Eydie Gormé ( EE-dee; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who achieved notable success in pop, Latin, and jazz genres. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on albums and television. She also performed on Broadway and in Las Vegas and was an occasional actress.
Born in the Bronx, New York, Gormé began her career singing in a band on weekends while working as a translator. She gained prominence after appearing on the radio program Cita Con Eydie and changing her name for easier pronunciation. Gormé's career took off in the early 1950s, starting with her two-month stint with the Tommy Tucker band, followed by a year with Tex Beneke's band. She signed with Coral Records in 1952, releasing her first single and later joining The Tonight Show, where she met Lawrence. Her hits included "Too Close for Comfort" and "Blame It on the Bossa Nova", and she also earned Grammy Awards and nominations.
Her marriage to Lawrence in 1957 marked the beginning of a lifelong personal and professional partnership, celebrated with their Emmy-winning television specials and performances alongside stars such as Frank Sinatra. Gormé was renowned for her recordings in Spanish, particularly with Trio Los Panchos, which solidified her international fame. Her versatility was evident in her wide-ranging discography, which includes albums such as Amor and Eydie Swings the Blues. Gormé's contributions to music were recognized with awards, including a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and a Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Early years
Gormé was born in the Bronx to Sephardic Jewish parents Nessim Hasdai Gormezano and Fortuna "Fortunee" Gormezano. Her father was from Sicily and changed his name to Gormé when he arrived in the US. Both her parents were born in Turkey of Spanish descent, and Gormé grew up speaking English and Ladino.
After graduating from William Howard Taft High School, she attended night classes at City College.
Career
After high school, Gormé worked as a Spanish interpreter, and on weekends she sang in a band led by Ken Greengrass.
She appeared on the Spanish-language radio program Cita Con Eydie (A Date with Eydie), changing her name from "Edith" to "Edie" and then "Eydie" because people mispronounced "Edie". She considered changing her last name, but her mother told her, "It's bad enough that you're in show business. How will the neighbors know if you're ever a success?"
Gormé sang with the Tommy Tucker band for two months in 1950, followed by a year with Tex Beneke's band. She signed as a solo act with Coral Records in 1952 and released her first single, "That Night of Heaven". She was hired by The Tonight Show in its early days with Steve Allen and formed a duo with another one of its staff singers, Steve Lawrence. As The Tonight Show was beginning to broadcast across the country in 1954, the duo released their first single, "Make Yourself Comfortable"/"I've Gotta Crow".
Gormé had her first chart hit, "Too Close for Comfort", in 1956 after moving from Coral to ABC-Paramount Records. Two more hits followed. "Mama, Teach Me to Dance" and "Love Me Forever" reached the top-40 singles chart, while her albums Eydie Gorme and Eydie Swings the Blues reached the top-20 albums chart.
In 1957, Gormé and Lawrence were married, and several months later they hosted Steve Allen Presents the Steve Lawrence-Eydie Gormé Show after Allen retired from The Tonight Show. Three more singles by Gormé and two more albums became chart hits. In 1960, they sang in clubs and released We Got Us, their first album as a duo. They received a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group for the title track from the album. Gormé recorded "Yes My Darling Daughter" for Columbia Records, and it reached the top 10 in the UK.
In 1963, she reached the top 10 in the U.S. with "Blame It on the Bossa Nova". The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Vocal Performance and was certified gold after selling one million copies. The album Blame It on the Bossa Nova entered the top 40. She also had four more hit singles during the same year. Two were recorded as the duo Steve and Eydie. She recorded the Spanish albums Amor and More Amor with the Trio Los Panchos, then she turned to show tunes. "If He Walked into My Life" was an easy-listening hit in 1966 and earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Personal life
Gormé and Lawrence had two sons. David Nessim Lawrence (b. 1960) is an ASCAP Award-winning composer who composed the score for High School Musical. Michael Robert Lawrence (1962–1986) died at the age of 23 of ventricular fibrillation from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Gormé and Lawrence were in Atlanta, Georgia, at the time of their son's death, having performed at the Fox Theater the night before. Frank Sinatra, a family friend, sent his private plane to fly the couple to New York, where David had been attending school. After their son's death, Gormé and Lawrence suspended touring for a year.
Death
Gormé died on August 10, 2013, 6 days short of her 85th birthday, at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas following an undisclosed illness. She was interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.
Lawrence issued a statement: "Eydie has been my partner on stage and in my life for more than 55 years. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and even more the first time I heard her sing. While my personal loss is unimaginable, the world has lost one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time." Lawrence died on March 7, 2024, at the age of 88 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
In popular culture
Gormé was portrayed by Victoria Jackson in the popular Saturday Night Live skit "The Sinatra Group" in tandem with Mike Myers portraying her husband Steve Lawrence.
Awards and honors
Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group, We Got Us with Steve Lawrence, 1960
Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance, "If He Walked Into My Life", 1966
Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award, 1995
Inducted with Steve Lawrence into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, winning the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, 1995
Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Music or Comedy Special, Our Love Is Here to Stay with Steve Lawrence, 1976
Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Music or Comedy Special, Steve and Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin with Steve Lawrence, 1979
Discography
The list below shows the singer's studio albums only. Her full discography, singles and other releases are described in a separate article.
Albums
Solo
With Steve Lawrence
With Trio Los Panchos
Amor (Great Love Songs in Spanish) (1964)
More Amor (1965)
Navidad Means Christmas (1966)
Cuatro Vidas (1970)
Filmography
The Kraft Music Hall (1 episode, 1969) as an unnamed girl
The Tim Conway Comedy Hour (1 episode, 1970) as herself
Here's Lucy (1 episode, 1973) as herself
Sanford and Son (1 episode, 1975) as herself
Alice in Wonderland (television movie, 1985) as Tweedle Dee
Life with Lucy (13 episodes, 1986) as co-writer and singer of the theme song
Empty Nest (1 episode, 1994) as an unnamed heckler
Frasier (1 episode, 1994) as the voice of Lois
The Nanny (1 episode, 1995) as herself
Ocean's Eleven (movie, 2001) as herself