Composer and lyricist, born in New York City, New York, USA. The son of teacher-pianist Clarence Adler, he attended the University of North Carolina and served in the US Navy before concentrating on composing. He collaborated with lyricist Jerry Ross on the award-winning musicals The Pajama Game (1954) and Damn Yankees (1955). After Ross's death in 1955, Adler's stage works of the 1960s and 1970s never caught on but he began to write concert music. His symphonic suite The Lady Remembers was performed in 1985 in Washington, DC, honoring the centenary of the Statue of Liberty. Throughout his career he was also successful at composing musical commercials.