Steve Lawrence, the charismatic Grammy- and Emmy-winning crooner who delighted audiences for decades in nightclubs, on concert stages and in film and television appearances, died Thursday. He was 88.
Lawrence, who partnered in a popular act with his wife of 55 years, the late Eydie Gormé, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, a publicidst announced.
With his boyish good looks, silky voice and breezy personality, Lawrence broke into show business when he won a talent competition on Arthur Godfrey’s CBS show and signed with King Records as a teenager. The singer chose to stay old school and resist the allure of rock ‘n’ roll.
“It didn’t attract me as much,” Lawrence once said. “I grew up in a time period when music was written by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and Sammy Cahn and Julie Stein.
Lawrence, who partnered in a popular act with his wife of 55 years, the late Eydie Gormé, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, a publicidst announced.
With his boyish good looks, silky voice and breezy personality, Lawrence broke into show business when he won a talent competition on Arthur Godfrey’s CBS show and signed with King Records as a teenager. The singer chose to stay old school and resist the allure of rock ‘n’ roll.
“It didn’t attract me as much,” Lawrence once said. “I grew up in a time period when music was written by Irving Berlin and Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and Sammy Cahn and Julie Stein.
- 3/7/2024
- by Chris Koseluk
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Somehow, “Chicago,” Rob Marshall’s Oscar-winning musical, has just turned 20.
Based on the 1975 musical of the same name (which itself originated in a play from 1926), “Chicago” was a critical and commercial smash, making more than 300 million worldwide and winning six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones. (Even more impressive: the last time a musical had won an Oscar for Best Picture was back in 1968 for “Oliver!”)
Looking back on the movie, it’s perhaps most surprising to remember that it was director Rob Marshall’s first film. Marshall was already a staple in theater, but with “Chicago” he established himself as a truly excellent filmmaker too. He would go on to direct films like “Into the Woods,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Mary Poppins Returns” and the upcoming live-action version of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”
TheWrap spoke to Marshall about “Chicago” on...
Based on the 1975 musical of the same name (which itself originated in a play from 1926), “Chicago” was a critical and commercial smash, making more than 300 million worldwide and winning six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones. (Even more impressive: the last time a musical had won an Oscar for Best Picture was back in 1968 for “Oliver!”)
Looking back on the movie, it’s perhaps most surprising to remember that it was director Rob Marshall’s first film. Marshall was already a staple in theater, but with “Chicago” he established himself as a truly excellent filmmaker too. He would go on to direct films like “Into the Woods,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Mary Poppins Returns” and the upcoming live-action version of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”
TheWrap spoke to Marshall about “Chicago” on...
- 2/11/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Bing Crosby, David Hockney and Dame Margot Fonteyn are among the interviewees to have been discovered within old Desert Island Disc tapes.
As the interviews predated the BBC recording archives, the recordings had previously been lost, but now an audio collector has found them.
Richard Harrison from Lowestoft in Suffolk discovered the 90 lost tapes, telling the BBC that finding the missing archives was a “great feeling”.
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme broadcast which is also now released in a podcast format. It has been airing since January 1942 when it was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme.
The 90 recordings feature interviews from the 1960s and 1970s and include a host of stars from actor Dirk Bogarde to actor and dancer Sophie Tucker.
Harrison is a member of the Radio Circle, a group who take a keen interest in discovering lost radio. Harrison collects old tapes from car...
As the interviews predated the BBC recording archives, the recordings had previously been lost, but now an audio collector has found them.
Richard Harrison from Lowestoft in Suffolk discovered the 90 lost tapes, telling the BBC that finding the missing archives was a “great feeling”.
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme broadcast which is also now released in a podcast format. It has been airing since January 1942 when it was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme.
The 90 recordings feature interviews from the 1960s and 1970s and include a host of stars from actor Dirk Bogarde to actor and dancer Sophie Tucker.
Harrison is a member of the Radio Circle, a group who take a keen interest in discovering lost radio. Harrison collects old tapes from car...
- 10/13/2022
- by Megan Graye
- The Independent - Music
A legendary name in 20th century show business, Sophie Tucker is ripe for rediscovery, and this labor-of-love documentary will serve as a useful primer for anyone unfamiliar with her. A trailblazing performer who wasn’t beautiful or glamorous, she succeeded through the power of personality—and often risqué material. I remember watching her on The Ed Sullivan Show when I was young and wondering what the fuss was all about. Ed touted the stout, brassy entertainer as a legend and I was obliged to accept what he said even if I didn’t understand why. Having acquired Tucker’s voluminous scrapbooks and having sought out surviving family and friends, Susan and Lloyd Ecker are...
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- 7/24/2015
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
Veteran entertainer Liza Minnelli keeps her energy up during gruelling performances of her Broadway show by calling on the memory of her late mother, Judy Garland.
Minnelli, 62, cancelled a performance of her critically-acclaimed show Liza's at the Palace earlier this month "due to health reasons and doctor's orders," according to her spokesperson.
The break came one week after she made her debut in the production - marking her first return to Broadway after nearly six years.
And Minnelli insists the memory of her legendary mother keeps her pushing through the demanding regime.
She tells the New York Post's Page Six magazine, "Every night I feel the emotion and energy of everyone who has played there before me. It may sound crazy, but I feel my mother (Judy Garland), (vaudeville stars) Sophie Tucker, Al Jolson - it gives me goose bumps up there performing. It is so exciting and I celebrate it every night."
The production was originally scheduled to run until 14 December but was recently extended through 28 December due to high demand.
Minnelli, 62, cancelled a performance of her critically-acclaimed show Liza's at the Palace earlier this month "due to health reasons and doctor's orders," according to her spokesperson.
The break came one week after she made her debut in the production - marking her first return to Broadway after nearly six years.
And Minnelli insists the memory of her legendary mother keeps her pushing through the demanding regime.
She tells the New York Post's Page Six magazine, "Every night I feel the emotion and energy of everyone who has played there before me. It may sound crazy, but I feel my mother (Judy Garland), (vaudeville stars) Sophie Tucker, Al Jolson - it gives me goose bumps up there performing. It is so exciting and I celebrate it every night."
The production was originally scheduled to run until 14 December but was recently extended through 28 December due to high demand.
- 12/23/2008
- WENN
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