'Sesame Street' composer Stephen J. Lawrence passes away

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Daytime-Emmy-winning composer for 'Sesame Street' Stephen J. Lawrence is no more. He was 82 when he breathed his last.

Lawrence died on December 30, at Clara Maas Medical Center in Belleville, New Jersey, his wife Cantor Cathy Lawrence confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. The cause of his death is yet to be ascertained.

Born on September 5, 1939, Lawrence served as a composer, music director, arranger, and conductor on the longtime children's television series 'Sesame Street' for over 30 years. He composed over 300 songs and scores for the program, including 'Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange)', co-written with David Axelrod. He received three Daytime Emmy awards for outstanding achievement in music direction and composition for his work on the show.

With an interest in children's education, Lawrence also collaborated with The Jim Henson Company when composing the score for 'The Wubbulous World of Dr Seuss'. He later co-founded the nonprofit Quill Entertainment Company with Granville Burgess in 1998.

In addition to 'Sesame Street', Lawrence is also recognised as the musical director and co-music producer on the 1972 album 'Free to Be You and Me'.

Other composer credits include the 1973 Robert DeNiro-starrer 'Bang the Drum Slowly', 'One Summer Love' (1976), cult horror film 'Alice, Sweet Alice' (1976), live-action musical 'Red Riding Hood' and the 1991 HBO animated musical 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit', starring Carol Burnett.

He also composed the film score for 'AKA Communion' (1976), which received the Music Award from the Paris Festival of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1977.

Lawrence was the music director and the co-writer of four songs for the film 'Sooner or Later' (1979), including the gold single 'You Take My Breath Away'.

Lawrence is survived by his wife Cantor Cathy Lawrence, brother Robert, daughter Hannah Jones Anderson, son-in-law Seth Anderson, grandson Arthur and stepsons Sam and Nick Kline.

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