Charles Strouse

Three-time Tony Award-winning songwriter (Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, Annie) Charles Strouse remembered attending shows at an early age with his parents and being awestruck with all the glamour. The composer of "Put on a Happy Face" (from Bye Bye Birdie), "A Lot of Living to Do," and "Once Upon a Time" enjoyed success on both the stage and screen. He co-wrote the opening theme for Norman Lear's 1970s TV sitcom All in the Family titled "Those Were the Days." Some of his collaborators included Lee Adams, Alan Jay Lerner, Martin Charnin, and Sammy Cahn. He received a degree in composition from the Eastman School of Music and studied with Aaron Copland and Nadia Boulanger. He started his professional music career as a piano player for dance bands. Later he became a pianist for theater rehearsals. Bye Bye Birdie, his first and probably most well-known success, was responsible for winning him his first Tony Award. The London production of the show won the London Critics' Best Foreign Musical Award. Strouse also co-wrote the 1966 musical It's a Bird, a Plane, It's Superman and Golden Boy starring Sammy Davis, Jr. In 1970, Strouse won another Tony for Applause starring Lauren Bacall. Two of the musicals were made into major motion pictures: Bye Bye Birdie, starring Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, and Ann-Margret (Columbia, 1963), and Annie (Columbia, 1982). The soundtrack to Annie went gold -- extremely rare for a show tunes album -- mainly off of the ballad "Tomorrow." The song has been covered by numerous artists including Johnny Mathis and Cissy Houston. The LP has the distinction of winning both a Tony and two Grammy Awards. Bye Bye Birdie was also a 1995 ABC-TV movie starring Jason Alexander of Seinfeld. The song "Let's Settle Down" won a 1996 Primetime Emmy Award. Strouse contributed scores and/or songs to the following movies: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), There Was a Crooked Man (1970), Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), Ishtar (1987), and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989). Other musicals Strouse has contributed to include Broadway Musical, Charlie and Algernon, All American (written with Mel Brooks and Lee Adams), Mayor, Dance a Little Closer, Nick and Nora, Annie Warbucks, Rags, and Nightingale. By Strouse, a musical consisting of songs from Strouse's catalog, tours frequently, while Strouse himself was an active guest lecturer. He died at age 96 in May 2025. ~ Ed Hogan, Rovi