Elliot Lawrence, who after leading a big band in the 1940s and ‘50s, won a Tony Award for his conducting on Broadway and spent nearly a half-century in charge of the orchestra that plays on the Tony’s annual broadcast, died July 2 in Manhattan. He was 96.

A pianist by training, Mr. Lawrence was a leader from a young age, forming one youth ensemble, the Band Busters, at age 12. In his 20s, he started Elliot Lawrence and His Orchestra, which was voted the most promising new big band in Billboard’s college polls in 1947 and 1948. His later work as conductor of the Tony Awards orchestra — a job he got because of his success on Broadway and in television — earned him two Emmy Awards.

Elliot Lawrence Broza was born Feb. 14, 1925, in Philadelphia. His father, Stan Lee Broza, was a founder and executive of the local radio station WCAU. He and Elliot’s mother, Esther Malis Broza, produced the long-running variety show “The Horn and Hardart Children’s Hour” on radio and later on television. [Those of us, like this editor, who grew up near Philadelphia, wouldn’t dare miss an episode of the radio program. Thank you Stan Lee; thank you Elliot.]