Stephen J. Lawrence


Stephen J. Lawrence was an American composer, who lived and worked in New York City. He was also known as Stephen Lawrence, but used his middle initial to differentiate him from the singer Steve Lawrence.

Early life and career

Lawrence was born on September 5, 1939. He gained his B.A. in music from Hofstra University and during his lifetime composed more than 300 songs and scores for Sesame Street, resulting in three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition.
Lawrence also composed the title song and four others for Marlo Thomas's ABC television special Free to Be... You and Me. He composed You Take My Breath Away, and scored the 1973 Robert De Niro movie Bang the Drum Slowly and Alice, Sweet Alice, which won the music award at the Paris International Festival of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Lawrence composed the score for One Summer Love, a.k.a. Dragonfly, and composed the songs and score for the 1989 live-action movie musical Red Riding Hood. He composed songs for the live-action movie musical The Emperor's New Clothes; he also composed songs and score for The Tale of Peter Rabbit, an HBO animated musical starring Carol Burnett, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.

Personal life and death

Lawrence married Christine Jones in 1984, and their daughter Hannah was born two years later. After divorcing, he then married Cathy Schwartzman in 2002. He was the music director of Temple Sinai, Stamford, Connecticut, from that year until 2012. Lawrence died in Belleville, New Jersey, on December 30, 2021, at the age of 82.

Awards and nominations

TV credits

Sesame Street Television series. Composed over 300 songs and scores. Won three Emmys for “Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. Arranger and Conductor. 1984-2012.Free to Be... You and Me. ABC television special based on the record and book, 1974. Composed title song and four others; Musical Director and Arranger.Sooner or Later. NBC television movie, 1979. Composed original songs and score.It Happened One Christmas. Universal/ABC television movie, 1977; starring Marlo Thomas and Orson Welles. Composed score.Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration. Sesame Street musical special, 1993-1994. Composed songs.Sesame Street Celebrates Around the World. Sesame Street New Year's Eve television special, 1993. Composed songs and score.Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sesame Street television special, 1983. Composed songs.The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. Jim Henson Productions and Nickelodeon television series, 1996–97. Composed score.

Film credits

Jennifer on My Mind starring Michael Brandon and Tippy Walker. Composed score.Hurry Up, or I'll Be 30 starring Danny DeVito. Composed score.Bang the Drum Slowly starring Robert De Niro, Michael Moriarty and Vincent Gardenia. Composed original score and arranged additional music.One Summer Love, also released as Dragonfly, starring Susan Sarandon and Beau Bridges. Composed score.Alice, Sweet Alice, also known as Communion, starring Brooke Shields. Composed score.Mirrors starring Kitty Winn. Composed score.The Emperor's New Clothes. Live action musical starring Sid Caesar and Robert Morse. Composed songs. Lyrics by Michael Korie.Red Riding Hood. Live action musical starring Isabella Rossellini and Craig T. Nelson. Composed songs and score. Lyrics by Michael Korie.

Theater

Now Is The Time For All Good Men. 1967. Music Director and Co-Orchestrator.