Ray Manzarek

Ray Manzarek was an American musician, singer, producer, film director, and author who passed away at the age of 74 from bile duct cancer. He was best known as a founding member and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973. He was actually a classically trained pianist who loved jazz. Born 1939 in Chicago, Illinois, he studied economics at DePaul University from 1957 to 1961 and then studied film at UCLA where he met Jim Morrison. In 1965 Manzarek and Jim Morrison co-founded the band The Doors and a year later they were performing at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go on the Sunset Strip. In 1968 the Doors are signed to Elektra records. Besides The Doors, Manzarek also played with the group Nite City and in 1980 produced “Los Angeles,” the debut album for the punk band X. In 1998 his memoir, “Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors” was published. He co-wrote and directed the 2000 film “Love Her Madly” based on a story idea of Jim Morrison's. A year later, he wrote the novel, “The Poet in Exile” exploring the urban l