Betty Comden
b. 3 May 1915, New York City, New York, USA. After graduating with a degree in science, Comden strove to find work as an actress. During this period, the late '30s, she met Adolph Green who was also seeking work in the theatre. Unsuccessful in their attempts to find acting jobs, Comden and Green formed their own troupe, together with another struggling actress, Judy Holliday. In the absence of suitable material, Comden and Green began creating their own and discovered an ability to write librettos and lyrics. At first their success was only limited, but in the early '40s they were invited by a mutual friend, Leonard Bernstein, to work on the book and lyrics of a musical he planned to adapt from his ballet score, FANCY FREE. The show, retitled ON THE TOWN (1944), was a huge success and Comden and Green never looked back. This show was followed by BILLION DOLLAR BABY (1945, music by Morton Gould) and an assignment in Hollywood for the musical films GOOD NEWS (1947), The Barkleys Of Broadway (1949), On The Town and TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME(both 1949). In the early '50s Comden and Green were back on Broadway, collaborating with Bernstein again, on WONDERFUL TOWN (1953), and with Jule Styne on several occasions, most notably with BELLS ARE RINGING (1956) in which the leading role was played by their former associate Judy Holliday. Throughout the '50s Comden and Green worked steadily on Broadway and in Hollywood. Among their films were Singing In The Rain(1952), for which they wrote the screenplay, incorporating the songs of Herb Nacio Brown and The Band Wagon (1953), again contributing the screenplay which was peppered with the songs of Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. For It's Always Fair Weather(1955) they wrote screenplay and lyrics (music by André Previn) and later in the '50s and into the '60s wrote screenplays for AUNTIE MAME (1958) and Bells Are Ringing (1960), among others. In the late '50s they also performed their own two-person stage show. After writing the libretto for APPLAUSE (1970) they rested on their remarkable laurels but continued to make sporadic returns to the musical stage with ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (1978) and A DOLL'S LIFE (1982), and occasional revivals of their personal-appearance show both on the stage and on television.