Steve & Eydie

Simply the best

By Joe Delaney

If Steve & Eydie can't entertain you, then no one can entertain you," so sayeth No. 1 talk show host Larry King.

FRANK SINATRA: "Steve & Eydie represent all that is good about performers and the interpretation of a song--they are the best." The duo toured for one year with Sinatra.

The late Dean Martin always referred to Steve Lawrence as "Steve and Eydie," even when Steve was there alone. When the two appeared together on one of the Dean Martin variety television shows, Dino actually introduced them as "Steve and Eydie and Eydie."

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, a.k.a. Steve & Eydie or as Steve & Eydie & Eydie, are simply the best male and female, husband and wife, singing and comedy team of all-time. They are scheduled to close the classic Caesars Palace Circus Maximus showroom forever at the end of their Aug. 31-Sept. 3 engagement there; the end of a major Las Vegas entertainment venue.

Married on Dec. 29, 1957, the Lawrences will celebrate their 43rd anniversary at home in Las Vegas this December. They were married at the original El Rancho, where Eydie was costarring with comedian Joe E. Lewis. Steve had just returned from a stint in the service. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, married earlier that day, were their witnesses.

Our first awareness of the duo, even before they were married, was the original "Tonight Show" on NBC with Steve Allen as the host plus comedians Bill (Jose Jiminez) Dana, Don Knotts, Louis Nye and Tom Poston. Steve & Eydie, Pat Kirby and Andy Williams were the singers. Incidentally, Williams opened the Caesars Palace Circus Maximus in the mid-1960s.

Williams is now firmly ensconced in Branson, Mo., with his own theater, enjoying capacity crowds and holding restaurant and real estate interests. The raven-tressed Pat Kirby lacked the fire and desire of the other three vocalists, opting to marry early, retire and raise a family.

Steve Allen, the duo's first boss, had this to say: "What has been the nature of their success? The fact that they really are a couple has something to do with it. Secondly, they are damn good singers. And, thirdly, this has both hurt and helped them--they concentrate on good music, which has cost them the loss of those youngsters who prefer crap to Cole Porter."

In Steve Lawrence's words: "The music business and the entertainment business--in fact, all businesses--have become so narrow-channeled. Eydie and I have done well in our narrow channel because we have never deserted it."

The Lawrences performed in Las Vegas during the 1960s and 1970s but actually lived in Manhattan, appearing there separately and together. Lawrence won a Tony Award nomination for his role in "What Makes Sammy Run" and they costarred for two years in the musical, "Golden Rainbow." Their television specials were consistent Emmy Award-winners.

The 1979 television tribute to George Gershwin earned them two Emmy Awards. "Steve & Eydie Singing Irving Berlin" earned the duo seven more Emmys. Eydie's albums, sung in Spanish, have made her a popular attraction in all the Spanish-speaking countries.

The Lawrences were also recipients of the Society of Singers' prestigious "Ella" Lifetime Achievement Award. Past honorees include the late Ella Fitzgerald, for whom the award was named, plus Sinatra, Tony Martin and Peggy Lee. The same year, the duo received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. The awards keep on coming.

Steve & Eydie share a Grammy Award for their album, We've Got Us and Eydie won a second Grammy for If He Walked Into My Life Again. They are also proud of their series of sold-out concerts in New York City's famed Carnegie Hall. They are truly our nation's Mr. and Mrs. Music.

Steve & Eydie are simply the best at what they do. Enjoy them for yourselves and your loved ones, Aug. 31-Sept. 3, and bid the Caesars Palace Circus Maximus showroom a fond farewell.

BACK