Warren Adler

Warren Adler (born December 16, 1927) is an American author, playwright and poet. His novel The War of the Roses was turned into a dark comedy starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.

An essayist, short-story writer, poet and playwright, Adler’s works have been translated into 25 languages.

Education and early career

Born in Brooklyn, Warren Adler graduated from P.S. 91, Brooklyn Technical High School, New York University, and attended the New School. Among his classmates were Mario Puzo and William Styron.^[1] In 2009, Adler was the recipient of the "Alumni of the Year" honor at NYU’s College of Arts and Science^[2] and is also the founder of the Jackson Hole Writer’s Conference, WY. During his residence in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Adler was Chairman of the Library Board.

After graduating from NYU with a degree in English literature, Adler worked for the New York Daily News before becoming editor of the Queens Post, a prize-winning weekly.

During the Korean War, he served in the US Army in the Pentagon as the Washington Correspondent for Armed Forces Press Service. Prior to his success as a novelist, Adler had a distinguished career as an entrepreneur. He has owned four radio stations and a TV station, founded and ran his own advertising and public relations agency in Washington, D.C.; his firm Warren Adler Ltd. was responsible for advertising and PR campaigns for political candidates, numerous businesses, and apartment and home communities. Among his clients was the Watergate complex, which Adler named.^[3] He closed his agency in 1974 after the publication of his first novel, Undertow, and has since been devoted full-time to his writing career. Adler sponsored the Warren Adler Short Story contest, a pioneer literary contest on the web. His three children are David Adler, Jonathan Adler, and Michael Adler, an actor.

Writing career

He published The War of the Roses and Random Hearts. The War of the Roses was adapted into a feature film starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito in 1989.^[1] Random Hearts was adapted into a film starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas in 1999.^[4] There was a bidding war in a Hollywood commission for his unpublished book Private Lies.^[5] Newsweek reported, "TriStar Pictures outbid Warner Bros and Columbia, and purchased the film rights to Private Lies for $1.2 million. …the highest sums yet paid in Hollywood for an unpublished manuscript."^[6]

Adler also wrote The Sunset Gang, produced by Linda Lavin for PBS’ American Playhouse series.^[7] It was adapted into a trilogy starring Uta Hagen, Harold Gould, Dori Brenner, Jerry Stiller and Ron Rifkin garnering Doris Roberts an Emmy nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series’. The musical version of The Sunset Gang received an Off-Broadway production with music scored by noted composer L. Russell Brown.

In 1981, Adler authored a sequel to The War of the Roses called The Children of the Roses.^[8] The follow-up focuses on the aftermath of the events in The War of the Roses, and the effect the Roses' divorce had on their children.

From its conception, Adler was involved in electronic publishing. In the early 2000s, Adler predicted the decline of printed books and he envisioned digital publishing becoming the norm. He acquired his complete back-list and converted this library to a digital publishing format, published now under his own company, Stonehouse Press. He based this action on the hope that his books would never go out of print; they would last beyond his lifetime and would be a legacy of his life’s work. Adler wrote an article for The Author’s Guild stating that authors had best prepare for a major change in the way traditional publishing businesses operated. He argued that traditional publishers no longer had a monopoly on marketing, distribution, publicity, and content and stated prolific authors like himself should take charge of their own destiny since traditional publishers would slowly fade as the principle conduit from authors to readership.^[9]

His name is a clue in the New York Times Crossword Puzzle.

Adler regularly blogs for The Huffington Post and is the sponsor of a visiting writer series at the New York university department of creative writing.^[10]

Sometimes dubbed the Master of Dysfunction, Adler’s themes stress intimate human relationships—the mysterious nature of love and attraction; the fragile relationships between husbands and wives, and parents and children; the corrupting power of money; the aging process; and how families cling together when challenged by the outside world.

Adler is a member of the Authors Guild, PEN America, the Dramatist Guild and the Writers Guild of America.

The War of the Roses

The stage play has premiered internationally in Belgium, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Norway, Iceland, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, France, Brazil, and Netherlands. A Broadway production is planned.

Fiona Fitzgerald Series

Fiona Fitzgerald mystery series revolves around Fiona Fitzgerald, a woman in her 30’s who was born into the illustrious family of a New York senator but chose to break away and become a homicide detective.

American Quartet is the first book, and it was not originally planned as a series until the New York Times listed the novel on its list of "Notable Crime Fiction" in December 1982, and calling it "high-class suspense." Following American Quartet, Fiona embarks on a long journey of harrowing cases throughout eight other books. American Sextet deals with a sex scandal involving six of the most important individuals in Washington D.C. Immaculate Deception deals with a congresswoman who is a pro-life supporter—she is not only found dead, but pregnant. The Witch of Watergate focuses on the death of a gossip columnist, who is discovered hanging from a balcony in the Watergate apartment complex. Senator Love is about a womanizing senator whose lover is found murdered. Ties That Bind focuses on a sado-masochistic killing in a Washington D.C. hotel. The Death of a Washington Madame is about the murder of one of Washington D.C.’s most important hostesses. And in Washington Masquerade, the latest novel in the series, Fiona unravels the death of a prominent Washington Post political columnist and fierce critic of the administration.

The Fiona Fitzgerald novels are in development to be adapted for a television series.^[11]

Grey Eagle Films

Grey Eagle Films is an independent film production company developing the literary properties of Warren Adler. Grey Eagle Films has exclusive rights to all 53 Adler novels and 100 plus short stories with eleven projects in development: seven films and four television series. Jonathan R. Adler is the CEO and Michael Adler is the Head of Creative Development.^[12]

Bibliography

References

External links

• Warren Adler's personal website and blog