The New York Times has the buried lede:
As popular as his songs were, Mr. Lehrer never felt entirely comfortable performing them. “I don’t feel the need for anonymous affection,” he told The New York Times in 2000. “If they buy my records, I love that. But I don’t think I need people in the dark applauding.”
Lehrer’s Genius was unmistakable, and his devotion to helping others instead of simply amassing attention, is what made him such a super hero. Think about the phrase “free time” in this obituary.
A math prodigy, Lehrer studied mathematics at Harvard at age 15, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1946. He earned his master’s at Harvard the following year. He also worked on a doctorate there and at Columbia University, but never completed his Ph.D. thesis.
While in school, Lehrer wrote songs in his free time, and eventually recorded his first solo album, Songs of Tom Lehrer, in 1953. The release became a surprise hit and led him to perform at nightclubs and venues across the country.
Imagine all the free time of a teenager getting his graduate degree from Harvard in the 1940s. He was a true genius and an American hero, the kind that was always giving to others and yet never wanted the attention he deserved.
In October 2020, Lehrer released all music and lyrics he had ever written into the public domain. In November 2022, he formally relinquished the copyright, performing, and recording rights to his songs, and established a website to host recordings and printable copies of his sheet music for download. He added that the website “will be shut down at some point in the not too distant future, so if you want to download anything, don’t wait too long.” As of July 2025, the website is still operational.
Some say Lehrer stopped performing after Henry Kissinger had won the Nobel Peace Prize, stating simply that satire was now obsolete.
I’m not interested in promoting myself, or revealing to total strangers anything about me. That’s not my job. I read some of these things with people who will tell you about their abortions, and their affairs and their divorces and their breakdowns and their parents, and why are they doing that? And I’m sure if you asked them how much money they made last year, they’d tell you it’s none of your business.
His witicisms about risk and safety are legend.
“When I was in college, there were certain words you couldn’t say in front of a girl,” he writes in the sleeve notes for the new collection. “Now you can say them, but you can’t say ‘girl’. “
