Green, Adolph
GREEN, ADOLPH
GREEN, ADOLPH (1915–2002), U.S. theatrical writer. Born in the Bronx, New York, Green was educated at the City College of New York. He worked as a lyricist on many Broadway musicals. Among them were On the Town (and book, 1946); Two on the Aisle (1952); Wonderful Town (1953); Peter Pan (1954); Bells Are Ringing (and book, 1956); Do Re Mi (1960);Subways Are for Sleeping (and book, 1961); A Doll's Life (and book, 1982); Singin' in the Rain; (1985); and The Will Rogers Follies (1991). His main collaborator in lyrics, libretto, and screenplay work was Betty *Comden. His chief musical collaborators included Leonard *Bernstein, Jule *Styne, Andre *Previn, and Morton *Gould.
In the world of film, Green wrote the screenplay for such films as Good News (1947); The Barkleys of Broadway (1949);On the Town (1949); Singin' in the Rain (1952); The Band Wagon (1953); It's Always Fair Weather (1955); Auntie Mame (1958); Bells Are Ringing (1960); What a Way to Go (1964); and the tv movie Applause (1973).
Some of Green's best-known songs are "New York, New York," "The Party's Over," "Just in Time," "Make Someone Happy," "I Get Carried Away," "Lonely Town," "Lucky to Be Me," "Ohio," "Long Before I Knew You," "Something's Always Happening on the River," "Comes Once in a Lifetime," and "I'm Just Taking My Time."
In 1991 he won a Tony Award for Best Original Score for the Broadway musical The Will Rogers Follies. In 2001 the Writers Guild of America awarded Green and Comden the Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement. From 1960 Green was married to actress Phyllis Newman.
bibliography:
A. Robinson, Betty Comden and Adolph Green: A Bio-Bibliography (1993).
[Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)]