Jerry Ross (composer)

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Jerry Ross , actually Jerold Rosenberg , (born March 9, 1926 in New York ; † November 11, 1955 there ) was an American composer and songwriter of Russian-Jewish descent.

Life

Jerry Ross grew up in a poor family. When he applied to a Jewish theater company at the Bronx Art Theater at the age of ten and was hired straight away, he had the desire to become a great actor one day. It soon became apparent that the boy was extraordinarily gifted musically. His first compositions were created during his school days. After graduating from high school, he studied composition at New York University .

The acquaintance and later friendship with Richard Adler, three years his senior, and the composer and publisher Frank Loesser, were groundbreaking for Ross' career . The latter recognized the talents slumbering in the two young men and promoted them as best he could. From then on, Ross and Adler composed and wrote the lyrics together. In 1953 they had their first big hit with the song Rags to Riches . The composer's and writer's duo achieved their big breakthrough in 1954 with their first musical, The Pajama Game , which had 1,063 performances in its first season on Broadway and won several Tony Awards . The play was still successful when Ross and Adler were able to repeat their sensational success just a year later with their second musical Damn Yankees . But that ended the collaboration between the two of them, because Ross fell seriously ill and died of pneumonia at the age of 29.

In 1982 Jerry Ross was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame .

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personal data
SURNAME Ross, Jerry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rosenberg, Jerold (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH November 11, 1955
Place of death New York , United States