Broadway Composer Richard Adler's Widow and Son in Major Tax Dispute

According to DNAinfo.com, the $22 million estate of DAMN YANKEES composer Richard Adler is at the center of a tax dispute between his widow and only son, neither of whom wants to pay the estimated $1 million owed in state taxes and other costs.

"There seems to be no spirit of compromise that is likely to resolve these disputes quickly," said executor Norman Solovay, in a petition to the Manhattan Surrogate's Court in February.

Read the original report here.

Adler's fifth wife, Susan Alison Ivory, is refusing to cover the costs by selling the $9 million Southampton home Adler left her in his will. She has requested that Adler's son Andrew, an artist, sell his inheritance, which is a $3 million apartment in the Upper East Side. But Andrew isn't budging either.

Adler died in 2012 at the age of 90. In the last five years of his life, he amended his will to reduce Andrew's inheritance and give more money to Ivory and her two children from a previous marriage.

Andrew's lawyer is arguing that when when Adler added the codicils to his will, he was considered "seriously ill" and that his wife had "assumed total responsibility for his care", making it likely that Ivory had influenced Adler's decisions.

The will also gives Ivory half of Adler's music rights in addition to the Southampton home, which comes to an additional $300,000-500,000 a year. Her children also each own a 6 percent stake in Adler's music rights, along with inheritances totaling $1.3 million between them.

Another hearing will take place in the next two weeks unless a settlement is reached.

Adler co-composed the music and lyrics for Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, both of which won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Score. He also earned a Tony Award nomination for his musical, Kwamina. Some of his biggest hit songs are You Gotta Have Heart, Hey, There, Hernando's Hideaway, Whatever Lola Wants, Steam Heat, Rags to Riches, and Everybody Loves a Lover.

During the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Richard Adler staged and produced numerous presidential entertainments, including the unforgettable birthday celebration for President Kennedy featuring Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday, Mr. President.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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