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Adolph Green

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Adolph Green
Green wearing theKennedy Center Honors
Born(1914-12-02)December 2, 1914
The Bronx,New York,U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 2002(2002-10-23)(aged 87)
New York City,U.S.
Occupation(s)Playwright, songwriter
Years active1944–2002
Spouses
Elizabeth Reitell
​
​
(m.1941, divorced)​
​
​
(m.1945;div.1953)​
​
​
(m.1960)​
ChildrenAdam Green
Amanda Green

Adolph Green(December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an Americanlyricistandplaywrightwho, with long-time collaboratorBetty Comden,penned thescreenplaysand songs for musicals onBroadwayand inHollywood.Although they were not a romantic couple, they shared a unique comic genius and sophisticated wit that enabled them to forge a six-decade-long partnership. They received numerous accolades including fourTony Awardsand nominations for twoAcademy Awardsand aGrammy Award.Green was inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Famein 1980 andAmerican Theatre Hall of Famein 1981.[1]Comden and Green received theKennedy Center Honorin 1991.

They started their career alongsideLeonard Bernsteinon stage where they received theNew York Drama Critics' Circlefor Best Musical forWonderful Town(1953). On Broadway they wrote the music and lyrics to musicals such asOn the Town(1944),Two on the Aisle(1951),Peter Pan(1954),Bells Are Ringing(1956), andApplause(1970). They won fourTony Awardsas composter and lyricist forHallelujah, Baby!(1967),On the Twentieth Century(1978), andThe Will Rogers Follies(1991). As performers they starred inA Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green(1958).

They gained notoriety in film collaborating withStanley Donen,Gene KellyandVincent Minnellias part ofArthur Freed's production unit atMetro Goldwyn Mayer.Perhaps their greatest collaboration was for the filmSingin' in the Rain(1952), although they received twoAcademy Awardnominations for screenplays for the musicalsThe Band Wagon(1953), andIt's Always Fair Weather(1955). They also wrote the scripts for the classic movie musicalsThe Barkleys of Broadway(1949),On the Town(1949),Auntie Mame(1958), andBells Are Ringing(1960).

Early life and education[edit]

Green was born inthe BronxtoHungarianJewishimmigrants Helen (née Weiss) and Daniel Green. He was the youngest of three sons and had two older brothers, Louis (circa 1907-?) and William (circa 1910-?).[citation needed]After high school, he worked as a runner onWall Streetwhile he tried to make it as an actor.

Career[edit]

1938–1947[edit]

Comden and Green collaborated withLeonard BernsteinonWonderful Town

He met Comden through mutual friends in 1938 while she was studying drama atNew York University.They formed a troupe called the Revuers, which performed at theVillage Vanguard,a club inGreenwich Village.Among the members of the company was a young comedian named Judy Tuvim, who later changed her name toJudy Holliday,and Green's good friend, a young musician namedLeonard Bernstein,whom he had met in 1937 at Camp Onota (a summer camp in Pittsfield MA where Bernstein was the music counselor), frequently accompanied them on the piano. Together, Comden and Green's act earned success and a movie offer. The Revuers traveled west in hopes of finding fame inGreenwich Village,a 1944 movie starringCarmen MirandaandDon Ameche,but their roles were so small they barely were noticed, and they quickly returned to New York. Their first Broadway effort teamed them with Bernstein forOn the Town,a musical romp about three sailors on leave in New York City that was an expansion of aballetentitledFancy Freeon which Bernstein had been working withchoreographerJerome Robbins.Comden and Green wrote the lyrics and book, which included sizeable parts for themselves. Their next two musicals,Billion Dollar Baby(1945) andBonanza Bound(1947) were not successful, and once again they headed to California, where they immediately found work at MGM.

1948–1969[edit]

They wrote the screenplay forGood News(1947), starringJune AllysonandPeter Lawford,The Barkleys of BroadwayforGinger RogersandFred Astaire,and then adaptedOn the Town(1949) forFrank SinatraandGene Kelly,scrapping much of Bernstein's music at the request ofArthur Freed,who did not care for the Bernstein score. They reunited with Kelly for their most successful project, the classicSingin' in the Rain(1952), about Hollywood in the final days of thesilent filmera. The film was directed byGene KellyandStanley Donenand starred Kelly,Debbie ReynoldsandDonald O'Connor.Together Comden and Green received a nomination for theWriters Guild of America Award for Best Written Musical.Considered by many film historians to be the best movie musical of all time, it ranked No. 10 on the list of the 100 best American movies of the 20th century compiled by theAmerican Film Institutein 1998.

Gene Kelly inSingin' in the Rain

They followed this with another hit, and another musicalThe Band Wagon(1953), in which the characters of Lester and Lily, a husband-and-wife team that writes the play for the show-within-a-show, were patterned after themselves. The film was directed byVincente Minnelliand starredFred Astaire,Cyd Charisse,Nanette FabrayandOscar Levant.They reunited with Donen and Kelly with another musicalIt's Always Fair Weather(1955). They wereOscar-nominated twice, for their screenplays forThe Band WagonandIt's Always Fair Weather,both of which earned them aScreen Writers Guild Award,as didOn the Town.Their stage work during the next few years included the revueTwo on the Aisle(1951), starringBert LahrandDolores Gray,Wonderful Town(1953), an adaptation of the comedy hitMy Sister Eileen,withRosalind RussellandEdie Adamsas two sisters from Ohio trying to make it in theBig Apple,andBells Are Ringing(1956), which reunited them with Judy Holliday as an operator at a telephone answering service. The score, including the standards "Just in Time","Long Before I Knew You, "and"The Party's Over"proved to be one of their richest.

Comden and Green returned to films withMorton DaCosta'sAuntie Mame(1958) starringRosalind Russelland Minnelli'sBells Are Ringing(1961) starringJudy HollidayandDean Martin.In 1958, they appeared on Broadway inA Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green,a revue that included some of their early sketches. It was a critical and commercial success, and they brought an updated version back to Broadway in 1977. In 1964 they wrote the screenplay for theblack comedyWhat a Way to Go!starringShirley MacLaine,Paul Newman,Robert Mitchum,Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, andDick Van Dyke.The film was a commercial success but received mixed reviews.

1970–2002[edit]

Among their other credits are theMary Martinversion ofPeter Panfor both Broadway and television, a streamlinedDie Fledermausfor theMetropolitan Opera,and stage musicals forCarol Burnett,Leslie Uggams,andLauren Bacall,among others. Their many collaborators includedGarson Kanin,Cy Coleman,Jule Styne,andAndré Previn.The team was not without its failures. In 1982,A Doll's Life,an exploration of what Nora did after she abandoned her husband inHenrik Ibsen'sA Doll's House,ran for only five performances, although they receivedTony Awardnominations for its book and score. In 1980, Green was inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fame.[2]And, in 1981, he was inducted into theAmerican Theatre Hall of Fame.[3]The following year Green appeared in the comedyMy Favorite Year(1982) starringPeter O'Toole.The next year they wrote the book for the musicalSingin' in the Rainfor theWest Endin London in 1983 and then for Broadway in 1985. The production earned twoTony Awardnominations including forBest Book of a Musicalfor Comden and Green.

In 1989 he appeared as Dr. Pangloss in Bernstein'sCandide.Comden and Green receivedKennedy Center Honorsin 1991. Also in 1991 they returned to Broadway in with the musicalThe Will Rogers Follies.The musical focuses on the life and career of famedhumoristand performerWill Rogers,using as a backdrop theZiegfeld Follies.The production earned sixTony Awardsincluding theTony Award for Best Musicaland theTony Award for Best Original Scorefor Comden and Green.

Personal life[edit]

Green was married to actressAllyn Ann McLerie[4]from 1945 to 1953.[5]

Green's third wife was actressPhyllis Newman,who had understudied Holliday inBells Are Ringing.They married in 1960, and remained so until Green's death in 2002. The couple had two children,AdamandAmanda,both of whom are songwriters.[6]

His Broadway memorial, withLauren Bacall,Kevin Kline,Joel Grey,Kristin Chenoweth,Arthur Laurents,Peter Stone,andBetty Comdenin attendance was held at theShubert Theateron December 4, 2002.[7]

Credits[edit]

Broadway[edit]

Hollywood[edit]

Acting credits

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Work Result
1950 WGA Award Best Written American Musical The Barkleys of Broadway Nominated
On the Town Won
1953 Singin' in the Rain Won
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award Best Musical Wonderful Town Won
1954 Academy Awards Best Writing, Story and Screenplay The Band Wagon Nominated
WGA Award Best Written American Musical Nominated
1956 Academy Awards Best Writing, Story and Screenplay It's Always Fair Weather Nominated
WGA Award Best Written American Musical Nominated
1961 Bells Are Ringing Won
Grammy Award Best Soundtrack Album Nominated
1968 Tony Award Best Composer and Lyricist Hallelujah, Baby! Won
1978 Best Book of a Musical On the Twentieth Century Won
Best Original Score Won
1983 Best Book of a Musical A Doll's House Nominated
Best Original Score Nominated
1986 Best Book of a Musical Singin' in the Rain Nominated
1991 Best Original Score The Will Rogers Follies Won
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award Best Musical Won
1995 National Board of Review Award Distinction in Screenwriting Won
2001 WGA Award Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement Won

Notes[edit]

  1. ^The New York Times,March 3, 1981 –26 Elected to the Theater Hall of Fame
  2. ^"Adolph Green at the Songwriters Hall of Fame".Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2014.RetrievedNovember 6,2010.
  3. ^The New York Times,March 3, 1981 –26 Elected to the Theater Hall of Fame
  4. ^Amanda Vaill (May 6, 2008).Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins.Broadway Books. p. 200.ISBN978-0-7679-0421-6.RetrievedMay 16,2011.
  5. ^McPhee, Ryan."Stage and Screen Star Allyn Ann McLerie Dies at 91"Playbill, June 3, 2018
  6. ^"Adolph Green, Playwright and Lyricist Who Teamed With Comden, Dies at 87"The New York Times,October 25, 2002
  7. ^"A Broadway Memorial? That's Entertainment"The New York Times,December 4, 2002

References[edit]

  • Off Stage,a memoir by Betty Comden published in 1995

External links[edit]

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