| Meanwhile Steve, whose family made no objection to his choice of a profession, was studying the piano and saxophone while making the rounds of radio and television stations where he tried to get auditions as a vocalist. In 1953 the seventeen-year-old Steve Lawrence happened to meet Steve Allen, who had just arrived in New York from the West Coast and was conducting a radio show from an old theater on West Forty-sixth Street. Allen played the piano, talked to his audience, and chatted with guest performers - in act, the program's format was quite similar to what eventually became the 'Tonight" show.
Steve hired for a guest appearance, acquitted himself so impressively that he was asked to come back. When the show made its television debut in the summer of 1953, Steve competed against dozens of other young singers for the position of permanent male vocalist and won. A few months later, Eydie, who had comes to Allen's attention when he heard her record of "I'll Take Romance," joined the "Tonight' show as the regular female vocalist. Steve insist they had met once previously to the Allen show ("She was wearing her hair in a pony tail and she swung it around in my face"), but Eydie says she doesn't remember. They do agree that once they started working together they immediately became interested in one another. However, theirs was certainly no whirlwind courtship. They dated for five years before they decided to marry. "Actually we fought for five years," Eydie said. "We were constantly at each other. At that time, the fights were for real; now they're part of the act." Turning to Steve, she inquired solemnly, "They are, aren't they? " During their five-year courtship on the "Tonight" show, they were confident that their personal relationship was not obvious to the audience. Now they're not so sure. "People come up to me today, mostly ladies, and say, 'I knew you were going to get married'" laughs Steve. "I wish they had told me then. They could have saved me a lot of trouble." In December, 1957, they were married in Las Vegas, where Eydie was appearing on a bill with Joe E. Lewis. Steve, on the brink of starting a two-year hitch in the army, flew out for the ceremony. According to Eydie, it was a very quiet afternoon wedding ("except for me laughing") and she went to work that night as usual. After Steve as drafted, the couple spent much of their time in Washington, but Eydie continued to do club dates-plus, she adds, "I had a baby." Not until 1960, did they appear together professionally as Mr. and Mrs. Now that they are on top these days, they candidly admit that they love being celebrities. They enjoy the money, the fame, the recognition. Still in their early thirties, they are young enough to swing. At the same time, they have a sensible attitude toward their success. They believe that they are two very lucky people. "We think it's a luxury to be in a business that we enjoy," Steve explains. "So many people do things they dislike and are very unhappy. There's no way out for them." Steve and Eydie aren't completely starry-eyed about the glories of show business. They cite plenty of drawbacks: "the heartaches, the very hard work, the sleepless nights, and the tired feeling you get about fives times every day." Yet, as far as they are concerned, it's all worth it. "Of course I consider given up my career about once a week; you can set your clock by it," confessed Eydie. "Why don't I? I guess if I were really serious I would have given it up long ago. I love this business and I'd be lost without it. We have a good life." Bluntly and emphatically, she repeated: "I enjoy being famous. I like the recognition that I get from people I've never seen before." Steve commented that he is usually more quickly spotted in public than Eydie. She giggled; " Yes, they think you're Andy Williams." Unlike many performers who proudly proclaim that show business is their life, Steve and Eydie hotly deny this is true in their case. "It's our business, not our life." Nevertheless, it's hard to pinpoint where their business leaves off and their personal lives begin. They've heard of the eight - hour day but it simply doesn't apply to them. When at work in New York, their typical work day starts in midmorning when they attend the myriad of details involved in the management of their joint career. There is also a great amount of preparation and rehearsal to get ready for their public performances. "People see a guy singing for three minutes on television and they think, 'What a great easy job!'" says Steve reflectively. "They think it happens by magic. Maybe it's just as well they don't know what effort goes into a performance - selection new material, then arranging it and learning it. And after our business day is over, if we're performing in a club, for example we spend our nights physically working until three in the morning." Besides their home, they have practically no interest outside of the entertainment business. In his free time, Steve likes to compose and arrange music, but he admits that very little leisure time is available in their busy lives. And Eydie echoes him by saying that non-working hours are spent with their two boys, David, seven, and Michael, five. It is obvious that their children are a favorite subject. "We have a wonderful life with them," Eydie says happily. "They understand our business, as much as children can, and they're acclimated to our peculiar schedule. They don’t expect us to act like other parent. They're very self-sufficient." Steve is not the kind of father who takes his sons to play baseball on Sunday afternoons. In fact, he gets angry at the mention of such organized games. "We don't have any planned family activities," he says. "I don't believe in it. We don't have a buddy-buddy camaraderie. After all, they're my children, not my friends." In a lighter tone, he adds: "Our kids think we're the greatest things to walk the face of the earth. I suppose all kids feel that way about their parents. They have big fights in school because other ids say, 'The Monkees are great but Steve and Eydie are really square.' We've been giving them karate lessons so they can defend themselves." Competing against the more recent sounds in pop music and the mania for groups like the Beatles and the Monkees, how do Steve and Eydie account for their continuing popularity? They insist their appeal is no limited to the over-thirty generation. They're amazed to find that their fans include a cross section of ages, tastes, and income levels. Last spring, for example they went on a concert tour of colleges in the Midwest feeling a bit nervous but curious. "We thoughts we'd be a big bomb," Steve said. "After all, we're not exactly Peter, Paul, and Mary. But we were shocked at the tremendous reception we got." "We appeal to children of five and to their grandmothers," says Eydie. "If there is a secret to our success, I guess that must be it." |
| STEVE & EYDIE
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| Coronet
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| January 1968 |
| by Marion Meade |
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