Marvin Hamlisch, the stage and film composer who created the memorable songs for “A Chorus Line,” has died at 68. The composer died on Monday in Los Angeles after collapsing from a brief illness, his family said in a statement.
One of the most decorated composers in entertainment, Hamlisch had won a Tony Award, three Academy Awards, four Emmy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Hamlisch was still active just weeks ago. In his role as lead conductor of the Pasadena Pops, he conducted a July 21 concert at the Los Angeles Arboretum with Michael Feinstein.
His music elevated the tired trope of a “show about a show” to “one singular sensation.”
I was privileged, not many years ago with my family, to hear him as guest conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra near Christmastime. I loved the music, but what I will always remember was his marvelous sense of humor.
I grew up on Long Island and discovered half-priced Broadway tickets in high school. One day, a group of us were deciding what to see that weekend. A savvy friend was jotting down possibilities. Then a light bulb flashed in his amazing (and much-missed) brain, whereupon he slashed through the whole list and wrote “A CHORUS LINE!” So we went to see that, and it was indeed a singular sensation. May MH (and my friend Stephen) rest in peace.