James Radomski

James Radomski was born in Venice, California, and raised in Rochester, New York, serving two years in the United States Navy before studying speech and drama at the University of Maryland and Catholic University. Moving to Greenwich Village in the 1960s to pursue acting, he met fellow actor Gerome Ragni in an off-Broadway play in 1964. Fascinated by the emerging youth hippie subculture in the East Village, they decided to create a musical chronicling it.

Teaming with Canadian composer Galt MacDermot, Rado and Ragni wrote the book and lyrics for Hair, which debuted at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in October 1967 before transferring to Broadway in April 1968. Starring Rado as Claude Bukowski, Hair shattered Broadway conventions with its racially integrated cast, anti-Vietnam War message, rock score ("Aquarius", "Let the Sunshine In"), and famous full-frontal nude scene. The show won a Grammy Award, ran for 1,750 performances on Broadway, and became a global countercultural phenomenon.