Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands

Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne was an American rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band included founding members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young. They released five albums from 1996 to 2011 before e ...

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

, and

Tinted Windows Window film (tint) is a thin laminate film that can be installed to the interior or exterior of glass surfaces in automobiles and boats and also to the interior or exterior of glass in homes and buildings. It is usually made from polyethylene ter ...

, and was a key songwriting contributor and producer for Brooklyn-based synth-pop duo

Fever High Fever High is a Brooklyn-based duo composed of singer/instrumentalists Anna Nordeen and Reni Lane. The original formation of Fever High was composed of Nordeen and model/actress Leah Cary. Their five-track debut EP, ''All Work'', was re-released ...

. He also wrote songs for television and film, for which he won three Emmy Awards, a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

, and the ASCAP Pop Music Award, and was nominated for

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

, and Golden Globe Awards.

Early life

Schlesinger was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on October 31, 1967, the son of publicist Barbara (née Bernthal) and Stephen Schlesinger. He was a cousin of actor

Jon Bernthal Jonathan Edward Bernthal (; born September 20, 1976) is an American actor. Beginning his career in the early 2000s, he came to prominence for portraying Shane Walsh on the AMC horror series '' The Walking Dead'' (2010–2012; 2018), where ...

and the grandson of musician

Murray Bernthal Murray Bernthal (April 15, 1911 – December 9, 2010) was an American musician and producer long active in Syracuse, New York. He was a violin prodigy and a Syracuse University basketball player. Bernthal and his first wife, Rose, were instrumen ...

(1911–2010). He was raised in a

secular Jewish Secular Jew may refer to: * A general epithet for Jews who participate in modern secular society and are not stringently religious * Nonreligious Jews, including nonaffiliated, agnostics, etc. ** Jewish atheism ** Cultural Judaism * ''Hiloni ...

family in the

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

borough of New York City and

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. ...

, attending Montclair High School in the latter. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in philosophy from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...

Songwriting

Film

In addition to writing and co-producing the

title song A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

to ''

That Thing You Do! ''That Thing You Do!'' is a 1996 American comedy film co-starring, written, and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. It tells the story of the rise and fall of a fictional 1960s one-hit wonder pop band, and st ...

'', Schlesinger composed "Master of the Seas" for '' Ice Age: Continental Drift'', performed by Jennifer Lopez,

Peter Dinklage Peter Hayden Dinklage (; born June 11, 1969) is an American film, television and stage actor. He received international recognition for portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which he ...

and others. He wrote and produced three songs for '' Music and Lyrics'', and his music has also been featured in films such as ''

Shallow Hal ''Shallow Hal'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black about a shallow man who falls in love with a 300-pound woman after being hypnotized into only seeing a person's inner beauty. Directed by the Farrell ...

'' (which he scored with Ivy); ''

Robots "\n\n\n\n\nThe robots exclusion standard, also known as the robots exclusion protocol or simply robots.txt, is a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the site they are allowed to visi ...

''; ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men w ...

''; ''

Me, Myself & Irene ''Me, Myself & Irene'' is a 2000 American slapstick black comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, and starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Greene, Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon an ...

''; ''

Josie and the Pussycats Josie and the Pussycats (sometimes simply known as The Pussycats) are a fictional girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense i ...

''; ''

Scary Movie ''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American slasher parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Anna Fari ...

''; '' Art School Confidential''; ''

Fever Pitch ''Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life'' is a 1992 autobiographical essay by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: '' Fever Pitch'' (1997, UK) and '' Fever Pitch'' (2005, U.S.). The first edition was subtitled "A Fan's Life", bu ...

''; ''

The Manchurian Candidate ''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. Th ...

''; ''

Because of Winn-Dixie ''Because of Winn-Dixie'' is a 2000 children's novel written by Kate DiCamillo. It was adapted as a 2005 family film directed by Wayne Wang, produced by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, and starring AnnaSophia Robb as Opal Buloni.

''; ''

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

''; ''

Two Weeks Notice ''Two Weeks Notice'' is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence and starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. Although critical response was mixed, the film was successful at the box office. Plot Lucy Kelso ...

''; and others.

Songs performed by other artists

* "Our Own World", "I Was There", and "House of Broken Gingerbread" by

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

* "

Just the Girl "Just the Girl" is a song by American rock band the Click Five. It was released on June 13, 2005, as the first single from their debut studio album, ''Greetings from Imrie House'' (2005). The band formed in Boston and were managed by talent scout ...

" and "I'll Take My Chances" for

The Click Five The Click Five (often abbreviated as TC5) was an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The original members, most of them students at Berklee College of Music, started on January 1, 2004, and played in various local venues. They then ...

* "Everybody Loves Music" by

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

Pat Monahan Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, '' Las ...

, and

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

on ''The Billboard Music Awards'' * "I Guess It's American" for Superdrag (co-written with John Davis) * "

High School Never Ends "High School Never Ends" is a song by American rock band Bowling for Soup. The song was the first single from the group's sixth album, '' The Great Burrito Extortion Case'', and was released on September 19, 2006. The song deals with the frustr ...

" with

Bowling for Soup Bowling for Soup (abbreviated as BFS) is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Burney (guitar, backing vocals), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion, backing vo ...

(co-written with

Jaret Reddick Jaret Ray Reddick is an American musician, singer, songwriter, composer, podcaster and actor, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Bowling for Soup. As a voice actor, Reddick is known for his work ...

) * "I Am What I Am" for the Jonas Brothers * "Hackensack" (Fountains of Wayne cover) by Katy Perry * "Perfect Night" by

Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Silverman was a writer and performer on ''Saturday Night Live'', and she starred in and produced '' The Sarah Silverman Program'', which ran from 2007 to ...

and

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

* "1-800 Clap Your Hands", "Marisol", "You Get Me Through", "Double Talk", and "Jerkface Loser Boyfriend" by

Emily Osment Emily Jordan Osment (born March 10, 1992) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Osment began her career as a child actress, appearing in numerous television shows and films, before co-starring as Gerti ...

* "Work to Do" for America * Eight songs for

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...

's television special '' A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!'' performed by Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Feist,

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

, Elvis Costello and

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's '' Boomtown'', 19 ...

(co-written with David Javerbaum) * "Barbie Eat a Sandwich" and "My Problems" with Care Bears on Fire * "A Little More Us" by Stereo Skyline * "Just Like a Rockstar" by

The Fresh Beat Band ''The Fresh Beat Band'' (originally known as ''The JumpArounds'') is an American live action musical children's television series created by Scott Kraft and Nadine van der Velde for Nickelodeon. The show stars the "Fresh Beats" (Kiki, Shout, M ...

* "Stay in Our PJs" by

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood misa ...

* "I'll Say It" by

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...

* "Text Me Merry Christmas" by Straight No Chaser feat.

Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky That ...

* "Tantalized", "All Work", "That's So Typical", "Spit It Out", and "Looks Good on Paper" by

In theatre

Schlesinger and ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' executive producer

David Javerbaum David Adam Javerbaum (born August 5, 1971) is an American comedy writer and lyricist. Javerbaum has won 13 Emmy Awards in his career, 11 of them for his work on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He runs the popular Twitter account @TheTweet ...

co-wrote the songs for the musical theater adaptation of the

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

film ''

Cry-Baby ''Cry-Baby'' is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. It was the only film of Waters's over which studios were in a bidding war, coming off the heels of the successful '' Hairspray''. The film s ...

''. ''

'' debuted at the

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

in La Jolla, California in November 2007. Previews for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

run began at the Marquis Theatre on March 15, 2008. Its official opening night was April 24, 2008. Schlesinger and Javerbaum co-wrote the closing song "I Have Faith in You" for Javerbaum's play ''

An Act of God ''An Act of God'' is a play by David Javerbaum. The stage play is adapted from Javerbaum's ''The Last Testament: A Memoir By God''. Background The play began as a "series of tweets" and a book before being written as a play.Isherwood, Charles"Re ...

'', which opened on Broadway on May 28, 2015. The song is performed by

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead ...

, Chris Fitzgerald, and

Tim Kazurinsky Timothy James Kazurinsky (born March 3, 1950) is an American actor and screenwriter best known as a cast member and writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the '' Police Academy'' films. Early life Kazurinsky wa ...

. Schlesinger and Sarah Silverman collaborated on a musical titled ''The Bedwetter'', based on her book of the same name. The musical was set for previews to begin on May 9, 2020, at the Atlantic's Linda Gross Theater; opening night was scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, 2020. The dates were later postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The musical ultimately premiered in previews in April 2022. At the time of his death, Schlesinger was also announced to be working on the music for a stage adaption of the television series ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three ch ...

''.

In television

Schlesinger and Javerbaum co-wrote the opening number of the 2011 Tony Awards ceremony "It's Not Just for Gays Anymore" as well as the opening and closing numbers of the 2012 Tony Awards, "What If Life Were More Like Theater" and "If I Had Time", all performed by Neil Patrick Harris. They wrote "TV Is a Vast Wonderland", the opening number of the 2011 Emmy Awards, performed by

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...

and "The Number in the Middle of the Show", performed at the 2013 Emmy Awards by Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, and

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...

. Schlesinger's television composing work includes theme music, songs, and/or score for '' I Love You, America'' (Hulu), ''

The Maya Rudolph Show ''Maya & Marty'' is an American television variety show that premiered on NBC on May 31, 2016. The series was co-hosted by comedians Maya Rudolph and Martin Short, and produced by Lorne Michaels. The show features various comedy sketches, musi ...

'' (NBC), '' A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!'', the 2011 and 2012

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s, the 2011 and 2013 Emmy Awards, ''

'', ''

T.U.F.F. Puppy ''T.U.F.F. Puppy'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It premiered on October 2, 2010, on Nickelodeon along with '' Planet Sheen'', which premiered a half hour earlier. ''T.U.F.F. Puppy'' is Hartma ...

'' (Nickelodeon), ''

Good Luck Charlie ''Good Luck Charlie'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from April 4, 2010, to February 16, 2014. The series' creators, Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, no ...

'' (Disney Channel), ''

'' (Nickelodeon), ''

Kathy Kathy is a feminine given name. It is a pet form of Katherine, Kathleen and their related forms. Kathy may refer to: In sports * Kathy Bald, Canadian freestyle swimmer * Kathy May, American tennis player *Kathy Radzuweit, German volleyball playe ...

'' (Bravo), ''

Crank Yankers ''Crank Yankers'' is an American adult puppet television show produced by Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison. It features actual crank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests, while re-enacted onscreen by puppets for a visu ...

'', ''

Wedding Band A wedding ring or wedding band is a finger ring that indicates that its wearer is married. It is usually forged from metal, traditionally gold or another precious metal. Rings were used in ancient Rome during marriage, though the modern pra ...

'' (TBS), the

Billboard Music Award The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of t ...

s, ''

Bubble Guppies ''Bubble Guppies'' is a CGI-animated children's television series produced for Nickelodeon and created by Jonny Belt and Robert Scull. The series is a combination of the sketch comedy, edutainment, and musical genres, and revolves around the ...

'' (Nick Jr.), ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

'', ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'', Comedy Central's '' Night of Too Many Stars'', Robert Smigel's cartoons for ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'', The

Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade The ''Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade'' is an American television special that airs on Christmas Day annually on ABC, airing live and taped, primarily inside the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, approximately ...

with Neil Patrick Harris, the Comedy Awards (Comedy Central), ''

American Dreams ''American Dreams'' is an American drama television series that ran on NBC for three seasons & 61 episodes, from September 29, 2002, to March 30, 2005. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the mid-1960s, with many ...

'', Stephen King's ''

Kingdom Hospital ''Kingdom Hospital'' (sometimes known as ''Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital'') is a thirteen-episode television series based on Lars von Trier's '' The Kingdom'' ( Danish title: ''Riget''), developed by horror writer Stephen King in 2004 for Amer ...

'', '' The In-Laws'', ''

The Man Show ''The Man Show'' is an American comedy television show on Comedy Central that aired from 1999 to 2004. It was created in 1999 by its two original co-hosts, Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel, and their executive producer Daniel Kellison. The pilot ...

'', ''

Supernoobs ''Supernoobs'' is a Canadian animated comedy television series produced by DHX Media (now known as WildBrain) for Cartoon Network and Teletoon. The series is about four kids who navigate through middle school and fight evil assassins at the same ...

'', '' Too Late with Adam Carolla'', ''

The Dana Carvey Show ''The Dana Carvey Show'' is an American surreal sketch comedy television show that aired on ABC during the spring of 1996. Dana Carvey was the host and principal player on the show while Louis C.K. served as head writer. The show's cast consis ...

'', '' John Leguizamo's House Of Buggin''', '' My Kind of Town'', ''

Johnny Test ''Johnny Test'' is an animated television series created by Scott Fellows, originally produced in the United States by Warner Bros. Animation and later produced in Canada by Cookie Jar Entertainment. It premiered on Kids' WB on September 17 ...

'', and others. His songs have been licensed for use on numerous television series, including '' Scrubs'', '' The Hills'', ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'', '' Melrose Place'', '' Felicity'', '' Roswell'', and others. He wrote songs for and was executive music producer of the scripted comedy ''

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' is an American romantic musical comedy-drama television series that premiered on October 12, 2015, on The CW and ran for four seasons, ending on April 5, 2019. The series was created, written, and directed by Rachel Bloo ...

'' on The CW.

Production work

As a record producer and mixer, he worked with

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

Dashboard Confessional Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the songThe Sharp Hint of New Tears off their debut album, '' The Swiss Army Romance''. History Early ...

Swirl 360 Swirl 360 is an alternative pop band founded by twins Denny and Kenny Scott. Biography In 1996, twin brothers Denny and Kenny Scott, formerly called Fools of Faith and before that Dream in Color, recorded a set of demos in Jacksonville Beach, ...

Tahiti 80 Tahiti 80 are a French indie pop band from Rouen. The group was founded in 1992 by Xavier Boyer, Pedro Resende, Médéric Gontier and Sylvain Marchand. History Singer and guitarist Boyer and bassist Resende formed the pop combo as students at t ...

Motion City Soundtrack Motion City Soundtrack is an American rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Justin Courtney Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew ...

Verve Pipe The Verve Pipe is an American rock music, rock band from Michigan. It was formed in 1992 in East Lansing, Michigan, East Lansing by Brian Vander Ark, Brian Stout and Donny Brown. History In November 1992, Brian Vander Ark of the band "Johnny w ...

, Robert Plant, America,

the Sounds The Sounds are a Swedish indie rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1998, the group's musical style has been compared to new wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons. Their debut album, '' Living in America'', was r ...

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

Fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

, and many other artists, as well as producing or co-producing five Fountains of Wayne albums and six Ivy albums.

Side projects

Schlesinger was also in a side project band called

formed by guitarist James Iha, previously of The Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle, singer Taylor Hanson of Hanson (band), Hanson, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick, and recorded and toured with them in 2009 and 2010. He also contributed to Iha's second solo album, ''Look to the Sky'' (2012). He was the main composer and producer for Brooklyn-based synth-pop duo

Awards and nominations

Schlesinger was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award in 1997 for writing the title track of the Tom Hanks-directed film ''

'', also contributing two other songs for the film. Fountains of Wayne was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2003 for Grammy Award for Best New Artist, Best New Artist and Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Stacy's Mom". Schlesinger and

received two Tony nominations in 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Musical and Tony Award for Best Original Score, Best Original Score for the musical ''

''. They also received a 2009 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for their song "Much Worse Things", performed by Elvis Costello and

on the television special and album '' A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!'' The album, co-written by Schlesinger and Javerbaum, and co-produced by Schlesinger and Steven M. Gold, won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Schlesinger received a 2013 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Song for his "Elmo the Musical" theme for ''

''. He and Molly Boylan received a 2011 Daytime Emmy nomination for the song "I Wonder" from ''

''. Schlesinger and Javerbaum received a 2012 Emmy Award for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, Outstanding Music And Lyrics for their song "It's Not Just for Gays Anymore", performed by Neil Patrick Harris as the opening number of the 65th Tony Awards telecast; and a 2013 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music And Lyrics for their song "If I Had Time", performed by Neil Patrick Harris as the closing number of the 65th Tony Awards, 66th Tony Awards telecast. Schlesinger received two 2016 Emmy nominations for his work on the CW series ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'': Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "Settle for Me" (co-written with Rachel Bloom and Jack Dolgen), and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music, Outstanding Main Title Theme (co-written with Rachel Bloom). He received a 2017 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "We Tapped That Ass" (co-written with Rachel Bloom and Jack Dolgen) from the CW series ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.'' He won the 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "Antidepressants Are So Not a Big Deal" and was nominated for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for "Meet Rebecca" (Season 4 Theme) from ''Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'' (both co-written with Rachel Bloom and Jack Dolgen).

Personal life

On January 30, 1999, Schlesinger married Katherine Michel, a graphic designer and Yale University, Yale graduate. They met in 1996 at WXOU Radio Bar, a bar that Schlesinger used to frequent with Fountains of Wayne co-founder Chris Collingwood when they were starting the band. They divorced in 2013. Schlesinger and Michel had two daughters, Sadie and Claire.

Death and tribute

On April 1, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Schlesinger died of complications from COVID-19 at a hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeepsie outside

at the age of 52. He had tested positive, and was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator for over a week before his death. On June 16, 2020, the tribute album ''Saving for a Custom Van'' was released in Schlesinger's memory on Father/Daughter Records. The title is a reference to the Fountains of Wayne song "Utopia Parkway". The 31-track album features covers of songs Schlesinger wrote or performed by artists such as Kay Hanley, Ben Lee, and Prince Daddy & The Hyena. His collaborator Rachel Bloom and his Fountains of Wayne bandmate Jody Porter also participated. All proceeds from the album were donated to the MusiCares COVID-19 relief fund. The 2021 revival of ''

'' was dedicated to Schlesinger.

References

External links

LAist Interview with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlesinger, Adam 1967 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American male bass guitarists American rock bass guitarists American musical theatre composers Broadway composers and lyricists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state) Fountains of Wayne members Guitarists from New Jersey Grammy Award winners Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Montclair, New Jersey Primetime Emmy Award winners Songwriters from New Jersey Tinted Windows (band) members Williams College alumni