Al Kasha

Alfred Kasha was born on January 22, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York, and went on to become one of American popular music's most decorated songwriters, earning recognition across film, television, and Broadway before his death on September 14, 2020, at the age of 83.

Kasha demonstrated an early aptitude for the music industry, joining Columbia Records as a producer at just 22 years old. By 1959 he was working out of the Brill Building, where his colleagues included Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, and Neil Diamond. During this period he contributed material to a number of prominent recording artists, writing for Aretha Franklin, Bobby Darin, Charles Aznavour, Donna Summer, and Jackie Wilson, for whom he produced a substantial body of work including "I'm Coming on Back to You," "My Empty Arms," "Forever and a Day," "Each Night I Dream of You," "Lonely Life," and "Sing and Tell the Blues So Long."

The most celebrated chapter of Kasha's career unfolded through his long partnership with songwriter Joel Hirschhorn. The two collaborated extensively on songs for films, musicals, and recording artists, including "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" for the Peppermint Rainbow. Their work on Hollywood disaster films brought them to the forefront of the industry: they won the Academy Award for Best Original Song twice, first in 1973 for "The Morning After" from The Poseidon Adventure and again in 1975 for "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno, both songs made famous by Maureen McGovern. The pair received two additional Academy Award nominations for their contributions to the 1977 Disney film Pete's Dragon, including a Best Song Score nomination and a Best Song nomination for "Candle on the Water," performed by Helen Reddy.

On Broadway, Kasha served as a book writer, with credits including Copperfield. He and Hirschhorn received two Tony Award nominations for Best Original Score, one in 1981 and one in 1983, the latter connected to their work on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Their combined honors also included two Grammy nominations, an Emmy, four Golden Globe nominations, and a People's Choice Award. The pair additionally composed the theme song for the television game show The Challengers, which aired in the 1990s.

Beyond his songwriting, Kasha authored three books: If They Ask You Can Write a Song, Notes on Broadway, and his autobiography, Reaching the Morning After. He was married to Ceil Kasha and had a daughter, Dana Kasha-Cohen. In his later years he lived with Parkinson's disease.