Composer and Lyricist Jerry A Ranger

Jan Claire has spent the better part of his 64 years hanging around the fringes of show business and learning that one thing leads to another! Beginning in his early days with acting in radio, then television commercials, and a 25 year stint as a radio disc jockey and commercial producer - having written more than 11,000 radio and tv commercials, he learned the art of writing dialog well.

After retiring from his radio career in 1980, Mr. Claire entered the sports event production business, and for many years was announcer for Chico State University gymnastics events, and lent his marketing background to promotion of those events. This led to his signing on with the U.S. Gymnastics Federation to produce it's first sports show tour featuring the Chinese National Team which led to producing other events for USGF including its nationally-televised competitions and show events.

In 1984, Jan was the announcer for the 1984 Olympic Gymnastics competitions at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles featuring, among others, Mary Lou Retton. So, in keeping with his “one thing leads to another" theme, Jan was asked by the USGF to produce a show tour under McDonalds sponsorship featuring thes Olympic athletes. The tour was a complete sell-out of all the major arenas, which led to other sponsors picking up 38 more cities on the tour. In his role of USGF announcer, he appeared in the motion picture, “American Anthem” starring Janet Jones and Mitch Gaylord.

After the gymnastics tour, Jan signed on as announcer of the Champions on Ice figure skating tour from 1989 to 1993 and then, in order to devote more time to writing, he became a senior project manager of an enterprise started by Rupert Murdoch's news corporation in its first foray into the Internet. Living in New York City he was able to mingle with the Broadway crowd and to learn from conductors, directors, and others about the vagaries of stage writing.

In teaming up with Jerry A. Ranger, a friend of 25 years, Jan has continued the one-thing-leads-to-another life he has chosen, and has written an unusual script in a form not seen lately on Broadway among original musicals - it's not a revival, it is brand new, yet it bears the marks of the sort of musicals people enjoy seeing again and again. With music by Ranger and his irresistable score, interest in OFF SHORE - the show - is growing.