Ray Manzarek, a founding member and keyboardist for the group The Doors, passed away at 12:31PM PT at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany. He was suffering from bile duct cancer, according to a post on the band's Facebook page, and was in the presence of his wife Dorothy and brothers Rick and James.
The keyboardist met Jim Morrison at UCLA while studying film. After releasing several critically-acclaimed records, including classic rock staples "Hello I Love You," "Light My Fire," and "L.A. Woman," the group broke apart when Morrison died in 1971 at the age of 27.
Manzarek released several solo albums, one with Philip Glass, and was a member of the supergroup Nite City. He would reunite with the surving members of The Doors multiple times, and performed throughout the world.
On his band's Facebook, Manzarek's family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to StandUp2Cancer.org.
[via HuffPo]
