Stephen J. Lawrence

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Stephen J. Lawrence (September 5, 1939 – December 30, 2021) was an American composer, who lived and worked in New York City. He was also known as Stephen Lawrence, but used his middle initial to differentiate him from the singer Steve Lawrence.

Early life and career[edit]

Lawrence was born on September 5, 1939. He gained his B.A. in music from Hofstra University and during his lifetime composed more than 300 songs and scores for Sesame Street, resulting in three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition.

Lawrence also composed the title song and four others for Marlo Thomas's Free to Be... You and Me, the landmark million-selling record, book and Emmy Award- and Peabody Award-winning ABC television special. He composed the million-selling Gold Record You Take My Breath Away, and scored the 1973 Robert De Niro movie Bang the Drum Slowly and the cult horror classic Alice, Sweet Alice (1976), which won the music award at the Paris International Festival of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Lawrence composed the score for One Summer Love (1976), a.k.a. Dragonfly, and composed the songs and score for the 1989 live-action movie musical Red Riding Hood starring Isabella Rossellini and Craig T. Nelson, lyrics by Michael Korie. He composed songs for the live-action movie musical The Emperor's New Clothes, starring Sid Caesar and Robert Morse; he also composed songs and score for The Tale of Peter Rabbit, an HBO animated musical starring Carol Burnett, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.

Personal life and death[edit]

Lawrence married Christine Jones in 1984, and their daughter Hannah was born two years later. After divorcing, he then married Cathy Schwartzman in 2002. He was the Music Director of Temple Sinai, Stamford, Connecticut, from that year until 2012.[1] Lawrence died in Belleville, New Jersey, on December 30, 2021, at the age of 82.[2][3]

Awards and nominations[edit]

  • Three Emmy Awards: Outstanding Music Direction and Composition, Sesame Street 1989-1990, 2001-2002, and 2002-2003.
  • Emmy nominations for Sesame Street: 2008, 2004, 1999-2001, 1995-1997, 1994-1995, 1989-1990.
  • Emmy certificate for Free To Be...You And Me, 1974.
  • Emmy certificate for Hot Hero Sandwich (Title Song), 1979-1980.
  • Gold Single for You Take My Breath Away - Sales of one million records. 1978. Sung by Rex Smith. Lyrics by Bruce Hart.
  • Gold Album for Free to Be... You and Me - Composed the title song and four others for Marlo Thomas's Free to Be... You and Me, the landmark million-selling record, book and Emmy Award - and Peabody Award-winning ABC television special (1972). Musical Director.
  • Gold Record for Sooner Or Later, the soundtrack of the 1979 NBC TV movie[4] which included "You Take My Breath Away", signifying sales of 500,000 copies.
  • Music Award from the Paris International Film Festival of Fantasy and Science Fiction for Alice, Sweet Alice (also known as 'Communion').

TV credits[edit]

Film credits[edit]

Theater[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Stephen Lawrence Music". June 2015.
  2. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (January 2, 2022). "Stephen J. Lawrence, 'Sesame Street' Composer and 'Free to Be… You and Me' Musical Director, Dies at 82". Variety. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  3. ^ Perez, Lexy (2022-01-02). "Stephen J. Lawrence, 'Sesame Street' Composer, Dies at 82". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2022-01-02. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  4. ^ "Sooner or Later". 25 March 1979.
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