Charles Louis Strouse (June 7, 1928 – May 15, 2025) was an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to the Broadway musicals Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Annie.
Charles Louis Strouse, a native of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, was born on June 7, 1928, to Jewish parents, Ethel (née Newman) and Ira Strouse, who worked in the tobacco business. His parents suffered from physical and mental health issues, and the family found respite from their troubles when they would sing songs together at the piano, which his mother played. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied under Arthur Berger, David Diamond, Aaron Copland, and Nadia Boulanger. He had initially aspired to a career in classical music, but Boulanger assured him that his talent for “light music” was valuable, saying “to make someone forget illness and suffering is also a calling.” His rare, happy childhood memories later inspired the credit sequence of “All in the Family,” in which Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton sit at the piano, singing together.
Strouse began a collaboration with Lee Adams in 1952, and they had written songs together for several years by the time their first Broadway musical, Bye Bye Birdie, opened in 1960. For this show, Strouse won his first Tony Award in the category of best musical.
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In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which included the song “Tomorrow,” which quickly became a “monstrous song hit,” and garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards.
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Strouse was married to director-choreographer Barbara Siman until her death on February 16, 2023. They had four children.
Strouse described himself as a Jewish atheist, and said that after his sister died young from breast cancer, he no longer believed in God. He received the Emperor Has No Clothes Award at the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s 34th annual national convention on October 8, 2011. The award is “reserved for public figures who make known their dissent from religion”.
Strouse died at his Manhattan home on May 15, 2025, at the age of 96.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Strouse
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Charles Strouse, Composer of ‘Annie’ and ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ Dies at 96
By Jazz Tangcay, Variety
Three-time Tony Award winning composer and lyricist Charles Strouse, whose work included “Annie” and “Bye Bye Birdie” died Thursday. He was 96.
The news was confirmed by the New York Times by Jim Byk, a spokesman for the family.
Strouse had written scores for over 30 musicals, 14 of which were on Broadway. His first Broadway musical was “Bye Bye Birdie” which first opened in 1960. His work won him his first Tony Award.
His second Tony Award came for “Applause.”
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Read more here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/charles-strouse-composer-of-annie-and-bye-bye-birdie-dies-at-96/