Steve Lawrence, a king among easy-listening crooners who rocketed to fame in the ’50s and ’60s as half of the duo Steve and Eydie, died Thursday at age 88. Lawrence died at home in Los Angeles, and the cause of death was complications from Alzheimer’s disease, according to a spokesperson for the family, Susan DuBow.
Lawrence’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis had finally put an end to his touring career in 2019, after a run in the public eye that spanned six and a half decades.
Lawrence was preceded in death in 2013 by his wife, Eydie Gormé, with whom he enjoyed nearly unparalleled success as a performing couple during their heyday as touring artists and TV stars in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. The couple had continued to tour together through 2009.
“My Dad was an inspiration to so many people,” his son, David Lawrence, said in a statement. “But, to me, he was just this charming, handsome, hysterically funny guy who sang a lot.Sometimes alone and sometimes with his insanely talented wife.I am so lucky to have had him as a father and so proud to be his son. My hope is that his contributions to the entertainment industry will be remembered for many years to come.”
With or without Gormé, Lawrence was a Grammy winner, an Emmy winner and a Tony nominee, the later nod coming for his portrayal of Sammy Glick in a Broadway production of “What Makes Sammy Run” in 1964. He picked up a New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for that same role, which extended across 504 performances of the show.
As a solo artist, Lawrence had one song reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, “Go Away Little Girl” (later re-popularized by Donny Osmond). Altogether he had 33 songs chart between 1952-1966, five of which made Billboard’s top 10. As a couple, Steve and Eydie had fewer chart successes, landing only four charting songs, none of them major hits — yet their chart stats give little indication of just how ubiquitous the pair became as television personalities.
The duo’s joint success began with their first appearances on “The Tonight Show” when it was fronted by Steve Allen in 1954, on through regular guest spots on “The Carol Burnett Show” in the ’70s. The pair also had their own summer replacement series, “The Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé Show,” on NBC in 1958.
The solidity of their professional and personal lives notwithstanding, Lawrence regularly worked without Gormé, as an actor as well as a singer. His film roles included parts in “The Blues Brothers,” its sequel “Blues Brothers 2000,” and “Stand Up and Be Counted.” On TV in his later decades, he appeared as the father of Fran Drescher in the final season of “The Nanny,” as well as making guest appearances on “Two and a Half Men” and “Hardcastle and McCormick.” Other, earlier roles included parts on “Police Story,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Night Gallery.”
But Lawrence and Gormé were best known for their appearances on variety programs and game and talk shows, from the series hosted by Burnett, Judy Garland and Flip Wilson to “What’s My Line?”
Lawrence, the son of a cantor, was bornSidney Liebowitz in Brooklyn on July 8, 1935. His association with Steve Allen actually pre-dated that personality taking over “The Tonight Show,” as he and Gormé initially hooked up with the host when he was presiding over a local late-night show in New York City in 1953, a year before the bump up to a national platform.
One of Lawrence’s signature songs as a TV and Las Vegas nightclub performer was “I’ve Gotta Be Me.”
Lawrence is survived by his son David, daughter-in-law Faye, granddaughter Mabel, and brother Bernie. Another son, Michael, died in 1986.
The funeral will be private.In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made here.
