60 Minutes Archive: Stephen Sondheim

Sondheim used a thesaurus to write his musicals. That should give you the motivation that you can use every tool at your disposal to get the job done.

My heart is devestated. There will NEVER ever be another Stephen Sondheim. An unforgettable genius who changed the face on how we see Live Theater today. Thank you for inspiring me to be the artist that I want to be. RIP

Some years ago I was backstage at a Broadway theatre looking for a dressing room, to congratulate a British actor friend. I was a bit lost but joined by a tall man who was also looking to find the same. We shared a lift. I didn't recognise him, until we knocked on the dressing room door. When it opened, my actor friend inside gasped to the assembled cast - " Stephen! Everyone - it's Stephen Sondheim!" Unforgettable. Thankyou Stephen Sondheim, for the music, and it all.

Absolute genius. We’ll miss you. Rest In Peace.

He used a thesaurus and a dictionary for inspiration, but he chose the words and where to put them. That was his genius.

He was a master of his craft. We will never know his equal. Thankful to have shared the earth at the same time.

how often do we get to say we were alive at the same time as a legend? Sondheim constantly changed musical theater, and touched the lives of all the people he worked with. You can see the absolute joy he got from everything he did. Rest in peace, Mr. Sondheim. Your music will live on for you.

To paraphrase Edwin Stanton: "“Now he belongs to the ages.”

The only kind of immortality that's real is what you achieve when the work you leave behind continues to enrich the lives of others. On that basis, Stephen Sondheim will live forever.

I don't know if it is only me but I like looking at Sondheim all this interview. His smile and his expressions are larger than life. There is a certain sweetness on the way he responds. I'd even call him an eye candy. Even when at 90 years old, he still had that charm.

Decades ago: I was a young secretary at Ted Bates Advertising. We had gotten comps to a new show. On Valentine's Day evening....a group of us from the media buyers went to see it in preview. The cast included Glynis Johns, Hermione Gingold, Len Cariou and an astonishing singer named D. Jamin Bartlett who stood the audience on its ear with a song called "The Miller's Son'... But my most vivid memory: a white canopied bed. Glynis in a bright red empire gown, whispering, "Isn't it rich, isn't it queer..?".. as a transfixed Cariou in his tuxedo watches her lovingly from downstage. You could have heard a pin drop. We didn't know it then, but musical theatre history was happening - before our very eyes as we watched this incredible production. Sondheim, with his unique genius made it happen... RIP...

RIP Mr. Sondheim. You're the reason I started writing lyrics and performing. You'll be sorely missed by so many ❤️❤️

Someone else said this elsewhere, so I'll say it here-- There's a giant in the sky now. And we are not alone. RIP, Stephen Sondheim. You are forever honored, loved, and missed.

Isn't it terrific that we have his brilliant work to remember him by? His songs have always brought me comfort and joy, whatever time of day it is. I will forever adore Sondheim.

“Rest now, my friend. Rest now forever. Sleep now, the untroubled sleep of the angels…”

Thank you 60 Minutes for pulling this from the archives to share it with us.

Thank you so much for posting this. My favorite song of his is "Nothing's Gonna Harm You" from Sweeney Todd. What a brilliant and talented man. Rest in Peace and much comfort to his family at this time.

A once-in-a-generation talent. A mastermind

For me the most emotional moment in the interview is when he says that art & teaching are "the other way " of having children...echoing a song in Sunday In The Park With George. RIP Stephen Sondheim, father to millions.

RIP STEPHEN SONDHIEM. Your songs will always be in my heart