Steve Lawrence, singer, entertainer and half of popular stage duo Steve & Eydie, dies at 88

NEW YORK — Steve Lawrence, a singer and top stage act who as a solo performer and in tandem with his wife Eydie Gorme kept Tin Pan Alley alive during the rock era, died Thursday. Lawrence, whose hits included “Go Away Little Girl,” died from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease, said Susan DuBow, a spokesperson for the family. “He will always be in my heart.” Lawrence scored first in 1962 with the achingly romantic ballad “Go Away Little Girl,” written by the Brill Building songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. His reasoning: “If we did television together all the time, why should anyone go see us in a club?” He appeared in such shows as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Diagnosis Murder” and “The Nanny.” He and his wife did star together in “The Steve Lawrence-Eydie Gorme Show” in 1958 and Lawrence had his own series, “The Steve Lawrence Show,” in 1965. He also made stage appearances without Gorme, including a starring role in a 1962 summer stock version of “Pal Joey.” He made it to Broadway in 1964 — and earned a Tony Award nomination — in the musical “What Makes Sammy Run?” based on Budd Schulberg’s classic novel about a New York hustler who claws his way to the top of the entertainment world.