Richard Ahlert

From his NY Times Obituary, August 12, 1985

Richard Ahlert Is Dead at 63; Song Writer and Composer

Richard Ahlert, the song writer and composer, died Friday at his home in Scarsdale, N.Y., following a heart attack. He was 63 years old.

The artists who sang some of Mr. Ahlert’s estimated 1,000 compositions included Perry Como, ”My Days of Loving You,” and Aretha Franklin, ”Running Out of Fools.” He also composed the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical, ”Adam,” for which his wife, June, wrote the book.

Mr. Ahlert, whose father, Fred Ahlert, was also a composer, was graduated from Juilliard School of Music at the age of 17. He played clarinet in a United States Army band in World War II and later with the Ray Anthony Orchestra. He began writing and publishing in the 1950’s.

Mr. Ahlert was a member of both the American Guild of Authors and Composers and the board of review of ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He won an ASCAP award of merit in 1971 for his country-and-western song, ”Pencil Marks on the Wall.’