Tony-nominated Broadway musician Lucy Simon, best known for “The Secret Garden” and older sister of pop singer Carly Simon, died Thursday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 82 years old.
his family Told She died at her home in Piedmont, New York.
Simon was only the third female composer to produce on Broadway with “The Secret Garden”, a musical based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. He composed the music with the book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.
In 1991 “The Secret Garden” was nominated for 6 Tony Awards, including a nomination for Best Original Score for Simon and Norman.
Simon also composed the music for the 2011 musical “Doctor Zhivago”.
Born in New York City in 1940, Simon began performing as a folk duo with his younger sister Carly in 1963 under the name The Simon Sisters. They released 3 albums before splitting up after their 1969 third album, and Simon briefly left the entertainment industry to pursue a career in nursing. He returned to music later in the decade, releasing solo albums in 1975 and 1977. Along with her husband David Levine, she won Grammys in 1981 and 1983 for her contributions to two “Sesame Street” albums.
She first attempted to enter the musical theater world through an adaptation of “Little House on the Prairie”, which ultimately did not come together. According to Broadway Worldshe later said, “That book never worked, but I learned to write for musical theatre. So when I was asked to write the music for The Secret Garden, I was ready with all my heart.”
She was married to David Levine from 1967 until her death. Along with him and his sister Carly Simon, Lucy Simon is survived by their children and grandchildren.