Hilliard Gerald Adler (October 30, 1918 – March 13, 2010) was an American

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

player whose performances have been used in numerous film soundtracks. Adler was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, and early in his childhood mastered the harmonica, winning a local talent contest sponsored by the Baltimore Evening Sun at age 13. His older brother

Larry Adler Lawrence Cecil Adler (February 10, 1914 – August 6, 2001) was an American harmonica player. Known for playing major works, he played compositions by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud and Arthur Benjamin. ...

, four years his senior, had won the same contest five years earlier, performing the same piece, Beethoven's Minuet in G. Later, Adler found work with Paul Whiteman and performed regularly with his orchestra. After starting his solo career, he joined the Army Air Corps, where he did theater and film work in the entertainment division. Adler focused on popular music as his career developed, and he soloed in numerous film soundtracks from the 1940s to the 1960s, including '' Shane'', ''

High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of ...

'', ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'', and '' My Fair Lady''. He also taught actors how to pretend to play the instrument convincingly where their on-screen performances required. He published an autobiography, ''Living from Hand to Mouth'', in 2005. Jerry Adler died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

in 2010, aged 91.

References

1918 births 2010 deaths American harmonica players Jewish American musicians Deaths from prostate cancer Musicians from Baltimore United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers Deaths from cancer in the United States 21st-century American Jews {{US-musician-stub