Coleman's career as a Broadway composer began when he and Leigh collabo- rated on Wildcat, which marked the Broadway debut of movie/television comedienne Lucille Ball. 'The score included the hit tune "Hey, Look Me Over". When Ball became ill, she left the show, and ti closed. Next for the two was Little Me, with a book by Neil Simon based on the novel of the same name by Patrick Dennis. The show introduced "Real Live Girl" and "I've Got Your Number", which became popular standards. In 1980, Coleman served as producer and composer for the circus-themed Barnum, which co-starred Jim Dale and Glenn Close. Later in the decade, he colla- borated on Welcome to the Club (1988) with A. E. Hotchner, and City of Angels (1989) with David Zippel. In the latter, inspired by the hard-boiled detective film noir of the 1930s and 1940s, he returned to his jazz roots, and the show was a huge criti- cal and commercial success. Coleman's film scores include Father Goose, The Art of Love, Garbo Talks, Power, and Family Business. Among his many honors and awards, he was elected to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1981), and was the recipient of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award (1995) and the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers Award for lifetime achievement in American musical theatre. He was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame and received an Honorary Doctorate from Hofstra University in 2000.