986), U.S. lyric writer and librettist who collaborated in several successful musicals. Lerner was born in New York and wrote for advertising agencies and radio before teaming up with the composer, Frederick Loewe. Their first hit was the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Lerner,Alan Jay — Ler·ner (lûrʹnər), Alan Jay. 1918 1986. American playwright and lyricist. He wrote a number of musicals with the composer Frederick Loewe, including Brigadoon (1947) and My Fair Lady (1956). * * * …   Universalium

  • Lerner, Alan Jay — (31 ago. 1918, Nueva York, N.Y., EE.UU.–14 jun. 1986, Nueva York). Libretista y poeta lírico estadounidense. Nacido en una próspera familia de comerciantes, estudió en la Juilliard School y en Harvard. Escribió más de 500 libretos de radio entre… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alan Jay Lerner — Infobox Actor name = Alan Jay Lerner birthdate = birth date|1918|8|31 birthplace = New York City, New York deathdate = death date and age|1986|6|14|1918|8|31 deathplace = New York City, New York spouse = Ruth Boyd (1940 1947) Marion Bell (1947… …   Wikipedia

  • Alan Jay Lerner — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Lerner. Alan Jay Lerner Données clés Naissance 31 août 1918 New York …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alan Jay Lerner — (* 31. August 1918 in New York City; † 14. Juni 1986 ebenda) war ein US amerikanischer Autor und Liedtexter des Great American Songbook. Er arbeitete mit Frederick Loewe zusammen. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und Wirken 2 Musicals …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alan Jay Lerner — (Nueva York, 31 de agosto de 1918 ibídem, 14 de junio de 1986) fue un libretista, letrista y guionista estadounidense. En su carrera ganó tres premios de la Academia, tres premios Tony y dos Globos de Oro. Entre sus obras se encuentra el musical… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Alan Jay Lerner — ➡ Lerner and Loewe * * * …   Universalium

  • Alan Jay Lerner — noun United States lyricist who collaborated on musicals with Frederick Loewe (1918 1986) • Syn: ↑Lerner • Instance Hypernyms: ↑lyricist, ↑lyrist …   Useful english dictionary

  • Alan J. Lerner — Alan Jay Lerner (* 31. August 1918 in New York City; † 14. Juni 1986 ebenda) war ein US amerikanischer Autor und Liedtexter des Great American Songbook. Er arbeitete mit Frederick Loewe zusammen. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und Wirken 2 Music …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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