Charles Friedman

Producer, director, author and songwriter who moved on from a high-school education to a show-business career, directing and producing (and associate-producing) films with Sam Goldwyn, Arthur Freed, and Darryl Zanuck. He direced the Broadway musicals "Pins and Needles", "Sing Out the News", "Carmen Jones", "Street Scene" and "My Darlin' Aida" (and he was the librettist for the latter). He also co-authored the play "The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N". He was a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Authors League, and he joined ASCAP in 1954. His popular-song compositions include "King Cotton", "Me and Lee", "Why Ain't We Free?", and "My Darlin' Aida".