bio notes:
born: 3/22/1930
born as: Stephen Joshua Sondheim

Acclaimed composer and lyricist. As a child he befriended famed lyricist Oscar Hammerstein. After graduating from Williams College he studied music on a fellowship, then moved to Hollywood and began writing scripts for the television series Topper. After returning to New York he first achieved fame with the lyrics for West Side Story (1957). He expanded to both music and lyrics with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962). Many other successful musicals followed, including what some call his masterpiece, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday in the Park with George (1984).