Lee Adams is the Tony Award-winning lyricist behind the smash Broadway productions Bye Bye Birdie, Applause and Golden Boy..The first production for the team of Adams and Strouse was the musical, Bye Bye Birdie. It debuted on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on April 14, 1960, starring Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera. It was an instant success and the initial production ran for over 600 performances earning the 1960 Tony Award for Best Musical. Three years later a film version was released starring Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, and Ann Margaret. The next production for the team of Adams and Strouse was All American, which opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway on March 19, 1962. Two years later on October 20, Golden Boy, starring Sammy Davis Jr. opened at the Majestic Theatre. Adams and Strouse again received critical acclaim and success with a 569 show performance run and a Tony nomination for Best Musical. Perhaps the most successful of the Adams and Strouse productions opened on March 30, 1970, at the Palace Theatre. Applause was based on the movie screenplay All About Eve and the original cast included legendary film actress Lauren Bacall. The production won the Tony Award for Best Musical and ran for over 850 performances. In addition to his notable Broadway and London West End credits, Adams, with Strouse, wrote a much-acclaimed London musical, I and Albert, in 1972. Thereafter, Adams became active in films and television. His theme for TVs long-running "All in the Family", titled "Those Were the Days", has been heard more often than any other television theme. He also wrote the lyrics for the acclaimed film, The Night They Raided Minsky's.