Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the

Roxy Theatre Roxy Theatre or Roxy Theater may refer to: Australia *Roxy Theatre (Warner Bros. Movie World), a movie theatre within Warner Bros. Movie World, Queensland *Roxy Community Theatre in Leeton, New South Wales, originally called the Roxy Theatre *Roxy ...

in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of high-profile musical artists, including The Grass Roots, Jan & Dean, The Mamas & the Papas, and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

. King's album '' Tapestry'', produced by Adler, won the 1972

Grammy Award for Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regar ...

and has been called one of the greatest pop albums of all time. Adler is an executive producer of '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' and discovered and produced comedy albums and films for Cheech & Chong. In 2006, he was awarded a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

for his achievements in music. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as the recipient, alongside Quincy Jones, of the

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...

Award.

Career

Music

His career in music began as co-manager, alongside Herb Alpert, of Jan & Dean. Adler and Alpert transitioned from managing into songwriting, composing the songs "River Rock" in 1958 for Bob "Froggy" Landers and The Cough Drops and " Wonderful World" with

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

. In 1964, Adler founded

Dunhill Records Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distributed b ...

. He was president and chief record producer of the label from 1964 to 1967. During that time, Adler signed The Mamas & the Papas to Dunhill, producing six top-five hits for the group, including " California Dreamin'" and " Monday, Monday". Dunhill also reached #1 on the pop charts with Barry McGuire's single " Eve of Destruction". Through additional efforts by co-producers and songwriting duo

P.F. Sloan Philip Gary "Flip" Sloan (born Philip Gary Schlein; September 18, 1945 – November 15, 2015), known professionally as P. F. Sloan, was an American singer and songwriter. During the mid-1960s, he wrote, performed, and produced many Billboard H ...

and Steve Barri, the label reached #8 on the pop charts with The Grass Roots single " Let's Live for Today". Capitalizing on Dunhill's success, Adler sold the label to ABC in 1967 and founded Ode Records, to which he signed

, Spirit, Cheech & Chong,

Scott McKenzie Scott McKenzie (born Philip Wallach Blondheim III; January 10, 1939 – August 18, 2012) was an American singer and songwriter who recorded the 1967 hit single and generational anthem " San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)" ...

, Peggy Lipton, and others. Adler produced all of King's albums on Ode, which include four gold, one platinum, and one diamond album, as certified by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. King's second album for Ode, '' Tapestry'', sold more than 25 million copies worldwide, and is considered one of the greatest albums of all time. Adler's work on ''Tapestry'' garnered him two Grammy Awards in 1972: Record of the Year (for producing " It's Too Late") and

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

. In addition to work with his own label's artists, Adler produced a number of live albums for Johnny Rivers. In June 1967, Adler helped to produce the

Monterey International Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

, as well as the film version, ''

Monterey Pop ''Monterey Pop'' is a 1968 American concert film by D. A. Pennebaker that documents the Monterey International Pop Festival of 1967. Among Pennebaker's several camera operators were fellow documentarians Richard Leacock and Albert Maysles. The pa ...

'', which he co-produced with John Phillips from The Mamas & the Papas.

Film

After ''Monterey Pop'', Adler and Phillips teamed up again to produce the 1970

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

film '' Brewster McCloud''. In 1975, Adler served as executive producer of the cult classic '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. After seeing '' The Rocky Horror Show'' at a theater in London, Adler bought the American rights to the show, presented it live in Los Angeles, and executive-produced the film version (adding "Picture" to the title). The movie went on to become the longest-running theatrical film in history. In 1978, Adler directed the movie '' Up in Smoke'', starring Cheech & Chong. The movie remains a cult hit, and in 2000 Adler and

Cheech Marin :''The surname'' Marin ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Marín'', with an acute accent on the'' í. Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and activist who gained ...

recorded a commentary track for the DVD release. His 1981 film, '' Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains'', did not make a large impact upon release but has enjoyed a long life on cable TV broadcasts. Also in 1981, Adler executive produced the follow-up to ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', '' Shock Treatment''.

Personal life

Adler was born to a Jewish family, the son of Manny and Josephine (Alpert) Adler, in Chicago, Illinois, in 1933 and raised in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, California. He married actress and singer Shelley Fabares in 1964 and produced several of her songs. They separated in 1966 and formally divorced in 1980. In 1973, he fathered his first son, Nic Adler, with actress Britt Ekland. In 1978, he fathered another son, Cisco Adler, with then-girlfriend Phyllis Somer. In the 1980s, his son Sonny was born from a brief relationship. Today, Adler is married to former actress Page Hannah, three decades his junior. The couple has four sons: Manny, Ike, Pablo, and Oscar. Adler could often be seen sitting courtside next to

Dyan Cannon Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen; January 4, 1937) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Ho ...

and Jack Nicholson at

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

home games, as reported in 2020. Adler owns The Roxy Theatre with his son Nic, who operates the historic music venue on the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

in West Hollywood, California.

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

based his character Terry Valentine in '' The Limey'' on Adler. In 1976, Adler and his administrative assistant were

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

from their Malibu home. One of the perpetrators pulled a gun on Adler's assistant and gained entry. The two men were held for eight hours and released after $25,000 in

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

money was paid. Three suspects were arrested and sheriff's deputies later recovered $14,900 of the ransom. Two suspects were later convicted and one was sentenced to life in prison.

Production discography

The following is a list of albums produced by Lou Adler:

Filmography

The following is a list of films produced and/or directed by Lou Adler: *''

'' (1968) – producer *'' Brewster McCloud'' (1970) – producer *'' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) – executive producer *'' Up in Smoke'' (1978) – director, producer *'' Shock Treatment'' (1981) – executive producer *'' Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains'' (1982) – director *''

Murphy's Romance ''Murphy's Romance'' is a 1985 American romantic-comedy film directed by Martin Ritt. The screenplay by Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch was based on the 1980 novella by Max Schott. The film stars Sally Field, James Garner, Brian Kerwin, and ...

'' (1985) – music producer *'' American Me'' (1992) – executive producer *''

Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie ''Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie!'' is a 2013 American adult animated comedy film by Branden Chambers and Eric D. Chambers. It stars comedy duo Cheech and Chong in their first feature film since 1984's '' The Corsican Brothers'', and the first t ...

'' (2013) – producer * '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again'' (2016) – executive producer

References

External links

*
Allmusic Bio
* *

The Pop Chronicles The ''Pop Chronicles'' are two radio documentary series which together "may constitute the most complete audio history of 1940s–60s popular music." They originally aired starting in 1969 and concluded about 1974. Both were produced by John ...

interviewed Adler o
1.1.1968
he appears in shows 2 21 35, 36 and 47.
The Grass Roots Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Lou 1933 births Living people Film producers from California Record producers from California Grammy Award winners American music industry executives Businesspeople from Los Angeles People from Boyle Heights, Los Angeles Jewish American songwriters Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) alumni Film directors from Los Angeles 21st-century American Jews Jewish film people