Musical theatre icon Stephen Sondheim dies
27 November 2021, 08:40 am | Updated: 21 February 2025, 05:16 pm
US composer and songwriter Stephen Sondheim has died. He was 91.
According to the New York Times, Sondheim passed away on Friday at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut.
He was a titan of musical theatre who turned the unlikeliest of subjects into entertainment landmarks.
RIP Stephen Sondheim. Receiving this letter as a theatre-mad 16-year-old made me cry for weeks and propelled me towards a career of art and writing. Thank you for everything. Rest easy. pic.twitter.com/QHRsL4T5vr
— Fae O’Toole (@faeotoole) November 26, 2021
During his illustrious career, he wrote the scores of some of Broadway's best known shows including Company, Follies and A Little Night Music. Sondheim also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story.
The New-York born composer won eight Grammy awards, nine Tony awards - including the special Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre - and one Academy Award. He also received a Pulitzer Prize.
In 2015, US President Barack Obama bestowed Sondheim the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian award - for his work.
Sondheim's lawyer said the composer had celebrated Thanksgiving with friends a day before his death.
Tributes have started pouring to one of musical theatre's most revered composers, reported BBC.
