Steve Lawrence, Grammy-winning singer and half of the pop duo Steve & Eydie, has died.
Lawrence died Thursday of complications due to Alzheimer's disease, a publicist confirmed in a statement shared with The Times. He was 88 years old.
“My dad was an inspiration to many people. But, to me, he was just a charming, handsome, hysterically funny guy who sang a lot,” his son David Lawrence said in a statement. “Sometimes alone and sometimes with his incredibly talented wife. I am very lucky to have had him as a father and I am very proud to be his son. My hope is that his contributions to the entertainment industry will be remembered for many years to come.”
Lawrence was born in Brooklyn and began his career at a young age, winning Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts competition at age 16. A year later, he met his future wife and singer Eydie Gormé at the famous Brill Building in New York, sparking a romance that lasted decades. which blossomed into the musical duo known as Stevie & Eydie.
“She had her hair in a ponytail and her ponytail hit me in the face,” Lawrence recalled to The Times in 2014.
Before Steve & Eydie became known for hits like “We Got Us” and “This Could Be the Start of Something Big,” Lawrence and Gormé became friends while performing on “The Tonight Show,” hosted by Steve Allen in 1953. They married in 1957 and continued making music together until the late '70s.
In 1960, Steve & Eydie won a Grammy for their first album, “We Got Us,” which included a jazz song celebrating their unbreakable love.
One of the country's most beloved singing duos, Steve & Eydie also won several Emmy Awards for starring in televised tributes to the Gershwins, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. The couple sold out Carnegie Hall for a series of concerts in the 1980s and toured with Frank Sinatra in the 1990s.
Beyond Steve & Eydie, Lawrence also pursued an impressive solo career that included her music, Broadway, and television appearances. He received a Tony nomination in recognition of his performance as Sammy Glick in “What Makes Sammy Run?” from 1964 to 1965.
Years later, Steve & Eydie took center stage when its singers starred in a Broadway production of “Golden Rainbow.”
Lawrence's television career included a regular guest role on “The Carol Burnett Show” and roles on such series as “The Nanny,” “Hot in Cleveland” and “Two and a Half Men.” He reunited with his friends Carl Reiner, Tim Conway and Garry Marshall for the latter.
He also showed off his comedic chops as Agent Maury Sline in 1980's “The Blues Brothers” and 1998's “Blues Brothers 2000.”
In 2014, Lawrence released her album, “When You Come Back to Me Again,” dedicated to Gormé, who died on August 10, 2013, at age 84. He told The Times that his wife heard the album before his death and “thought it was fantastic.”
He released “When You Come Back to Me” on Valentine’s Day.
“We were very close: Steve and Eydie,” Lawrence said in 2014. “It was like we were one person: being married for so 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, but donations can be made in Lawrence's name to the Alzheimer's Los Angeles charity.
Deputy entertainment and arts Editor Nate Jackson contributed to this report.
