Steve Lawrence, Tony Nominee and Half of Steve & Eydie Singing Duo, Dies at 88

Tony Award nominee Steve Lawrence, best known as half of the singing duo Steve & Eydie, died March 7 at the age of 88 from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease.

The son of a cantor, Lawrence was born in Brooklyn and began his career at 16 years old after winning the Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts competition. He met his future wife, singer Eydie Gormé, on Steve Allen’s Tonight Show, where they were both regulars.

Lawrence and Gormé married in 1957 in Las Vegas and quickly became one of the country’s best-loved singing duos. Lawrence earned a Tony nomination for his performance on Broadway in What Makes Sammy Run?, and the pair starred together in the musical Golden Rainbow.

Lawrence appeared regularly on The Carol Burnett Show. He and Gormé earned several Emmy Awards for their 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. On screen, Lawrence played the rarely seen Morty Fine on The Nanny, in addition to appearances in Hot in Cleveland, Two and a Half Men, and the film The Blues Brothers.,

He was predeceased by his wife, who died in 2013 and his son Michael, who died in 1986. Lawrence is survived by son David, daughter-in-law Faye, granddaughter Mabel, brother Bernie, and several nieces and nephews.