Steve Lawrence reveals he's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in moving letter to fans... six years after losing wife and singing partner Eydie Gorme
Legendary nightclub singer Steve Lawrence has revealed he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
His diagnosis comes six years after the death of his wife Eydie Gorme, with whom he formed an iconic singing duo 'Steve and Eydie' for decades.
The 83-year-old's spokesperson shared a moving letter written by the star with fans on Tuesday.
He wrote: 'I am being treated with medications under the supervision of some of the finest doctors in the field.'
'Fortunately, they have managed to slow down this horrific process. I’m living my life, going out in public and trying to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends while I am still able to engage and enjoy.'
'I'm living my life': Legendary nightclub singer Steve Lawrence has revealed: 'I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s in the early stages'
He wrote in his new letter: 'I want my beloved fans to know that in spite of this bittersweet moment, what I don’t want is pity or sympathy - I have lived and am living a wonderful, joyous life filled with love, support, and amazing moments.
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'With my beloved Eydie, I had one of the great loves of all time; my career has always been there for me as a source of joy and fulfillment; and you, my fans, have shown immeasurable love and support in ways I only could have imagined.'
The Brooklyn native born Sidney Liebovitz added: 'As I continue this journey, I ask for your prayers, your good wishes and implore you to find the joy every day, because what I feel is gratitude, love and hope - nothing more and nothing less, and I hope you can find the same. With love, Steve Lawrence.'
Throwback to 1973: Steve's diagnosis comes six years after the death of his wife Eydie Gorme, with whom he formed an iconic singing double-act for decades
Eydie met Steve when they were both staff singers on Tonight Starring Steve Allen, the 1950s precursor to what became The Tonight Show.
They put out their inaugural joint single in 1954, and by 1961 they earned a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group for their album We Got Us.
Steve married Eydie at Las Vegas' El Rancho Hotel in 1957, a year before getting drafted and joining the United States Army Band (Pershing's Own).
Their double-act Steve And Eydie became indelibly associated with Sin City, winning them four Las Vegas Entertainment Awards for Musical Variety Act Of The Year.
Full circle: Eydie met Steve when they were both staff singers on Tonight Starring Steve Allen, the 1950s precursor to what became The Tonight Show, where they are pictured in 1994
They took their show all over the country and abroad, from Japan to Europe - and in 1978, Steve inaugurated legal casino gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
'The guys who owned Resorts International were very big Steve And Eydie fans. I had the governor and senator on either side of me, and I literally opened gambling. I threw out the first dice,' Steve dished to the Los Angeles Times.
Steve and Eydie's 1968 Broadway vehicle Golden Rainbow ran less than a year but did produce I've Gotta Be Me, later a smash hit single for Sammy Davis Jr.
His TV shots, both alone and with Eydie, included The Judy Garland Show in the 1960s, The Carol Burnett Show in the 1970s and The Nanny in the 1990s.
Keeping the show on the road: Steve and Eydie are pictured playing a 2001 gig in Atlantic City, where he had inaugurated legal casino gambling 23 years previously
Eydie and Steve released TV specials in the 1970s paying homage to various Broadway composers, and their tribute to Irving Berlin won them an Emmy.
The couple's lives were scarred by tragedy when their son Michael died aged 23 in 1986 of a previously undetected heart condition.
Although Eydie retired from performing in 2009 amid various health issues, Steve kept the show on the road alone.
Together forever: Steve and Eydie, who share a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, kept their double-act going until she retired in 2009 amid various health issues
After Eydie died, he gave up the stage for three years - and when he returned with a Palm Springs gig in 2016, he sold out the 1,100-seat McCallum Theater.
He teared up at the standing ovation from an audience including Barbara Sinatra, the widow of his and Eydie's old pal Frank, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Steve and Eydie, who share a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, have a 59-year-old son called David Lawrence, who composed the High School Musical score.
