Playwright/lyricist Alan Jay Lerner was born into a wealthy New York City retailing family. His professional association with Frederick Loewe started in 1942 when they teamed up to write "Life of the Party". Their first Broadway success was the 1947 musical fantasy "Brigadoon." Lerner adapted work for the screen (Brigadoon (1954)) and earned two Oscars as the screenplay writer for Un Américain à Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958), and a Grammy for Melinda (1970). Lerner and Loewe parted company in 1962 following the success of Camelot (1967). Lerner's last musical, "Dance a Little Closer", was written with Charles Strouse in 1983. It closed after one performance.
