Laura Adler, the casting director, former Casting Society administrator and daughter of late actor and Broadway stage manager Jerry Adler, died Thursday in Los Angeles following a brief illness, a publicist announced. She was 65.
During her four-plus decades in show business, Adler found actors for shows including Better Off Ted, Dream On, The Goode Family and American Dreams, for which she was nominated for an Emmy in 2003.
Two years later, Adler became an original member of the Casting Society steering committee that fought to secure long-overdue pension and health benefits for casting professionals — an achievement that reshaped the industry and underscored her deep commitment to her colleagues.
In 2014, she was hired as Casting Society administrator, and she spent the next decade serving and supporting the global casting community with dedication and compassion before retiring from the role.
In recognition of her lasting impact, Adler was recently announced as a recipient of the Rosalie Joseph Humanitarian Award, to be presented Feb. 26 at the 41st annual Artios Awards in Los Angeles. The honor is given for outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes that have in turn supported the casting community.
Born in New York City on July 1, 1960, and raised there, Adler began working in television and film production in 1980 before moving into casting in 1989, assisting renowned casting directors Barbara Claman, Mark Saks and Ted Hann.
She rose to become an associate and then a casting director herself, a role she held for more than 16 years.
Survivors include her three sisters, Alisa Adler, a talent agent at Paradigm; Emily Adler, a writer; and Amy Adler, and her nephew, Joe Adler. Her father died in August at age 96. A memorial service will be announced.
