Ben Lanzarone, ‘Love Boat’ and ‘Happy Days’ Composer and Husband of Ilene Graff, Dies at 85
Ben Lanzarone, composer of music on “The Love Boat” and “Happy Days,” died on Friday after fighting lung cancer. He was 85.
Lanzarone’s death was shared by his wife Ilene Graff with TMZ.
The pair’s daughter Nikka also remembered her father on Instagram on Saturday. She captioned a post, “dad. you will always be a titan. losing you is incalculable. without words. maybe the words will come. but until they do, we have the music.”
Lanzarone was born on Oct. 28, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York. He composed music for some of the most iconic television shows from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, including “Happy Days,” “The Love Boat,” “Mork and Mindy,” “Dynasty” and “Laverne and Shirley.”
Graff and Lanzarone met on the set of “Grease,” where the latter was part of the team that put together the music video for “Summer Nights.” The pair also worked together on the sitcom “Belvedere.”
In 2013, Graff and Lanzarone collaborated yet again when they offered a workshop for professionals working in the entertainment industry. The two-month-long program featured Tippi Hedren and Dee Wallace. As Graff told Broadway World, “We work with everyone from novices to working professionals. Students not only learn from us, they learn from their classmates as they become a supportive, cohesive group. We focus on choosing a song, analyzing the lyric, the importance of storytelling, and understanding the music.”
Lanzarone is survived by Graff and the pair’s daughter, Nikka, who is also a successful actress and singer.
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