Together with Jerry Ross, Richard Adler wrote the songs for two of the most popular musicals of the 1950s, The Pajama Game (1954) and Damn Yankees (1955). Both shows won Tony awards, but the partnership was tragically cut short when Ross died from a lung disease at the age of 29 - six months after Damn Yankees opened on Broadway.
SOURCE: The Stage at 12:18PM on June 29, 2012