Being known for your wit can feel like a burden—people constantly expect clever remarks to flow effortlessly from you. Yet no one carried this reputation more gracefully than the legendary American singer-songwriter Tom Lehrer, who has passed away at 97.
Fans worldwide recognize Lehrer’s sharp humor from his concert recordings. He once quipped, “If, after hearing my songs, just one person is inspired to say something nasty to a friend—or maybe hit a loved one—it will all have been worth it.” He joked about a doctor who “specialized in diseases of the rich” and mocked protest singers: “It takes courage to stand in a coffeehouse or college auditorium and advocate for things everyone already supports, like peace, justice, and brotherhood.”
Lehrer walked away from fame in 1960, and after 1972, he mostly taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His students and friends remember him as endlessly funny, tossing out jokes like confetti. Though many are lost, a few lesser-known stories survive.
At 15, Lehrer applied to Harvard with a poem, showcasing his math genius:
“But although I detest
Learning poems and the rest
Of the things one must know to have ‘culture,’
While each of my teachers
Makes speeches like preachers
And preys on my faults like a vulture,
I will leave movie thrillers
And watch caterpillars
Get born and pupated and larva’d,
And I’ll work like a slave
And always behave
And maybe I’ll get into Harvard…”
During his Harvard years, art historian Paul Turner recalled friends singing hometown songs—like “Chicago”—by the Charles River. When Turner lamented there was no song for Schenectady, Lehrer instantly improvised: “The toe bone Schenectady the foot bone, the foot bone Schenectady the ankle bone…”
In 1970, a British grad student interviewed Lehrer, hoping it would land him a journalism job in London. Lehrer, reluctant but supportive, joked: “I’m on the vague borderline between adolescence and senility. I hope to transition from the world’s oldest adolescent to the youngest dirty old man.” The interview worked—the student, Peter Hennessy, became a renowned historian and member of the House of Lords.
From 1972 onward, Lehrer taught two beloved courses at Santa Cruz: “Math for Tenors” (for non-math majors) and “The American Musical.” His students adored him.
Despite his fame, Lehrer valued privacy and lived as though his success never happened. Uninterested in wealth, he allowed free use of his work online, refusing royalties—a stark contrast to most celebrities guarding their intellectual property. When Norwegian journalist Erik Meyn, who ran an unauthorized YouTube channel, visited him in 2008 feeling guilty, Lehrer reassured him and even insisted on paying for their lunch.
Lehrer’s legacy endures—not just in his music, but in the wit and humility he brought to every moment.For lunch: “It’s the least I can do, and that’s why I’m doing it.”
Lehrer’s decision about copyright led to two shows that now happily tour London’s theaters and sometimes beyond. One is Stefan Bednarczyk’s solo performance, The Elements of Tom Lehrer. The other is my play, Tom Lehrer Is Teaching Math and Doesn’t Want to Talk to You, starring Shahaf Ifhar as Lehrer. It features many of his greatest songs while also trying to uncover the truth about this remarkable and mysterious man. I think it succeeds—as much as anyone ever has, which isn’t saying much.
