Biography
Adler was born in New York City in 1906 (some references list his birth year as 1908 or 1909) with "Buddy" as his childhood nickname. His family ran a small chain of department stores, and Adler did advertising copy for the chain after he graduated from Pennsylvania University.
Adler began writing short stories in his spare time and published them under the name "Bradley Allen". In 1936, he moved to Hollywood, where he wrote the Pete Smith short features for MGM. He wrote the screenplay for the short documentary film Quicker'n a Wink, which won an Oscar in 1940. He also owned a small string of movie showhouses, called the Hitching Post.
During World War II, Adler served in the Signal Corps (1941–1945), ending with the rank of colonel. He was awarded the Legion of Merit. After the war, he returned to MGM as a full producer. However, he left that studio in 1946.
In May 1954 Adler moved from Columbia to Fox, where he produced several films. In April 1955 Adler was appointed to the staff of Zanuck; by this stage he had produced five pictures.
Head of Fox
In February 1956 Adler was named as Head of Production for 20th Century Fox, replacing Darryl F. Zanuck. Zanuck had quit Fox in part because the studio would not give him a percentage of the profits. Two years into Adler's tenure, he was given a nine-year contract, in which he was given a percentage of the profits. His life was insured for $2 million. While at Fox, Adler personally produced 14 films while running the studio, the last of which was The Inn of Sixth Happiness.
In 1956, Adler set up a production arm for Fox in London under Bob Goldstein.
In 1957, he established the Fox Talent School, with a $1 million budget. Actors who had their first starring roles under Adler include Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Tommy Sands, Fabian, Stuart Whitman, Suzy Parker, Joanne Woodward, France Nuyen, May Britt, Bradford Dillman, Tony Randall, Barry Coe, and Diane Varsi.
Under Adler, Fox would release a combination of in-house production and those from independent producers, notably Daryl F Zanuck, Sam Engel, Robert Lippert, and Jerry Wald.
In August 1958, Adler said Fox would make 32 films at a cost of $60 million, plus low-budget movies made under Robert Lippert's Regal banner for release by Fox.
In August 1959 Adler announced Fox would make 54 films and had 67 people under contract.
In 1960 Adler announced a $65 million program of films, the highest for any studio in the industry.
Personal life
Adler was born in New York City. He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1936 and resided there for the rest of his life. In 1940, he married actress Anita Louise Fremault (1915–1970), with whom he had two children. The family was at his bedside when he died in 1960, from lung cancer.
Joan Collins told a story on The Graham Norton Show about a party where Adler asked Joan if she would like her pick of roles from upcoming Fox productions, and she said yes. He then told her that although he was older than her and married, if she was "nice" to him, he could do that for her. She rebuffed him and said that she was not interested in using the casting couch to get ahead in her career.
Death
On June 15, 1960, Adler entered the hospital. On July 12, 1960, Adler died of lung cancer, aged 54, in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife Anita Louise and his daughter, Melanie, 12, and son Anthony, 10.
He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. His widow, who is buried there as well, survived him by ten years.
After his death, Variety wrote that Adler had "had a happy blend of many values capped by a handsome personality."
