Howard Elliott Ashman (May 17, 1950 â€" March 14, 1991) was an
American playwright and lyricist. He collaborated with Alan Menken on
several works and is most widely known for several animated feature
films for Disney, for which Ashman wrote the lyrics and Menken
composed the music. Ashman and Menken began their collaboration with
the musical God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1979), for which Ashman
directed and wrote both book and lyrics. Their next musical, Little
Shop of Horrors (1982) for which Ashman again directed and wrote both
book and lyrics, became a long-running success and led to a 1986
feature film. The partnership's first Disney film was The Little
Mermaid (1989), followed by Beauty and the Beast (1991). After his
death, some of Ashman's songs were included in another Disney film,
Aladdin (1992).Ashman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of
Shirley Thelma (née Glass) and Raymond Albert Ashman, an ice cream
cone manufacturer. His family was Jewish. Ashman first studied at
Boston University and Goddard College (with a stop at Tufts
University's Summer Theater) and then went on to earn his master's
degree from Indiana University in 1974.After graduating from Indiana
in 1974 he moved to New York and worked as an editor at Grosset &
Dunlap. His first two plays, Cause Maggie's Afraid of the Dark and
Dreamstuff, were met with mixed reviews. His play The Confirmation was
produced in 1977 at Princeton's McCarter Theater and starred Herschel
Bernardi. In 1977 he became the artistic director of the WPA Theater
in New York. He met future collaborator Alan Menken at the BMI
Workshop, where he was classmates with Maury Yeston and Ed Kleban,
among others. He first worked with Menken on the 1979 musical Kurt
Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, adapted from Vonnegut's novel
of the same name. They also collaborated on Little Shop of Horrors
with Ashman as director, lyricist, and librettist, winning the Drama
Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics. He also directed the workshop of
Nine by Yeston at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and after asking
why Guido's wife stays with him after she knows he has not been
faithful, inspired Yeston to write "My Husband Makes Movies".
American playwright and lyricist. He collaborated with Alan Menken on
several works and is most widely known for several animated feature
films for Disney, for which Ashman wrote the lyrics and Menken
composed the music. Ashman and Menken began their collaboration with
the musical God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (1979), for which Ashman
directed and wrote both book and lyrics. Their next musical, Little
Shop of Horrors (1982) for which Ashman again directed and wrote both
book and lyrics, became a long-running success and led to a 1986
feature film. The partnership's first Disney film was The Little
Mermaid (1989), followed by Beauty and the Beast (1991). After his
death, some of Ashman's songs were included in another Disney film,
Aladdin (1992).Ashman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of
Shirley Thelma (née Glass) and Raymond Albert Ashman, an ice cream
cone manufacturer. His family was Jewish. Ashman first studied at
Boston University and Goddard College (with a stop at Tufts
University's Summer Theater) and then went on to earn his master's
degree from Indiana University in 1974.After graduating from Indiana
in 1974 he moved to New York and worked as an editor at Grosset &
Dunlap. His first two plays, Cause Maggie's Afraid of the Dark and
Dreamstuff, were met with mixed reviews. His play The Confirmation was
produced in 1977 at Princeton's McCarter Theater and starred Herschel
Bernardi. In 1977 he became the artistic director of the WPA Theater
in New York. He met future collaborator Alan Menken at the BMI
Workshop, where he was classmates with Maury Yeston and Ed Kleban,
among others. He first worked with Menken on the 1979 musical Kurt
Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, adapted from Vonnegut's novel
of the same name. They also collaborated on Little Shop of Horrors
with Ashman as director, lyricist, and librettist, winning the Drama
Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics. He also directed the workshop of
Nine by Yeston at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and after asking
why Guido's wife stays with him after she knows he has not been
faithful, inspired Yeston to write "My Husband Makes Movies".
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