Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist and a founding member of the Doors whose sinuous and melodic organ riffs defined the band’s sound, died on Monday afternoon at a clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, after a bout with cancer. He was 74.
Mr. Manzarek had been sick for several months with cancer of the bile ducts, his publicist, Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald, said in a statement. He died at about 3:31 p.m. at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim. His wife, Dorothy, and his brothers, Rick and James, were at his bedside.
Mr. Manzarek formed the Doors in 1965 with Jim Morrison, a poet and film student and singer, after the two of them had a chance encounter on Venice Beach in California. The band went on to become one of the most successful and at times polarizing acts of the 1960s, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and producing hits like “L.A. Woman,” “Break on Through,” “Hello, I Love You,” and “Light My Fire.”
After Morrison’s death in 1971, Mr. Manzarek and the other members — the drummer John Densmore and the guitarist Robby Krieger — attempted to make albums with Mr. Manzarek on vocals, but eventually split up.
Mr. Manzarek went on to have a long solo career, beginning with the release of “The Golden Scarab,” in 1974. In 2002, he revitalized his touring career by performing with Mr. Krieger.
“I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today,” Mr. Krieger said in a statement. “I’m just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him.”
Mr. Manzarek is survived by his wife and brothers, as well as a son, Pablo, and three grandchildren, Noah, Apollo and Camille.
The full obituary can be read here.