‘My heart is breaking’: Steve Lawrence remembered by best friend

Dennis Bono heard from his wife, Lorraine Hunt-Bono, that his friend Steve Lawrence had died. Appropriately, Bono was on the way to a performance when he learned of his best friend’s passing.

“I had left for the South Point, for the Showroom, and she called, it was about 9 o’clock, and I knew it was something important because she normally never calls before 11,” Bono said Thursday, an hour before his weekly 2 p.m. variety show from the South Point Showroom. “I was very grateful I heard this from Lorraine, because she didn’t want me to hear from someone spontaneously at the show. It would have been very difficult for me to keep it together.”

As it was, Bono said, “My heart is breaking. I’ve been prepared for it, but it makes no difference how much you’re prepared. I just loved Steve.”

Lawrence was a smooth singer, and a master showman who starred for decades in Las Vegas with his wife, Eydie Gorme. He was 88. A news release said Lawrence died after “complications due to Alzheimer’s disease.”

Steve and Eydie were forever linked, on and off the stage. They headlined the Sahara, Riviera, the Desert Inn, the Sands, Bally’s, Las Vegas Hilton, the Stardust and Caesars Palace. They were the final headliners at the D.I., Caesars’ Circus Maximus and the Stardust’s then-Wayne Newton Theater.

Known for his fast wit, Lawrence joked from the stage at the Stardust’s closing in October 2006, “We’ve closed as many hotels as Steve Wynn has built.”

The Bonos and Steve and Eydie were neighbors for about 15 years in the gated Las Vegas Country Club. They were close friends who dined and sang together frequently at the Bonos’ Bootlegger Bistro. A photo adorning Steve & Eydie’s VIP booth is set up in the restaurant’s bar area.

Bono and Lawrence set aside Tuesdays, which they titled, “Tuesdays with Morrie and Murray.” They’d enjoy cocktails and talk of music and the golden era of Vegas entertainment.

“The days when we were neighbors, the times between Lorraine and I, with Steve and Eydie, were the most enjoyable times I can remember,” Bono said before Thursday’s show. “It’s just hard for me to talk right now. I’m just reflecting and enjoying every moment of it, this circle of life.”

Lawrence was a Grammy Award-winning singer at 16. He met Eydie at 17, and the couple were married at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas in 1967. As a solo artist, Lawrence scored several Top 10 hits, including the No. 1 “Go Away Little Girl,” later a hit for a young Donny Osmond.

As a duo, Steve & Eydie recorded such hits as “We Got Us” and “This Could Be the Start of Something Big.” They also shared a sharp banter on stage, and Lawrence especially owned the comic skills of a headlining stand-up comedian.

“Steve was a warm and wonderful singer, but he was the funniest person I’ve known in my life,” Bono said. “He was so sharp, his timing was so good. In the old days, the comics used to get together at Hillcrest Country Club (the private golf and country club in L.A.). We’re talking about Jack Benny and George Burns. And he was the only singer they would invite.”

Though Lawrence’s health had been declining for years, the timing of his death was remarkable. Wednesday night, hours before his passing, Bono posted a tribute to his pal on his Facebook page.

Bono recalled a night he and Lawrence hit the town together, returning late to their Las Vegas neighborhood. He returned to the story after his show Thursday.

“We were driving, laughing, and I pulled into my garage,” Bono said. “And Steve says, ‘Aren’t you driving me home?’ So I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take you home.’ So we walked to his house, still talking. Then we walked back to my place. We went back and forth, talking and laughing, three times before we realized it. Our wives are on the phones with each other, ‘Are you watching this?’ ”

Heartfelt closing song In today’s “The Dennis Bono Show” @southpointlv, with the host’s unspoken tribute to his best friend, Steve Lawrence. Singing Jimmy Webb’s “Didn’t We.” The Bonos and Steve & Eydie were friends for decades, neighbors in Las Vegas for 15 years. @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/I5cLvW5gMM

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) March 8, 2024

Gorme died in 2013 and Lawrence moved back to L.A. Their last show in Las Vegas was the closing night at the Stardust. A 15-minute video was played before they arrived on stage. The couple was shown singing with Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Perry Como, Johnny Carson, Steve Allen and Judy Garland, among many other legends in the history of entertainment.

They sang their signature song, “One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)” as a sendoff.

Bono had his own way of saying goodbye. The longtime Vegas entertainer closed with the Jimmy Webb-penned “Didn’t We,” recorded in 1968 by Richard Harris and later Barbra Streisand.

Backed by Joey Singer on piano, Bono didn’t announce the song as a tribute to his late friend. But it was clear who it was for, as the singer of standards inhaled deeply to keep his composure. He delivered the lyrics: “This time we almost made our poem rhyme. And this time, we almost made that long, hard climb.” And he made it, for his friend, one last time.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.