Lou Adler

Adler is an executive producer of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and discovered and produced comedy albums and films for Cheech & Chong. In 2006, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his achievements in music. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as the recipient, alongside Quincy Jones, of the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

Lou Adler studied at Fairfax High School and Theodore Roosevelt High School. The recorded working language is English. Places of work recorded in the authority are United States. Distinctions recorded are star on Hollywood Walk of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Adler was born to a Jewish family, the son of Manny and Josephine (Alpert) Adler, in Chicago, in 1933, and grew up in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles.

Adler's career in music began as co-manager, alongside Herb Alpert, of Jan and Dean. Adler and Alpert transitioned from managing into songwriting, composing the songs "River Rock" in 1958 for Bob "Froggy" Landers, and the Cough Drops and "Wonderful World" with Sam Cooke. In 1964, Adler founded Dunhill Records. He was president and the chief record producer of the label from 1964 to 1967. During that time, Adler signed the Mamas & the Papas to Dunhill, producing six top-five hits for the group including "California Dreamin'" and "Monday, Monday". Dunhill also reached No. 1 on the pop chart with Barry McGuire's single "Eve of Destruction". Through additional efforts by co-producers and songwriting duo P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, the label reached No. 8 on the pop chart with the Grass Roots single "Let's Live for Today". Capitalizing on Dunhill's success, Adler sold the label to ABC in 1967 and founded Ode Records, to which he signed Carole King, Spirit, Cheech & Chong, Scott McKenzie, Peggy Lipton, and others. Adler produced all of King's albums on Ode, which includes four gold, a platinum, and a diamond album, as certified by the RIAA. King's second album for Ode, Tapestry, sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and is considered one of the greatest albums of all time. Adler's work on Tapestry garnered him two Grammy Awards in 1972: Record of the Year (for producing "It's Too Late") and Album of the Year. In addition to working with his label's artists, Adler produced a number of live albums for Johnny Rivers. In June 1967, Adler helped to produce the Monterey International Pop Festival, as well as the film version, Monterey Pop, which he co-produced with John Phillips from the Mamas & the Papas.

Adler married actress and singer Shelley Fabares in 1964 and produced several of her songs. They separated in 1966 and formally divorced in 1980. She passed away in 2026. In 1973, he fathered his first son, Nic Adler, with actress Britt Ekland. In 1978, he fathered another son, Cisco Adler, with then-girlfriend Phyllis Somer. In the 1980s, his son Sonny was born from a brief relationship with Danish model Winnie Hollman. In 2024, it was revealed that Hollman's daughter Honey, who is two years older than Sonny, is also Adler's biological child. Before that, Honey was assumed to have been the daughter of Jack Nicholson, who Hollman was also seeing at the time. Adler is married to former actress Page Hannah. They have four children. He has often sat courtside next to Dyan Cannon and Jack Nicholson at Los Angeles Lakers home games. He owns the Roxy Theatre with his son Nic, who operates the historic music venue on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. Peter Fonda based his character Terry Valentine in The Limey on Adler. On September 1, 1976, Adler and his administrative assistant were kidnapped from their Malibu home. One of the perpetrators pulled a gun on Adler's assistant and gained entry. The two men were held for eight hours and released after $25,000 in ransom money was paid. Three suspects were arrested and sheriff's deputies later recovered $14,900 of the ransom. Two suspects were convicted and one was sentenced to life in prison.

The following is a list of films produced or directed by Lou Adler: • Monterey Pop (1968) – producer • Brewster McCloud (1970) – producer • The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – executive producer • Up in Smoke (1978) – director, producer • Shock Treatment (1981) – executive producer • Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982) – director • Murphy's Romance (1985) – music producer • American Me (1992) – executive producer • Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie (2013) – producer • The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016) – executive producer

* • Allmusic Bio * • The Pop Chronicles interviewed Adler on 1.1.1968; he appears in shows [2], [21], [35, 36], and [47.] • The Grass Roots Official Site