Steve Lawrence
(born July 8, 1935) is an American singer, perhaps best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as Steve and Eydie. The two have appeared together since appearing regularly on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show
in the mid-1950s. [1] [2]
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STEVE LAWRENCE TICKETS
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Biography
Personal life
Lawrence was born
Sidney Liebowitz
to a
Jewish family
[3] in
Brooklyn,
New York. His parents were Anna (
née Gelb) and Max Leibowitz, who was a
cantor and house painter.
[4] He and Gormé married on
December 29,
1957 at the
El Rancho Hotel in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
They had two sons, the younger of whom, Michael, died unexpectedly in 1986 of
ventricular fibrillation resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition at the age of 23.
His other son is
David Nessim Lawrence, who composed the score for
High School Musical
. In the late 1950s, Lawrence was drafted into the Army and served as the official vocal soloist with The United States Army Band (Pershing's Own) in
Washington, D.C.
Career
Lawrence had success on the pop record charts in the late 50's and early 1960s with such hits as "
Go Away Little Girl" (U.S. #1), "Pretty Blue Eyes" (U.S. #9), "Footsteps" (U.S. #7), "Portrait of My Love" (U.S. #9), and "
Party Doll" (U.S. #5). However much of his musical career has centered on nightclubs and the musical stage. Lawrence is an actor as well, appearing in guest roles on television shows in every decade since the 1950s,
[5] in shows such as
The Carol Burnett Show
,
Night Gallery
,
Police Story
,
Murder, She Wrote
,
Gilmore Girls
, and
CSI
. In the 1960s Lawrence was the star of a
variety show called
The Steve Lawrence Show
, "the last television show in black and white on CBS".
. Lawrence also appeared in the last season of
The Nanny
as Fran's never-before-seen father, Morty Fine.
Between 1953 and the 1970's, Lawrence first recorded for King Records then signed to Coral, then ABC-Paramount, then United Artists, then Columbia and finally MGM, never staying with a label for a long period of time.
He and Gormé appeared together in the
Broadway musical Golden Rainbow
, which ran from February 1968 until January 1969. Although the show was not a huge success (a summary of this experience is chronicled in unflattering detail in
William Goldman's 1968 book
The Season
), the show contained the memorable song "
I've Gotta Be Me". This song was originally sung by Lawrence at the end of the first act of the musical;
Sammy Davis, Jr. would later record a version of the song that became a
Top 40 hit in 1969.
In 1980, Lawrence was introduced to a new generation of fans with his memorable portrayal of blackmailed manager Maury Sline in the hit movie
The Blues Brothers
with
John Belushi.
His 1964 song, "Bewitched" was featured in the
2005 film of the same name.
Awards
Lawrence has been awarded a
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and a
Tony Award nomination for his performance as Sammy Glick in
What Makes Sammy Run?
on Broadway (1964),
and two
Emmy Awards —one for production—for
Steve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin
(1978), which altogether won seven Emmys.
With Gormé, he has been the recipient of two Emmys for
Our Love is Here to Stay
, a tribute to
George and
Ira Gershwin; a "Best Performance By a Vocal Duo or Group"
Grammy Award for
We Got Us
; a Film Advisory Board's Award of Excellence and a Television Critics Circle Award for
From This Moment On
, a tribute to
Cole Porter.
The duo have also won a Las Vegas Entertainment Award for "Musical Variety Act of the Year" four times, three of them consecutively. They have been honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the
Songwriters Hall of Fame,
[6] and in 1995 were the recipients of an
Ella Lifetime Achievement Award
from the
Society of Singers
,
a non-profit organization that helps professional singers with counseling and financial assistance.
In Popular Culture
In the John Hughes movie "Pretty In Pink", the character Blaine asks Andy (Molly Ringwald) for her opinion on an album, while visiting the record shop where she works. The album is Steve Lawrence. Andy tells him it is "Hot, white hot". He later says that he didn't like the album, to which Andy challenges him "Too hip?"
References
- Biography from Las Vegas Online
- 2003 Interview with Larry King, from a CNN website
- A Treasure You May Be Overlooking
- Steve Lawrence Biography (1935-)
- {{imdb name|id=493031|name=Steve Lawrence}}
- Official website of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé