Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gorme (alternative spelling Eydie Gormé[TV.com bio accessed 22 Feb 2008]; born Edith Gormezano, August 16, 1931) is an American singer credited heavily, along with husband Steve Lawrence, with helping to keep the classic Traditional pop music repertoire alive and well. She still continues to entertain and tour with husband Steve.
Throughout her long career she has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Grammy Award and the Emmy Award. The couple's striking union of broad ballads and breezy swing has combined with the endurance of their marriage and their comic facility to make them American institutions---even though neither of the couple, as separate performers or together, has put a single into the American Top 40 since 1963.
Early years
Gormé was born Edith Gormezano in Bronx, New York, the daughter of Fortune and Nessim Gormezano, who was a tailor.[Eydie Gorme Biography (1932?-)] Her parents were Sephardic Jewish immigrants, her father from Sicily and her mother from Turkey.[On September 20,1977 Eydie and Steve got their "Star" in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That night,they were at the TAV (Merv Griffin) Theater doing his show. Those lucky enough to be in the audience heard the one minute]
(edited out of the final broadcast) where Eydie mentioned that "the family name was changed from Gormezano to Gorme" when her parents came to the United States via Ellis Island (New York)"res=9E0CEFD9113BF933A2575AC0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 ON STAGE AND OFF WITH: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme; After 35 Years, Their Act Is Here to Stay - New York Times[The New York Times > New York Region > Long Island: Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear] She graduated from William Howard Taft High School in 1946 (film director Stanley Kubrick attended the school at the same time), and worked for the United Nations as a translator, using her fluency in the Spanish language.
She made her recording debut in 1950 with Tommy Tucker Orchestra and Don Brown and a second recording which featured Dick Noel. MGM issued these two recordings on 78rpm vinyl.
Early releases:
A: Powder And Paint
Original Issue: On 78 rpm vinyl only on MGM 10758
A: Cherry Stones
Original Issue: On 78 rpm vinyl only on MGM 10767
Big Band Years:
She also hired out as a singer, working in the big bands of former Glenn Miller singer Tex Beneke In 1951 Eydie made several radio transmission recordings that have been issued on vinyl LP and recently on CD, in 1952 Eydie Gormé went on to record solo and her first recordings were issued on the Coral label.
Tonight Show start
She caught both her big break and her life partner when she and singer Steve Lawrence were booked to the original The Tonight Show, then hosted by Steve Allen.
Marriage
The couple were married in Las Vegas on December 29, 1957. They had two sons, one of whom predeceased them. They became famous on stage for their banter, which usually involved tart yet affectionate and sometimes bawdy references to their married life, which remains a feature of their stage style even now. (A typical exchange: Lawrence---"Baby, you're the only thing I've invested in that's doubled." Gormé---"Now you have to figure out how to make me split.")
In 1995 Gorme and Lawrence were honored for their lifetime contribution to music by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Solo/duo
Gormé enjoyed a few hit singles on her own, none selling bigger than 1963's "Blame it on the Bossa Nova", which was also her final foray into the Top 40 pop charts. Still, she won a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance in 1967, for her version of "If He Walked Into My Life", from the stage musical Mame. Like her husband, Gormé has appeared on numerous television shows over the years, including The Carol Burnett Show and The Nanny. She and Lawrence appeared together on Broadway in the unsuccessful musical Golden Rainbow, the gestation of which is covered in very unflattering detail in William Goldman's 1968 book The Season.
Gormé also gained crossover success in the Latin music market through a series of albums she made in Spanish with the famed Trio Los Panchos. In 1964, the two acts joined forces for a collection of Spanish-language standards called Amor. Their recording of the song "Sabor a Mi" became closely identified with Gormé and has emerged as one of her signature tunes. The disc was later reissued as Canta en Espanol. In 1965, a sequel appeared called More Amor (later reissued as Cuatro Vidas). Her last album with Los Panchos was a 1966 Christmas collection, Navidad Means Christmas, later reissued as Blanca Navidad. Gormé also recorded other Spanish albums in her career, including the Grammy-nominated La Gormé (1976), a contemporary outing. The 1977 release Muy Amigos/Close Friends, a duet collection with Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera, also received a Grammy nomination.
As a duo with her husband, the act was billed as Steve and Eydie. In 1960, Steve and Eydie were awarded the Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group for the album We Got Us. Their biggest hit single as a duo, "I Want to Stay Here," was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and reached No. 28 in 1963. Under the pseudonym Parker and Penny, Gormé and Lawrence achieved their last chart single with a cover of the 1979 Eurovision song contest winner "Hallelujah." The song most closely identified with the duo, the Steve Allen composition "This Could Be the Start of Something," never reached the charts, though it remains a staple in their live act.
Since the 1970s, the couple has focused strictly on the American pop repertoire, recording several albums themed around individual American pop composers. As the 21st Century arrived, the normally indefatigable couple announced their plans to cut back on their touring, launching a "One More For The Road" tour in 2002.
In 2006, Gormé became a blogger, posting occasional messages on her official website.
Parenthood
Gormé and Lawrence had two sons, David Nessim Lawrence, who is a composer, and Michael, who died unexpectedly of ventricular fibrillation resulting from an undiagnosed heart condition in 1986, at the age of 23.[http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0310/17/lkl.00.html] 2003 Interview with Larry King] Michael was a seeded tennis player at Cal State Northridge at the time of his death and was apparently healthy despite a previous diagnosis of slight arrhythmia, which he was expected to grow out of. Gormé and Lawrence were in Atlanta, Georgia at the time of his death, having performed at the Fox Theater the night before. Upon learning of the tragedy, Frank Sinatra sent his private plane to pick up the couple so that they could fly to New York to meet their other son, David, who was attending school at the time. Following the death of Michael, the couple took a year off before touring again.
Discography - albums
 1951 Tex Beneke & The Glenn Miller Orchestra (Radio transmission recordings: features Eydie Gormé on vocals)
1956 Delight
1957 Eydie Gormé
1957 Eydie Swings the Blues
1958 Eydie Gormé Vamps the Roaring 20's
1958 Eydie in Love
1958 Gormé Sings Showstoppers
1958 Love is a Season
1959 Eydie Gormé On Stage
1959 Eydie in Dixieland
1960 We Got Us (with Steve Lawrence)
1960 Sing The Golden Hits (with Steve Lawrence)
1961 Come Sing with Me
1961 I Feel So Spanish
1962 Two On The Aisle (with Steve Lawrence)
1962 It's Us Again (with Steve Lawrence)
1963 Blame It on the Bossa Nova
1963 Let the Good Times Roll'
1963 Steve & Eydie At The Movies (with Steve Lawrence)
1964 Gormé Country Style
1964 That Holiday Feeling (with Steve Lawrence)
1964 Amor (with Trio Los Panchos)
1965 Eydie Gormé sings Great Songs from The Sound of Music And Other Broadway Hits
1965 More Amor (with Trio Los Panchos)
1966 Don't Go to Strangers
1966 Navidad Means Christmas (with Trio Los Panchos)
1967 Bonfá & Brazil (with Luis Bonfá and Steve Lawrence)
1967 Softly, As I Leave You
1968 The Look of Love
1968 Eydie
1969 Otra Vez
1970 Tonight I'll Say a Prayer
1970 Canta en Español (with Trio Los Panchos)
1970 Cuatro Vidas (with Trio Los Panchos)
1971 It Was a Good Time
1976 La Gormé
1977 Muy Amigos/Close Friends (with Danny Rivera)
1981 Since I Fell for You
1982 Tomame O Dejame
1988 De Corazon A Corazon
1992 Eso Es El Amor
1996 Silver Screen
External links and references
Official website
2003 Interview with Larry King
Entry at TV.com
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