Christopher’s birthday was January 18, 1954. His surviving brother Andrew Hart Adler can verify. Christopher Edward Adler (17 January 1954 – 30 November 1984) was an American lyricist and theatre director. His best-known works as a lyricist were the musical '' Jean Seberg'' and the show ''Shirley MacLaine on Broadway''.

Life and career

Adler was born in New York City, the son of composer and lyricist Richard Adler and his first wife Marion Hart. After their divorce in 1958, Marion took Christopher and his elder brother Andrew to live with her in London. When she died in the early 1960s, they returned to New York to live with their father and his second wife, Sally Ann Howes. Howes became their adoptive mother and remained close to Christopher throughout his life even after she and his father divorced in 1966. Adler graduated from Millbrook School in 1970 and then studied for a year at Lawrenceville School before attending his father's alma mater University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated with honors in 1975 and during his time there directed 17 plays at the university's theatre.Fein, Esther B. (2 December 1984)
"Christopher Adler, 30, Dies; Lyricist for MacLaine Show"
'' The New York Times''. Retrieved 10 June 2016. He began his career in New York City with

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions. In 1974 he directed

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's '' Old Times'' at Lolly's Theater Club, and in 1977 wrote and directed ''White Piano'', performed at Playwrights Horizons. ''White Piano'' was an adaptation of a 1974 account of Storyville, the

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

of New Orleans. His first Broadway project was ''Herman van Veen: All of Him'', a one-man show by the Dutch entertainer Herman van Veen for which Adler wrote the English lyrics. It opened at the Ambassador Theatre in December 1982.Dietz, Dan (2016)
''The Complete Book of 1980s Broadway Musicals''
pp. 158–159; 208–209. Rowman & Littlefield. His next project as a lyricist was the musical ''Jean Seberg'' with composer

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " EGOT ...

. Based on the life of Jean Seberg, the book by

Julian Barry Julian Barry ( Julian Barry Mendelsohn; born December 24, 1930) is a retired American screenwriter and playwright, best-known for his Oscar-nominated script for the 1974 film '' Lenny'' about comedian Lenny Bruce. Barry adapted the script from h ...

was in turn based on an original idea by Adler. ''Jean Seberg'' opened at the Olivier Theatre in London on 1 December 1983 and ran for 60 performances.Suskin, Steven (2010)
''Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers''
pp. 353–354. Oxford University Press. He collaborated again with Hamlisch for

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

's revue ''Shirley MacLaine on Broadway'' which played in Las Vegas before opening at the Gershwin Theatre in New York on 19 April 1984 for a one-month run. Later that year MacLaine took the show to the

Wilshire Theater The Saban Theatre ( ) is a historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theater. It is an Art Deco structure at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hamilton Drive designed by architect S. Charles Le ...

in Los Angeles. Adler died of AIDS-related cancer in November 1984 at the age of 30. Working from his bed at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he completed the book and lyrics for ''Gideon Starr'', a musical about a modern-day messiah. His father and brother Andrew each read a stanza from this final work at his memorial service in the Shubert Theatre.Adler, Richard (1990). ''You gotta have heart: An autobiography'', pp. 186; 235–236; 311. D.I. Fine.

References

External links

*
Photograph
of Christopher Adler and Liberace at Shirley MacLaine's 50th Birthday party in New York City, April 23, 1984. (

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. is an American visual media company and is a supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three markets— creative ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Christopher 1954 births 1984 deaths Songwriters from New York (state) AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)