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After high school, he worked as a runner on Wall Street as he tried to make it as an actor
To the end, he remained a generous kid
"He was the quintessential New Yorker: buoyant, optimistic and resilient," said Harold Prince, who directed the 1978 Comden and Green musical "On the Twentieth Century
One of their biggest Broadway successes was "Applause" (1970), a show for which they wrote the book but not the lyrics
For the movies, Comden and Green wrote screenplays for "Good News," starring June Allyson and Peter Lawford, and the film version of "On the Town," which scrapped most of Bernstein's melodies in favor of music by Roger Edens
"Adolph loved all aspects of the theater," said George Wolfe, who directed the 1998 Broadway revival of "On the Town " "He loved performing, he loved writing for it and he loved the process of making it "
Comden and Green's lyrics were brash and buoyant, best exemplified by the song "New York, New York," â€â€? "the Bronx is up and the Battery down" â€â€? which celebrated their favorite city
Green was born Dec
A succession of collaborations with Styne followed, including the 1954 Mary Martin "Peter Pan," in which the pair were brought in to augment an already existing score; "Bells Are Ringing" (1956), written specifically for Holliday; and "Do Re Mi" (1960), a raucous look at the jukebox industry that featured Silvers and comedian Nancy Walker "
Comden and Green worked with some of Broadway's best composers including Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne and Cy Coleman
They formed a troupe called the Revuers, which performed in the Village Vanguard, a club in Greenwich Village
Green, who had been in poor health for some time, died Wednesday at his Manhattan home, his son, Adam, said The story of three sailors on a 24-hour leave in wartime New York was tailor-made for the time That same year, Comden and Green reunited with Bernstein on Broadway for "Wonderful Town," a musical version of "My Sister Eileen," which starred Russell
Green married actress Phyllis Newman, who had been Holliday's understudy in "Bells Are Ringing," in 1960 " Yet the movie, starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, was a huge hit 2, 1914 in the Bronx
Their longest-running show, "The Will Rogers Follies," opened in 1991, a Ziegfeld-styled retelling of the life of the famous humorist Keith Carradine played Rogers in the lavish production directed by Tommy Tune with music by Coleman The great thing about their lyrics was their wonderful combination of elegance and joy
In 1953, they had another film hit with "The Band Wagon," starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse
It was "On the Town," a musical comedy expansion of Jerome Robbins' ballet "Fancy Free," that introduced Comden and Green to Broadway in 1944
On film, their most celebrated work was the screenplay for "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), considered by many to be the finest movie musical ever made The duo had surprisingly few pop hits â€â€? the best-known being "The Party's Over," "Just in Time" and "Make Someone Happy" â€â€? because their lyrics were tied directly to the shows they wrote He and Betty were this amazing, smart, stylish, playful team Out of necessity, Comden and Green began writing their own material
The story of the silent movie industry's transition to talkies starred Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor He is survived by his wife, son and a daughter, Amanda " "And he shared all that, not only on Broadway and in film, but with his friends Broadway Lyricist Adolph Green Dies
Oct 25, 2:51 AM EST
NEW YORK (AP) â€â€? Adolph Green, the Broadway lyricist who, with longtime collaborator Betty Comden, wrote such valentines to New York as "On the Town" and "Wonderful Town," as well as the screenplay for the classic movie musical "Singin' in the Rain," has died at 87 Funeral arrangements were incomplete
The music was by Bernstein, an old friend of Green's The two tailored the film "All About Eve" to the talents of Bacall
They won five Tony Awards, with three of their shows â€â€? "Wonderful Town," "Hallelujah, Baby!" and "Applause" â€â€? winning the top prize for best musical Comden and Green wrote the book and lyrics, and included two roles for themselves He met Comden through mutual friends in 1938 while she was studying at New York University The film even sanitized the lyrics to "New York, New York They wrote lyrics and often the books for more than a dozen shows, featuring some of the biggest stars â€â€? Rosalind Russell, Judy Holliday, Phil Silvers, Bert Lahr, Lauren Bacall and Carol Burnett |