Alan Jay Lerner (born 1918) was one of the top songwriters in both Broadway musical theatre and Hollywood for a quarter century during the Golden Age of the American musical. His collaboration with Frederick Loewe yielded many fine musicals including Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot. Lerner also wrote the lyrics for musicals with Leonard Bernstein and Andre Previn, among others, but was never able to achieve the success he had with Loewe.

Alan Jay Lerner, was born in New York City on August 31, 1918 to Edith Adelson Lerner and Samuel Lerner. His grandfather had come to the U.S. from the Ukraine as a poor immigrant. Samuel Lerner worked in the fashion retail business and eventually owned a chain of successful stores known as the Lerner Shops. His marriage was less successful, and Lerner's parents eventually divorced. Although he and his two brothers were Jewish by birth, religion did...