Charles Strouse, the celebrated American composer behind Broadway classics such as Annie and Bye Bye Birdie, has died at the age of 96. His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his home in New York on Thursday.
A three-time Tony Award winner, Strouse leaves behind a towering legacy in American musical theatre. Best known for composing the jubilant score to Annie, Strouse helped bring to life such enduring songs as Tomorrow, It’s the Hard-Knock Life, and You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile. The show opened on Broadway in 1977 and ran for nearly six years, earning seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Its soundtrack also won a Grammy and was later adapted into a 1982 film.
Born on June 7, 1928, in New York City, Strouse studied at the Eastman School of Music and went on to train under musical giants Aaron Copland and Nadia Boulanger. He married dancer and choreographer Barbara Siman in 1964, and the couple remained together until her death in 2023. Strouse is survived by their four children: Benjamin, Nicholas, Victoria, and William.
Strouse’s breakthrough came in 1960 with Bye Bye Birdie, a spirited comedy inspired by the rise of rock ‘n’ roll and the phenomenon of Elvis Presley. The show earned him his first Tony and introduced the hit song Put on a Happy Face. A decade later, he claimed his second Tony for Applause, a musical adaptation of the film All About Eve.
His longtime lyricist partner, Lee Adams, collaborated with him on many of his greatest successes, including Golden Boy and Applause. The duo also won a Primetime Emmy in 1996 for their song Let’s Settle Down, featured in a television version of Bye Bye Birdie.
Beyond Broadway, Strouse made his mark on film and television. He composed the theme music for the sitcom All in the Family and crafted an inventive, banjo-infused score for the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. He also wrote pop hits, including Born Too Late, and composed for opera, classical ensembles, and revues. Among his later works was Concerto America, written in remembrance of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Strouse was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and chronicled his remarkable career in his 2008 memoir Put on a Happy Face. “The way a fine tailor feels about his material, I feel about musical notes,” he said in a 2009 interview, a fitting sentiment from a man whose melodies stitched themselves into the fabric of American culture.
