Eddie Lawrence

American monologist, actor, singer, lyricist, playwright, director and television personality, Best know for his comic character The Old Philosopher. Born: March 2, 1919 in Brooklyn, New York Died: March 25, 2014 in Manhattan, New York Lawrence began performing during the depression in the 1930s, and had made his way to performing on the radio by 1943. He became popular doing comic impressions, and by the early 1950's he performed in lesser-known clubs and did bit parts on live television shows. He also performed in Broadway productions and shows during this time. In September 1956, a single entitled "The Old Philosopher" rose to the Billboard Top 40 chart, a rare distinction for a comedy record by a little-known performer. It turned out to be a one-hit wonder for Eddie Lawrence, but nonetheless paved the way for his long comedy career. The success of the single made Eddie Lawrence a minor celebrity and helped the sales of his two previously-released LPs. The initial one, The Garden of Eddie Lawrence (Signature SM 1003) did not make much of an impact on its original release in early 1955. The second LP, released in mid-1956, finally gave him the name of the title—The Old Philosopher (Coral 57103). It was the first of Lawrence's five LPs for Coral Records and proved so successful that the company realized the profitability of issuance of the title routine as a single ("King Arthur's Mines," another track from the LP was on the flip side). Years later, the original "Old Philosopher" routine would be included on the compilation record, 25 Years of Recorded Comedy (Warner Bros. Records 3BX 3131). In 1960 he began a six-year association with Paramount's cartoon subsidiary Famous Studios, providing the voices for thirteen animated shorts, starting with Scouting for Trouble. Concurrent with his work on the Famous Studios cartoons, for a 13-month period from September 1963 to October 1964, baby boomers who lived within reach of New York City's TV stations, also had the opportunity to see Eddie Lawrence Monday through Friday afternoons on independent station WPIX Channel 11 which, along with another New York independent, WNEW Channel 5 was, during the 1950s and '60s, the station with the greatest number of "kiddie shows" on its broadcast schedule. By 1964, Lawrence had written the book and lyrics for a musical entitled Kelly, which would include one of his most endearing songs, "I'll Never Go There Anymore." Moose Charlap was the composer, Herbert Ross the director and choreographer, and David Susskind and Joseph E. Levine the producers. With such high-powered names at the helm, there was high expectation of success and Eddie Lawrence, the show's author, was expected to assure it by attending all the rehearsals. The first preview was set for February 1, 1965 and opening night for February 6.