Marvin E. Laird, the acclaimed composer, conductor, and musical director, passed away December 2 at age 85 from natural causes.
Born October 26, 1939, in Kansas City, Kansas, Mr. Laird made his Broadway debut as a musical assistant in 1964 for Ben Franklin in Paris. He subsequently provided dance arrangements and/or incidental music for such Broadway productions as Skyscraper, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Happy Time, Georgy, Broadway Follies, and Oh, Brother! He was also the vocal arranger and musical director for the latter two stagings. In 1980 he was the assistant conductor for Perfectly Frank.
Mr. Laird also conducted concerts for a host of icons of stage and screen, including Joel Grey, Diana Ross, Cass Elliot, Dusty Springfield, and Goldie Hawn. But it was his musical relationship with three-time Tony honoree Bernadette Peters that was the most enduring and fruitful. In addition to decades of concerts around the world, including sold-out evenings at Carnegie Hall and London's Royal Festival Hall, he also conducted two of Peters' Broadway outings: the acclaimed revivals of Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy; and served on the music departments of Follies and Hello, Dolly! while Peters was starring.
“My beloved Marvin had impeccable style, a delicious sense of humor, and his generous spirit made everyone he worked with fall in love with him,” states Peters, who met Mr. Laird as a child actress in the 1960s when he was assistant conductor for a national tour of Gypsy. “I was a major beneficiary of Marvin’s genius and generosity of support and love.”
With his partner Joel Paley, Mr. Laird also created Ruthless! The Musical, the 1992 award-winning musical comedy that continues to find new audiences around the world. The show—which famously spoofs Broadway musicals from Gypsy to Mame as well as iconic films including The Bad Seed and All About Eve—tells the story of eight-year-old Tina Denmark, who will do anything to play the lead in her school play. The work's original Off-Broadway production famously counted both then-youngsters Britney Spears and Natalie Portman in its company.
Mr. Laird and Paley later collaborated on The Yiddish are Coming…! The Yiddish are Coming…!, which played regionally throughout North America.
Mr. Laird's talents also extended beyond the Broadway and concert stages. He wrote dance music for the Hello, Dolly! film starring Barbra Streisand; and New York, New York, starring Liza Minnelli and Robert DeNiro; and music for the Robert Altman film The Company. He also scored such TV shows as Dynasty and The Love Boat and supplied the music for the Lar Lubovitch ballet Smile with My Heart.
Mr. Laird is survived by Paley, his partner in marriage and co-pilot for 48 years; his brother and sister-in-law, Larry Lee and Jeanne Laird; and nieces Lana Whittaker and Lynnette Norcross.
