Charles Strouse, an American composer and lyricist born June 7, 1928, died May 15, 2025. He wrote Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, and Applause.
Strouse was born in New York City to Jewish parents Ethel (née Newman) and Ira Strouse, who worked in the tobacco business. He graduated from Eastman School of Music after studying under Arthur Berger, David Diamond, Aaron Copland, and Nadia Boulanger.
Strouse debuted on Broadway in 1960 with Lee Adams’ Bye Bye Birdie. Adams worked with him for years. This show earned Strouse his first Tony for best musical.
Charles Strouse Obituary : His Biography and Legal Legacy
Next, Charles Strouse worked with Mel Brooks and Adams on All American, a 1962 musical. The musical failed after 80 performances, but it produced the popular song “Once Upon a Time,” which many singers have recorded.
The 1964 film Golden Boy, starring Sammy Davis Jr. and Adams, ran for 568 performances. Linda Lavin’s “You’ve Got Possibilities” was an original song in the 1966 musical It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman, based on the comic strip. The production only lasted for 129 performances. Washington, D.C.’s WTOP (now WUSA) newscasts included their theme.
Applause, written by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Adams, featured Lauren Bacall and was a 1970 Tony Award nominee for Best Musical. Strouse won his second Tony. The 1977 Annie musical’s “monstrous song hit,” “Tomorrow,” was Strouse’s. The song earned him two Grammys and a third Tony.
Other musicals by Strouse include Charlie and Algernon (1979), Dance a Little Closer (1983, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner), Rags (1986; four performances and 18 previews later), Nick & Nora (1993), and An American Tragedy (1995, performed at Muhlenberg College).
The musical revues Charles Strouse and Adams composed included his songs. Shoestring Revue hit Off-Broadway in 1955. Chicago hosted Medium Rare in 1960. The musical “By Strouse” was performed off-Broadway at The Ballroom in 1978. Upstairs At O’Neals was a 1982 nightclub The musical Can’t Stop Dancin was performed. Can’t Stop Dancin was performed at Marymount Theatre in 1994. Barbara Siman created and directed A Lot Of Living! at Rainbow and Stars in 1996.
Strouse scored and wrote Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, an animated film. HBO debuted it in 1987. His film soundtracks include Bonnie and Clyde (1967), There Was a Crooked Man… (1970), The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968), a Norman Lear production starring Adams, and the popular animated feature All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989). He and Adams co-wrote “Those Were the Days,” All in the Family’s Norman Lear theme.
Charles Strouse’s radio successes have included hip hop and girl-band music. In 1958, “Born Too Late” reached number seven on the Billboard charts, and in 1999, Jay-Z’s quadruple platinum album Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) won the Grammy for Best Rap Album and the Billboard R&B Album of the Year. The album sampled Annie’s “It’s the Hard Knock Life.”
The composer has created opera, chamber music, piano concertos, and orchestral works. His 2002 Concerto America, dedicated to 9/11 and New York City, premiered at the Boston Pops. With Sarah Brightman, his 1982 opera Nightingale was well-received in London and had numerous additional performances. Since 1977, Strouse’s New York ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop has nurtured many promising composers and lyricists.
The musical adaptation of the Paddy Chayefsky film Marty, starring John C. Reilly, premiered at the Huntington Theatre in Boston in October 2002 with music by Lee Adams and lyrics by Charles Strouse. The writing was by Rupert Holmes. Strouse’s musical Real Men premiered at Miami’s Coconut The Theater Building in Chicago hosted the global debut of its musical studio in August 2006.
So sorry to hear about Charles Strouse. I worked with Lee Adams, Joshua Logan, and Charles (who we all called Buddy) on a musical starting Ray Bolger, ALL AMERICAN, in which he wrote the unforgettable song “Once Upon A Time”.
— Mel Brooks (@officialmelbrooks.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T00:30:24.718Z
al debut of its musical studio in August 2006. Strouse, Bob Martin, and Susan Birkenhead premiered Minsky’s at the Ahmanson Theater in January 2009. The film The Night They Raided Minsky’s inspired the musical.
Both Annie and Bye Bye Birdie’s TV musicals won Strouse Emmys. He also received the 1999 ASCAP Foundation Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers Awards. He joined the Songwriters and American Theater Halls of Fame in 2001.
Before her February 16, 2023, death, Strouse was married to director and choreographer Barbara Siman. They had four kids.
On October 8, 2011, the Freedom From Religion Foundation awarded Strouse the Emperor Has No Clothes Award at their 34th annual national conference. [26] is “reserved for public figures who make known their dissent from religion.”
Charles Strouse died in his New York City home on May 15, 2025, aged 96.
2013 saw School of Music designation.
Charles Strouse Musicals
A Pound in Your Pocket (1959; Palm Beach, Florida)
Bye Bye Birdie (1960)
All American (1962)
Golden Boy (1964)
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman (1966)
Applause (1970)
Six (1971, Off-Broadway)
I and Albert (1972, London)
Annie (1977)
A Broadway Musical (1978)
Charlie and Algernon (1979, London, as Flowers for Algernon); (1981)
Bring Back Birdie (1981)
Nightingale (1982; this work is often described as an opera)
Dance a Little Closer (1983)
Mayor (1985, Off-Broadway)
Rags (1986)
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (1988; Albany, NY)
Annie 2: Miss Hannigan’s Revenge (1989, Washington, DC)
Charlotte’s Web (1989; Wilmington, Delaware)
Nick & Nora (1991)
Annie Warbucks (1993, Off-Broadway)
Bojangles (1993; Richmond, Virginia)
An American Tragedy (1995, Muhlenberg College, 2010)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1998)
Marty (2002, Boston)
The Future of the American Musical Theater (2004 opera, Eastman School of Music)
Real Men (2005, Miami)
Studio (2006, Chicago)
Minsky’s (2009, Los Angeles)
Martin: A New American Musical (2011, Miami)
Film scores
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968)
There Was a Crooked Man… (1970)
Just Tell Me What You Want (1980)
Annie (1982)
The Worst Witch (1986)
Ishtar (1987)
All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989) (songs only)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1990)
Charles Strouse Awards and nominations
1961 Tony Award for Best Musical (Bye Bye Birdie, winner)
1965 Tony Award for Best Musical (Golden Boy, nominee)
1970 Tony Award for Best Musical (Applause, winner)
1977 Tony Award for Best Original Score (Annie, winner)
1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (Annie, nominee)
1981 Tony Award for Best Original Score (Charlie and Algernon, nominee)
1986 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (Mayor, nominee)
1987 Tony Award for Best Original Score (Rags, nominee)
1987 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (Rags, nominee)
1992 Tony Award for Best Original Score (Nick & Nora, nominee)
1996 Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (Bye Bye Birdie, winner)
2012 Rochester (NY) Music Hall of Fame (Lifetime Body of Work)
2013 Five Towns College named Charles Strouse School of Music
Honoring Charles Strouse
In moments like these, we feel the loss deeply. Charles Strouse had a profound impact on many lives.
If you have any memories or thoughts to share, please feel free to leave a comment below. Let’s come together to remember and celebrate his life.
Breaking News: Charles Strouse, the Broadway composer behind hits like “Annie” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” has died at 96.
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2025-05-15T22:53:03.640Z
Leave a Reply