Steve Lawrence, Grammy-Winning Half of Singing Duo Steve & Eydie, Dies at 88
The Brooklyn-born singer and actor, who built a decades-long career with his wife Eydie Gormé and on his own, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease.
By Amy Swan ·
Steve Lawrence, the Grammy-winning singer who formed one half of the beloved pop duo Steve & Eydie, has died at 88. A publicist confirmed in a statement shared with the Los Angeles Times that he died Thursday of complications from Alzheimer's disease.
His son, David Lawrence, remembered him in a statement as a source of inspiration to many, but above all as "this charming, handsome, hysterically funny guy who sang a lot," sometimes alone and sometimes with his "insanely talented wife." He said he hoped his father's contributions to entertainment would be remembered for years to come.
Born in Brooklyn, Lawrence started young, winning the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts competition at 16. A year later he met the singer Eydie Gormé at New York's Brill Building, a meeting that grew into a romance lasting decades and into one of the country's most popular musical partnerships. Lawrence recalled to The Times in 2014 that she wore her hair in a ponytail and that it "hit me in my face."
The two became friends while performing on "The Tonight Show," hosted by Steve Allen, in 1953. They married in 1957 and kept making music together into the late 1970s. Their hits included "We Got Us" and "This Could Be the Start of Something Big." In 1960, their first album, "We Got Us," earned them a Grammy.
The duo also collected several Emmy Awards for starring in televised tributes to the Gershwins, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. They sold out Carnegie Hall for a series of concerts in the 1980s and toured with Frank Sinatra in the 1990s.
Lawrence had a substantial solo career as well, spanning recordings, Broadway and television. He earned a Tony nomination for playing Sammy Glick in "What Makes Sammy Run?" in 1964 and 1965. He and Gormé later starred together on Broadway in "Golden Rainbow."
On television, Lawrence was a regular guest on "The Carol Burnett Show" and appeared in series including "The Nanny," "Hot in Cleveland" and "Two and a Half Men," where he reunited with friends Carl Reiner, Tim Conway and Garry Marshall. He also played the agent Maury Sline in the film "The Blues Brothers" in 1980 and in "Blues Brothers 2000" in 1998.
In 2014 he released the album "When You Come Back to Me Again," dedicated to Gormé, who died Aug. 10, 2013, at 84. He put it out on Valentine's Day and told The Times that his wife had heard it before she died and "thought it was terrific." Reflecting on their marriage, he said: "We were attached at the hip — Steve-and-Eydie. It was like we were one person — to be married that long."
Lawrence is survived by his son David, daughter-in-law Faye, granddaughter Mabel, brother Bernie, and nieces and nephews. His son Michael died in 1986. A private funeral will be held at a later date, and donations in his name can be made to the charity Alzheimer's Los Angeles.
Source: Los Angeles Times
