Steve Lawrence, 'Go Away Little Girl' Singer, Dead at 88 from 'Complications Due to Alzheimer's Disease'

Mar. 15, 2025

Steve Lawrence in New York City in 2014.Photo:Andrew Toth/Getty

Andrew Toth/Getty

“My dad was an inspiration to so many people,” said David 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.”

David continued, “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.”

Lawrence was born Sidney Liebowitz in 1935 in Brooklyn, New York. His love of and talent for singing came from his dad, who was a cantor in their synagogue.

In 1953, he was hired for Steve Allen’s local New York late night show as one of the singers in the musical ensemble. That’s where he connected with Gormé, who’d also been hired. “I just fell madly in love with him,” Gormé said when the couple appeared onLarry King Livein 2003.

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé in Los Angeles in 1967.Martin Mills/Getty

Martin Mills/Getty

Allen’s show eventually becameThe Tonight Show, and they both stayed with it until Allen left in 1957. Lawrence and Gormé married in Las Vegas that same year.

In 1997, Steve and Eydie recorded a lounge remake of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” the Seattle grunge band’s signature song from 1994.

He also made many more television appearances, including hostingThe Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé Showin the summer of 1958. In 1965, he hostedThe Steve Lawrence Showon CBS. He received a Tony nomination for his role in the 1964 Broadway musicalWhat Makes Sammy Run?, and he and Gormé starred together in the 1968 musicalGolden Rainbow. Together and separately, Lawrence and Gormé made many appearances onThe Tonight Showonce ​​Johnny Carson took over.

Lawrence was drafted into the U.S. Army in the 1950s and was a singer in The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC.

Though they had sung together onThe Tonight Show, they only billed themselves as a duo after their marriage, when they realized they weren’t spending enough time together.

“We started working together out of necessity,” Lawrence told King. The pair won an Emmy in 1979 forSteve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin, a tribute to the composer, and they won a Grammy together for their 1960 albumWe Got Us.

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé in the 1970s.Art Zelin/Getty

Art Zelin/Getty

Lawrence and Gormé found huge success in Las Vegas, playing shows together that featured songs and banter about their relationship. In later years they toured the country playing nightclubs. And as music tastes changed and evolved, they stayed with the type of music that made them famous.

“A lot of people our age . . . try to make the switch and do rock,” Gormé toldThe New York Timesin 1992, when she was 60 and he was 57. “But if we came out in jeans and sneakers it would look ridiculous. We’re stuck with who we are.”

In 1980, Lawrence appeared in the smash musical comedyThe Blues Brothersas the titular brothers’ agent. He reprised his role in the sequel, 1998’sBlues Brothers 2000. He made other appearances in movies and television, including playing Fran Fine’s father on the long-running seriesThe Nanny.

Lawrence and Gormé were good friends withFrank Sinatra. They joined him for his Diamond Jubilee World Tour, his final, which ran from 1990 to 1991.

Steve Lawrence in 2014.Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times via Getty

Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times via Getty

Lawrence explained in a 2016 interview withThe Desert Sunthat Sinatra had shared many of his iconic arrangements with him.

“He sent it to me in a big box with a note. He said, ‘I know you like this music, Steve, and I just want to see that this music goes on. You’re one of the few younger kids that can do this almost as good as me,’” Lawrence recalled. “So I said, ‘OK, thank you.’ I was very flattered. He really liked Eydie and I a lot.”

Gormé died in 2013. Lawrence said in a statement at the time, “Eydie has been my partner on stage and in life for more than 55 years. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and even more the first time I heard her sing. While my personal loss is unimaginable, the world has lost one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time.”

Lawrence and Gormé had two children: David, a composer whose work includes the score forHigh School Musical, and Michael, who died in 1986 from an undiagnosed heart condition.

In 2019,Lawrence revealed his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. He said in a statement at the time, “I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s in the early stages. I am being treated with medications under the supervision of some of the finest doctors in the field. Fortunately, they have managed to slow down this horrific process.”

source: people.com