Jerold Rosenberg was born in
the Bronx, New York City, to a
Russian-Jewish household, to immigrant parents, Lena and Jacob Rosenberg. Growing up, he was a professional singer and actor in the
Yiddish theater. Following high school, he studied at
New York University under Rudolph Schramm. Introductions to singer
Eddie Fisher and others brought him into contact with music publishers at the
Brill Building, the center of songwriting activity in New York. (Fisher later had a hit with Ross’
The Newspaper Song.) Ross met
Richard Adler in 1950, Adler and Ross began their career in the Broadway theater with ''
John Murray Anderson's Almanac, a revue for which they provided most of the songs (resulting in recordings of Acorn in the Meadow
by Harry Belafonte and Fini'' by
Polly Bergen). The revue opened in 1953 and ran for 229 performances. Adler and Ross's second effort,
The Pajama Game, opened on Broadway in May 1954. It was a popular as well as critical success, running for 1063 performances. The show won the 1955
Tony Award for Best Musical as well as the
Donaldson Award and the
Variety Drama Critics Award. Two songs from the show, "
Hernando's Hideaway" (for
Archie Bleyer) and "
Hey There" (for
Rosemary Clooney), topped the
Hit Parade. Other notable songs were "
Steam Heat" (choreographed on stage by
Bob Fosse), "Small Talk", and "Seven and a Half Cents". Their next musical,
Damn Yankees, opened on Broadway in 1955, starring
Gwen Verdon. The musical ran for 1,019 performances. Adler and Ross, as composer and lyricist, shared in the 1956
Tony Award for Best Musical. Pop hits from the show were "
Heart", recorded by
Eddie Fisher, and "
Whatever Lola Wants" for
Sarah Vaughan. ==Death==