Stage and film lyricist Alan Jay Lerner photographed in 1985.

Songtennial: Alan Jay Lerner at 100

What do the musicals “My Fair Lady,” “Gigi” and “Camelot” have in common? They were all written by the talented, complicated Alan Jay Lerner.

Arts, Culture & Media

Stage and film lyricist Alan Jay Lerner photographed in 1985.

Walter Oleksy/Alamy Stock Photo

2018 marks the centennial of Alan Jay Lerner’s birth. Born in New York and educated at Harvard, Lerner wrote the scripts and lyrics for some of Broadway and Hollywood’s most-loved musicals, including “My Fair Lady,” “Gigi” and “Camelot.”

Charming, urbane and witty, he was also plagued with insecurities and demons — he was married eight times, was hooked on methamphetamines for a while, had an on and off partnership with composer Frederick Loewe and frequently suffered writer’s block.

But he also had an impressive artistic output.