Howard Ashman
Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. He collaborated with Alan Menken on several works and is most widely known for several animated feature films for Disney, for which Ashman wrote the lyrics and Menken composed the music. Ashman and Menken began their collaboration with the musical God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater , for which Ashman directed and wrote both book and lyrics. Their next musical, Little Shop of Horrors for which Ashman again directed and wrote both book and lyrics, became a longrunning success and led to a 1986 feature film. The partnerships first Disney film was The Little Mermaid , followed by Beauty and the Beast . After his death, some of Ashmans songs were included in another Disney film, Aladdin .
Ashman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Shirley Thelma and Raymond Albert Ashman, an ice cream cone manufacturer. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his masters degree from Indiana University in 1974.
Source: Wikipedia