Tom Lehrer
Tom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehreris an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy, humorous songs he recorded in the 1950s and '60s...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSongwriter
Date of Birth9 April 1928
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
cabinet found people picked records
The people who were in college in the '50s were my first real audience, and their kids, the people who found my records in the cabinet during their 'Mad 'magazine years picked me up also.
carried creed ideal logical prohibit
The Army has carried the American ideal to its logical conclusion. Not only do they prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, creed and color, but also on ability.
fewest knew studied
I thought about majoring in Math, Chemistry and English, but Math had the fewest requirements, so I went with it. I knew I wanted to teach, and Math was my field, so I studied Math.
analogy novelist performing public stopped
I stopped performing because I don't have the temperament of a performer. You have to want to do the same thing over and over again. Once I got it right, I didn't want to do it again. I always use the analogy of a novelist who has to read his novel in public night after night. I just didn't want to do it.
eddie few hbo people relationships seen stuff
Eddie Izzard is wonderful, I think, but I've only seen that one HBO special he did. He's one of the few people who talk about stuff other than girlfriends and relationships and flatulence and genitalia. There are very few of them who actually talk about real stuff.
audience home literate trying
I always prided myself on at least trying to be literate and use the right words, and if the audience didn't get it, then they could go home and look it up.
either people profession public
When you're in a public profession like I was, and you stop doing it like I did, people think you're either crazy or dead.
certain front
When I was in college, there were certain words you couldn't say in front of a girl. Now you can say them, but you can't say 'girl.'
attitudes folk immersed love musical popular songs style time
I was immersed in popular songs of the time, of the '30s and '40s. I was writing songs, making fun of the attitudes of those songs, in the musical style of the songs themselves; love songs, folk songs, marches, football.
food
When you get to fifty-two food becomes more important than sex.
francisco kids san
San Francisco is a city of twenty-something millionaire white kids named Doug.
awarded became henry nobel obsolete peace
Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize.
high loved
I loved high school, but I wouldn't want to do it again.
whom
I like Jon Stewart. He's not as obnoxious as Dennis Miller, whom I really can't stand.