Jerry Ross was a talented musician and lyricist before his death in 1955 at the age of 29. He was born Jerold Rosenberg on March 9, 1926 in Bronx, New York. The son of Russian immigrants, he worked continuously to educate himself.
While in his teens, with no musical training, Ross wrote his first song. He kept so busy with working, studying, music and sports through all of his early years that his doctor often had to warn him to guard his health. He attended New York University as a music major but left before completion of a degree. He then went to the Catskill resorts to work, where he met Eddie Fisher, who later became his good friend.
On returning to New York City, Ross met Richard Adler, who had had no previous musical training. They decided to work together and by the time of Ross' death the two had together created 250 tunes. In 1953 they wrote their first score, Almanac, and in 1954 and 1955 wrote the music for Pajama Game and Damn Yankees.
Jerry Ross married Judith M. Levy on August 28, 1949. They had one daughter, Jane. On November 12, 1955, Jerry Ross died in the Lenox Hill Hospital as the result of a lung ailment.
