This is about the singer/actor. For other uses, see Steve Lawrence (disambiguation).

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.

Biography

Personal life

Lawrence was born Sidney Liebowitz to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Anna (née Gelb) and Max Leibowitz, who was a cantor and house painter. 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" and "Portrait of My Love". 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, 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.

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.

Awards

Lawrence has been awarded a Drama Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award nomination for his performance of 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, 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.

References

External links

• Steve Lawrence at the Internet Movie Database