Pulitzer Prize Recipient Composer. He is recognized as a 20th century award-winning American composer and lyricist, including the coveted 1985 Pulitzer Prize for "Sunday in the Park." Among the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, Sondheim was praised for having "reinvented the American musical "with shows that tackled "unexpected themes that range far beyond the traditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication." His shows addressed "darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience," with songs often tinged with "ambivalence" about various aspects of life. Sondheim started his theatre career by writing the lyrics for "West Side Story" in 1957 and "Gypsy" in 1959 before becoming a composer and lyricist. Sondheim's best-known works include "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" in 1962, "Company" in 1970, "Follies" in 1971, "A Little Night Music" in 1973, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" in 1979, "Merrily We Roll Along" in 1981, "Sunday in the Park with George" in 1984, and "Into the Woods" in 1987. Besides the Pulitzer Prize, Sondheim's accolades include eight Tony Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 2008; an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards; a Laurence Olivier Award; the 1989 "London Evening Standard's" Theatre Award's Special Award for Lifetime Achievement to Theatre; the 1996 American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C; in 1975 inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame; and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has a theater named for him both on Broadway and in the West End of London. Sondheim wrote film music, contributing "Goodbye for Now" for Warren Beatty's "Reds" in 1981. He wrote five songs for 1990's "Dick Tracy," including "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)," sung in the film by Madonna, which received the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Film adaptations of Sondheim's work include "West Side Story" in 1961, "Gypsy" in 1962, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" in 1966, "A Little Night Music" in 1977, "Gypsy" in 1993, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" in 2007, "Into the Woods" in 2014, and "West Side Story" in 2021. Born Stephen Joshua Sondheim, the son of parents, who were first generation of East European Jewish immigrants, his parents divorced when he was young. He could play the piano and organ by age 15. American lyricist and musical producer, Oscar Hammerstein II, became Sondheim's surrogate father, influencing him profoundly, developing his love of musical theater and mentoring him in his career. He was an introverted person. In 2017, he married Jeffrey Scott Romley. In 2011 he published his two-volume autobiography, "Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954 to 1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes" and "Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981 to 2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany." After training at George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, he received his education at William College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, graduating with a degree in music in 1950. He received the Hutchinson Prize and a fellowship. While in college, he distinguished himself by writing a book, lyrics and music for two college shows based on the adaption of "Beggar on Horseback." He left for Hollywood after graduation. According to his lawyer, he died peacefully at age 91 at his home the day after "a wonderful Thanksgiving."