--- title: "Tom Lehrer: Stand-Up Comedian, TV Roles | D.O.C." description: "Tom Lehrer: 4 albums and 2 screen credits. An American satirical songwriter and comedy-record act from New York City who sang his own songs at the piano." url: https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-tom-lehrer.html updated: 2026-11-11 --- Stand-up comedian · 1928–2025 # Tom Lehrer ## Who Tom Lehrer is Tom Lehrer was an American satirical songwriter and comedy-record act from New York City who sang his own songs at the piano. He sang them around Harvard and at parties from the early 1950s, and in 1953 recorded Songs by Tom Lehrer in a Boston studio and sold it himself, first around Harvard and in Cambridge record stores. After two years in the Army he performed concerts of his material in venues around the world, and his live album An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer (1959) was nominated for Best Comedy Performance - Musical at the 1961 Grammy Awards. He wrote a satirical song each week for the television show That Was the Week That Was in 1964, released That Was the Year That Was in 1965, and wrote songs for the children's series The Electric Company. ## Vote in My D.O.C. Legends Put them in My D.O.C. Legends: your twelve for their era, counted with every reader’s on [the Legends page](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/greatest-comedians.html). ## At a glance **Born** 1928 **Died** 2025 **Albums** Songs by Tom Lehrer, More of Tom Lehrer, An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer and 1 more **On screen** That Was the Week That Was and The Electric Company ## Specials, shows and podcasts ### Albums - **Songs by Tom Lehrer** album, 1953 - **More of Tom Lehrer** album, 1959 - **An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer** live album, 1959 - **That Was the Year That Was** album, 1965 ### On screen - **That Was the Week That Was** a satirical song each week, television, 1964 - **The Electric Company** songs for the children's television series ## Comedians like Tom Lehrer Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town. - [Bill Cosby](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-bill-cosby.html) also in The Electric Company - [Reggie Watts](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-reggie-watts.html) also in The Electric Company [Six Degrees of Komic Bacon: how they connect to anyone →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/six-degrees-of-komic-bacon.html) [Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/stand-up-comedians.html) ## Career timeline 1. **1928** Born 2. **1953** Songs by Tom Lehrer (album, 1953) Album 3. **1959** More of Tom Lehrer (album, 1959) Album 4. **1959** An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer (live album, 1959) Album 5. **1964** That Was the Week That Was (a satirical song each week, television, 1964) On screen 6. **1965** That Was the Year That Was (album, 1965) Album 7. **2025** Died ## Questions and answers ### What TV shows and films is Tom Lehrer in? That Was the Week That Was (a satirical song each week, television, 1964) and The Electric Company (songs for the children's television series). ### How old were they? They were born in 1928 and died in 2025. ### Who are some comedians like them? [Bill Cosby](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-bill-cosby.html) (also in The Electric Company) and [Reggie Watts](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-reggie-watts.html) (also in The Electric Company). ## The D.O.C. letter, free Who’s on the road, festival dates as they are announced and entry windows as they open, with the news of the comedians, rooms and towns you follow: one short comedy newsletter, free every Sunday. ## The full SUCDb record The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to vote them into My D.O.C. Legends. [Their SUCDb record →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-tom-lehrer.html) ### Sources - [PBS NewsHour — Associated Press obituary of Tom Lehrer (27 July 2025) ↗](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/tom-lehrer-mathematician-and-singer-songwriter-known-for-colorful-satire-dies-at-97) Born in New York City in 1928; mathematician and singer-songwriter; coffeehouses around Cambridge; concerts around the world after two years in the Army;… - [Library of Congress — interview with Tom Lehrer about Songs by Tom Lehrer (22 July 2015) ↗](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/LehrerInterview.pdf) Sang the songs around Harvard and at parties from the early 1950s; recorded Songs by Tom Lehrer in a Boston studio in 1953; sold it around Harvard and in… - [Recording Academy — GRAMMY artist page for Tom Lehrer ↗](https://www.grammy.com/artists/tom-lehrer/12512) Nominee, Best Comedy Performance - Musical, 1961, for An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer (as of 10 November 2026) - [UC Santa Cruz — UCSC News article on Tom Lehrer (August 2025) ↗](https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/08/tom-lehrer/) Died on 26 July at age 97 in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his 1965 album (as of 10 November 2026) - [Wikipedia ↗](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer) died 26 July 2025 Updated 11 November 2026 · the record checked 10 November 2026