According to Billboard, Adam Schlesinger—who may be most recognizable for his work with pop band Fountains Of Wayne but is actually an Oscar-nominated songwriter behind way more earworms than “Stacey’s Mom”—has been hospitalized due to exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Some reports claimed that he was in a coma, but Billboard got confirmation from his attorney that it’s not true, though he has been hospitalized for a week and is on a ventilator. His condition is also apparently “improving” and his family said in a statement that they’re “cautiously optimistic.”
Schlesinger’s Oscar nomination came from writing “That Thing You Do,” the eponymous song from the 1996 Tom Hanks movie about the rise and fall of a musical group. He also co-wrote a number of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend songs with Rachel Bloom, wrote the “Elmo The Musical” theme from Sesame Street, and won a Grammy for his work on the Colbert Report Christmas album.