Scion of the Lerner Shops fortune whose elegant lyrics reflected the sophisticated world of style and wit in which he lived. A chance meeting in 1942 with German-born composer Frederick Loewe who was fourteen years his senior resulted in one of the most productive and prosperous collaborations in the American musical theater. Wedded to Loewe's operetta-inspired melodious tunes, Lerner's lyrics and his archly romantic and literary librettos--which skillfully integrated music, character and story into a seamless whole--elevated the post-war musical to new heights of sophistication and