Lee Adams
Lee Adams | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lee Richard Adams August 14, 1924 Mansfield, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, librettist |
| Alma mater | |
| Notable works | Bye Bye Birdie Golden Boy It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman Applause |
| Notable awards | 2 Tony Awards, 1 Emmy Award |
| Spouse | Kelly Wood Adams |
| Children | 2 |
Lee Richard Adams (born August 14, 1924) is an American lyricist best known for his musical theatre collaboration with Charles Strouse.
Biography
[edit]Lee Adams was born in Mansfield, Ohio on August 14, 1924.[1] He is the son of Dr. Leopold Adams, originally of Stamford, Connecticut, and Florence Ellis (originally Elishack) Adams, originally of Racine, Wisconsin. His family is Jewish. He is a graduate of Mansfield Senior High School.[2] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University and a Master's from Columbia University. While attending Ohio State, he was a brother of the Nu chapter of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He worked as a journalist for newspaper and magazines. He met Charles Strouse in 1949, and they initially wrote for summer-time revues.[3]
Adams won Tony Awards in 1961 for Bye Bye Birdie, the first Broadway musical he wrote with Strouse, and in 1970 for Applause and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965 for Golden Boy.[4] In addition, he wrote the lyrics for All American, It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman, Bring Back Birdie, and A Broadway Musical, and the book and lyrics for Ain't Broadway Grand.[4] Additionally, Strouse and Adams co-wrote "Those Were the Days", the opening theme to the TV situation comedy All in the Family. Adams was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989.[5]
Adams and his wife, Dr. Kelly Wood Adams, have lived in Briarcliff Manor, New York since 2007. He has two daughters and three grandchildren.[6] He turned 100 in August 2024.[7]
Nonmusical writing
[edit]In addition to his work with lyrics, Adams "had a lifelong fascination with words," which led to his being an editor for the Sunday newspaper magazine supplement This Week and a member of the staff of Pageant magazine.[8]
Works
[edit]- A Pound in Your Pocket (1958)
- Bye Bye Birdie (1960)
- All American (1962)
- Golden Boy (1964)
- It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman (1966)
- Applause (1970)
- I and Albert (1972)
- Bring Back Birdie (1980)
- A Broadway Musical (1982), contributed the song Dancing
- Ain't Broadway Grand! (1993)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Green, Stanley (1976). "Adams, Lee". Encyclopaedia of the Musical Theatre. Dodd, Mead & Co. p. 2. ISBN 978-0396072218.
- ^ "Lyricist Lee Adams to Write Show Biz Column". Ohio, Mansfield. News-Journal. February 23, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved November 2, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lee Adams" pbs.com, retrieved January 31, 2019
- ^ a b "Lee Adams Broadway" Playbill, retrieved January 31, 2019
- ^ "Lee Adams" songhall.org, retrieved January 31, 2019
- ^ Kramer, Peter D. (October 16, 2015). "Briarcliff's 'Birdie' connection, Lee Adams". The Journal News. Gannett Company. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- ^ Friedwald, Will (October 23, 2024). "A Celebration of Songwriter Charles Strouse Sparks Sentimental Journeys Aplenty". The New York Sun. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ Bloom, Ken (2007). Routledge Guide to Broadway. New York City: Routledge. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-415-97380-9. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
Sources
[edit]- Contemporary Authors Online, Detroit: Gale, 2001, ISBN 978-0-7876-3995-2
External links
[edit]
- 1924 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century American Jews
- American male lyricists
- American men centenarians
- American musical theatre lyricists
- Broadway composers and lyricists
- Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
- Jewish American songwriters
- Jewish centenarians
- Ohio State University alumni
- People from Briarcliff Manor, New York
- People from Mansfield, Ohio
- Primetime Emmy Award winners
- Songwriters from Ohio
- Tony Award winners
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- United States Army soldiers