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3d ago

Tom Lehrer, Pioneering Musical Satirist and Harvard Mathematician, Dies at 97

His death in Cambridge follows a resurgence of interest after he released his satirical lyrics into the public domain in 2020.

FILE - Musician Tom Lehrer sits beside the piano in his house in Santa Cruz, Calif., on April 21, 2000. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer achieved national fame with NBC’s “That Was the Week That Was” in 1965.
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Overview

  • David Herder, a longtime friend, confirmed that Lehrer was found dead on Saturday at his Cambridge, Massachusetts, home, with no cause disclosed.
  • Lehrer began by self-recording satirical songs in the 1950s and by 1964 was writing a new topical number each week for NBC’s That Was the Week That Was.
  • He earned a mathematics degree from Harvard at age 18 and spent decades teaching math at Harvard and the University of California, Santa Cruz.
  • By placing his complete lyrics into the public domain in 2020, he enabled free public use of his work and prompted renewed appreciation of his satire.
  • His biting humor and precise musicality influenced satirists including Randy Newman, Weird Al Yankovic and Harry Shearer, and he died unmarried with no children.