Tom Lehrer, Song Satirist and Mathematician, Dies at 97
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Summary
Tom Lehrer, the renowned song satirist and mathematician who gained fame in the 1950s-60s for witty songs lampooning marriage, politics, racism, and the Cold War, has died at age 97. After his music career, he returned to teaching mathematics at Harvard and other universities, remaining on the math faculty at UC Santa Cruz into his late 70s. His satirical songs like "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and "The Vatican Rag" were delivered in an erudite, polite manner that rarely drew objections.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledTom Lehrer, the popular song satirist who lampooned marriage, politics, racism and the Cold War, then largely abandoned his music career to return to teaching math at Harvard and other universities, has died.
His songs included 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,' 'The Old Dope Peddler,' 'Be Prepared' in which he mocked the Boy Scouts and 'The Vatican Rag,' in which Lehrer poked at the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church.
But he attacked in such an erudite, even polite, manner that almost no one objected.
Lehrer had remained on the math faculty of the University of California at Santa Cruz well into his late 70s.
In 2020, he even turned away from his own copyright, granting the public permission to use his songs.
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