LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ray Manzarek, a founding member and keyboardist of 1960s rock group The Doors, died on Monday at age 74, the group's manager Tom Vitorino said.
Manzarek died in Rosenheim, Germany, following a battle with bile duct cancer, the band said in a statement.
Singer Jim Morrison and Manzarek formed The Doors in 1965 after a chance meeting at Los Angeles' Venice Beach, and Manzarek's keyboard work would go on to be a touchstone of hits like "Break On Through to the Other Side" and "Light My Fire."
"I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today," The Doors guitarist Robby 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."
Manzarek, who was born in Chicago in 1939, is survived by his wife, Dorothy, two brothers, a son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)