Two-Time Tony Nominee Bruce Adler Dies at 63

Bruce Adler, a two-time Tony Award nominee, died on July 25 at age 63. The former Crazy For You star and son of famed Yiddish Theatre performers Henrietta Jacobson and Julius Adler died after a long battle with liver cancer.

Born in New York City on November 27, 1944, Adler began his career as a child actor alongside his parents in the Yiddish theater. He made his Broadway debut playing traveling merchant Ali Hakim in the 1979 revival of Oklahoma!. The performer went on to appear in the musicals Oh, Brother!, Broadway, Sunday in the Park with George and Those Were the Days, which earned him a 1991 Tony nod, before gaining accolades and a second nomination as Bela Zangler in 1992's Crazy For You. Adler lent his voice to Disney in the animated flicks Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, singing the opening song "Arabian Nights" as the narrator in the latter. His TV credits included Funny Already: A History of Jewish Comedy, Law & Order and Great Performances: Crazy for You. The actor also had a thriving regional theater career, performing across the country in musical productions and concerts as well as his own solos show, Song and Dance Man.

Adler is survived by his wife, Amy London, their one-year-old son Jacob and stepchildren Emily and A.J.