Steve Lawrence, Grammy-Winning Pop Stylist and Actor, Dies at 88

He was lovely, but am I an asshole for thinking he was already dead?

He is not dead until he is DEAD TO ME.

F&F for improper caption. Don't make death announcements if you can't follow the rules of the forum

Aw, this makes me sad. It should be noted that he was also a wonderful comedic actor, as displayed often by his many appearances on The Carol Burnett Show in the ‘70s.

RIP, Steve.

He was cute. As a young gay thing he made my toes tingle.

How is it possible that he was still alive until now?

My favorite Steve and Eydie clip::

He was only 88? Man, I thought he was that old when he did The Nanny thirty years ago.

Only trashy people deserve the brash DEAD TO ME crap.

R8 Same here. I would have guessed he was near 100.

My parents had this album.

That is the magic of Steve & Eydie...

I thought he was much older, too...

On a side note, I recently saw Rich Little in Las Vegas. Every person I mention this to quotes his opening line, "What? Is Rich Little still alive?" He is, and "performing" a few nights a week at the Tropicana -until it is torn down on April 2. Most of the show is video clips, and he comes across as very pro-Trump -doing a lot of Biden bashing.

As noted by many above, when I told my husband that Steve Lawrence died, he said “You mean he’s been alive all this time?”

Were they Jewish?

[quote]“You mean he’s been alive all this time?”

Define "alive".

Supposedly when the ad men wanted Frank Sinatra for their commercials but didn't want to pay for old blue eyes they hired Steve Lawrence instead, who supposedly did a pretty fair Frank voice.

R15 Yes, they were Jewish.

I remember hearing this on the radio when I was a kid

Steve as Fran’s father and Sylvia’s husband on The Nanny.

Didn't Steve and Eydie marry the same time as Paul and Joanne?

That’s so sad - his hair was always so fabulous

R4 when I saw the title of the post I clicked on it to come in and say he was one of the all time great Carol Burnett guests. Glad I’m not the only one who remembers.

R13 that is so disappointing. I always enjoyed Rich Little and now I have no respect for him. An old MAGA fool.

There was an announcement, some years ago, that he was retiring due to Alzheimer’s.

I blame the bossa nova.

My biggest life regret? Not seeing Steve an Eydie in concert in Palm Springs when I had the chance. I thought I had more time! I thought they had more time! Don’t put off your dreams, DL kids!

One of my favorites, R25.

Steve and Eydie almost always appeared live or via remote on the annual MDA telethon.

Steve's and Edye's longtime manager and family friend Judy Tannen accused Steve's son David of unscrupulous behavior in 2021 related to Steve's legal and financial affairs, after she was diagnosed with COVID earlier that year and had given David power over her medical affairs, in her petition to a Los Angeles court. Judy died from a COVID-related illness four months later.

Aww, this makes me sad.

I recently went on a Password kick, watching episodes on YouTube of the original '60s black-and-white version.

I'd forgotten how handsome young Steve Lawrence was and was glad that he was one of the few celeb contestants still with us.

So sad to break up this historic partnership.

Steve kicked me in the cuntbone. That’s where I got the idea.

He’d a great ass but he couldn’t go on forever.

R29 Was there any further developements to this People story? Dated 2021 I believe.

I'll never forget Steve and Eydie singing "Rock Lobster" on the Mike Douglas show.

Steve could support Carol Burnett, he could feature Eydie..

For years he opened for Sinatra

Not all ego like so much of that era.

I could never figure out why they were famous. They sang other people’s songs and weren’t so great at it. I thought they were both ugly and kind of rodent-ish looking. They seemed 2nd rate,

He was so handsome.

R34 I think Judy Tannen's continuing illness and death happened so quickly after her initial petition was filed that the court case didn't have time to progress forward.

My guess is Steve's son David was acting in his father's best interests overall, protecting his health as an elderly, infirm man by limiting exposure to someone who was sick with COVID and protecting his business/financial interests by assuming control over them since Judy was so ill.

thanks R29

40 replies and nobody has posted this?

R41 "They seem to enjoy each other's company so much that the audience can only wonder what happens when they have a marital tiff. After all, even Steve and Eydie must have some bad days.

Steve says: "One of the best shows we ever had was after a terrible argument. It was jugular time. The orchestra was starting to call divorce lawyers. Who knew what it was about? We went on the stage so hostile. Clenched teeth. I was saying everything a husband always want to say to his wife. I mean -- venomous. And the more we snapped at each other, the more the audience loved it. After the show we were fine. It was like therapy." "

From article published 9/10/1992

Eydie was a truly great singer. Steve was just OK.

Steve & Eydie made into my all-time favorite SNL skit:

He had those weird chipmunk cheek pouches like Kristy McNichol. I thought they were father and daughter based on looks alone when I was a kid.

He was great in all of his appearances on The Carol Burnett Show. Here's a send up of "Double Indemnity", in which he plays the MacMurray part. I posted the second half, because I think it's funnier than the first.

And he did have a lovely singing voice.

No one could sing 'Go Away Little Girl' like Steve Lawrence.

I always thought he was very handsome.

I also always thought he gave off very gay vibes. Anybody else get a gay feeling from him?

No one could act in the steam room sequence in 'The Blues Brothers' like Steve Lawrence.

r47 Fuck you.

I didn’t think you had that in you, Donny!

I always thought he was underrrated as a comedic actor. He was very funny on Carol Burnett--I loved when he played Carol's rich suitor Bob Snob (from Nob Hill) in "Fran Sancisco."

I really only knew him from Carol Burnett, where he was pretty funny in sketches.

When I saw this thread I thought maybe someone had bumped it up from years ago.

I loved Steve, he was great.

I feel sad, he seemed like a cool, funny guy.

Underrated Christmas song:

That Jew could sing. Eydie too. They were great.

My dad always called them Steve Lawrence and Idie Amin.

r58 See r31

[quote]He was cute. As a young gay thing he made my toes tingle.

We didn't know he was a young gay thing and you must be 110 to have made your toes tingle. Do you still have them?

Oh, dear.

Just great. And Eydie and the very end!!

^^That was great!!

Susan Dey is watching Biden's State of the Union address at the moment. As soon as it's over, Susan will be releasing a statement.

I thought he had previously died.

I definitely believed he was older than 88.

I absolutely love that clip from “The Steve Allen Show,” R 7.

I was the little girl he sent away.

r65 Steve Allen wrote that song.

People

In the '70s I saw Steve and Eydie who headlined a fabulous show at the Music Hall in Boston. Don Rickles, who I can do without, was their opening act.

Alzheimer's?

Blame it on the Bossa Nova!

#teameydie

His Malibu house sold in 2018 for $& million. I think it was a tear down but the house is now estimated to be worth $35 million.

*$8 million

I didn't realize eydie was 7 years older than steve!

NYT obit

RIP Steve.

On another note, I can’t wait until R3 is dead to me.

Let's not forget his 90s efforts.

Steve lent his pipes to Aaron Spelling's craptastic, short-lived series ALOHA, PARADISE starring Debbie Reynolds.

I didn’t know that Edyie was seven years older than him.

I mean Eydie.

Carol Burnett's reaction: [quote]Steve was one of my favorite guests on my variety show, appearing 39 times. He was also my very close friend … so close that I considered him ‘family.’ He will always be in my heart.

He deserved better than Alzheimer's in his last years.

I can’t believe no one has suggested there should be a freewheeling patio number in his honour!

He really was funny in his guest-star appearances on on Carol Burnett's variety show. Plus he and Eydie sounded and were so great together -- they were such a longtime presence on the dinner theatres circuit in the 1970s and '80s. Also I've always loved their holiday album, including the "Holiday Feeling" number often in rotation on one station or another at Christmastime.

His death has caused mourning here

He had a very nice smile.

Oh dear, Eydie and Neil Sedaka were cousins. He was way girlier and sang in a higher pitched voice.

Steve didn't recognize his Mystery Guest wife's voice.

I liked him on the Carol Burnett Show except when he would do his awful Jimmy Cagney imitation.

Jimmy Cagney and John Wayne impersonations used to be for yesterday's male celebrities what Christopher Walken and Nicolas Cage impersonations are for today's male celebrities. They all thought they could do them hilariously, and they often couldn't, and the bad ones made you hate even the good ones.

To R65 -

Posting this version as NBC used this to compare the studio then with how it looked at the time (2013)

Thank you for NOT saying “pass away”

Cracking up Don Rickles behind-the-scenes at "Foul-ups, Bleeps & Blunders" -- the forgotten copy-cat of "TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes" hosted by Dick Clark & Ed McMahon. (I need to remember this next December for a few friends).

Susan Dey has now had plenty of time to offer her condolences. Has she done so?

Eydie Gorme had a second separate career of her own as a best selling artist on the Latin charts. Her parents spoke a form of Spanish Yiddish called Ladino. My husband who is Spanish heard her sing Sabor a Ti and said her enunciation was perfect. I never knew this and for some reason it makes me respect her more. Her album, Amor, is actually really good.

Speaking of Susan Dey.....did Fran Drescher ever comment?? (because I haven't seen it, if she did). While I don't expect everyone who has ever worked with a celebrity to pour their heart out on social media, I'm surprised that Fran didn't acknowledge his death (nor did Peter). I mean, he wasn't just any one-time guest star...he ended up being freakin' MORTY!

Is he still dead, kids?

I always felt like Steve cheated on Edie. Not at first. But later.

^ dreaming, Steve

Steve liked anal. Eydie didn’t.

R91 what is the final phrase steve sings in above channukah clip? thnks

The last thing he sings, R99, is “although you fixed your nose.”

I loved Steve and Eydie. Steve was very very good and Eydie was fantastic. There were very underrated by music snobs as being "Vegas:", and had a real aversion to performing in Manhattan. Radio City Music Hall tried for years to book them, but they weren't interested. When they last toured I saw them at Westbury Music Fair, and it was the greatest concert I have ever seen. And yes, that includes Streisand (and I love Barbra) .

r93: Lots of people think that Eydie was Spanish, but her ancestry was Turkish-Sicilian. Steve used to joke that one of the things that kept him dating Eydie was her Mother's Sephardic kosher dinners.

Especially for r93: Eydie with the Hollywood Palace with Trio Los Panchos in 1964.

Eydie concludes the set swingin' sassy, belting "Granada".

All sung live.

Not to hijack this thread into an Eydie thread, but this simply must be posted.

Eydie on Ed Sullivan in 1966.

My late husband Mark was wonderful at planning surprises for me. Sunday November 24, 2004 was one of those days. When I got out of the shower that morning he was already dressed in a suit and had one of mine pressed and waiting for me. At that point I knew I was in for a fun day and knew to just go with it. He had rented a car and drove us from the city out to the Westbury Music Fair. I didn't know who we were seeing until he handed me my ticket for the "One More For The Road ENCORE Steve and Eydie" tour. I swear at 36 and 42 we were the youngest people in the audience. But definitely not the only gays. It was one of the best days of my life- and I was lucky enough to have 31 years of lucky days with that man.

Has Streisand ever commented on Eydie?

Streisand was too threatened by Eydie to cross her path, R105. She won’t be commenting.

I couldn’t stand hammy Steve. Any value his singing had was erased by his comedy “acting.” Loved Eydie.

r105: Streisand mentions her twice in her autobiography:

"Gormé, Eydie | 109, 112"

As I am a bad gay and have not read it I don't know what she says.

Are those mentions about Eydie being offered Funny Girl, R107? Not much other than her name in a list.

Oh, hi.

^ Streisand pretended she knew who these people are

didn't know who we were seeing until he handed me my ticket…

Were you too dumb to look up and see the names on the marquee?

Eydie and Ella are smiling warmly at the camera…Barbra looks as though she is waiting for the results of her Pap smear.

R103. Brilliant!

Aw, man...the "Real Morty" died.😢

^ WHO CARES?

😅 R115! So bitchy!

^ Fran

Barbra + Ella = Barbarella?

[R103]. another Brilliant! from me.

I wish an entire evening of the Eydie/ Trio Los Panchos were caught on film.

If you mounted a comparable evening today I can't imagine it wouldn't be a huge success. The material is timeless.... Linda Ronstadt knocked it out of the ballpark almost 30 years later with a similar program.

Thank you, r113 and r119! It's a pleasure to share these clips of Eydie at her most thrilling.

I agree about a salute to Eydie and Trio Los Panchos.

Since this is supposed to be a Steve thread, here are Steve & Eydie swinging "Besame Mucho" from 1955.

:"Originally released as a single for Coral in 1955 with Dick Jacobs directing the orchestra. B-side "Close Your Eyes, Take A Deep Breath". Both of which were included in this 1956 Steve & Eydie Coral EP of mine. This was the very first record I was given and what really started my love of 50's music. Early Steve & Eydie recording a few years before the couple said "I do" in Las Vegas. Dig Eydie's Spanish and English translations.. totally swingin!"

My favorite Eydie: