Friends Remember Marvin Hamlisch.

Liza – “Marvin Hamlisch and I have been best friends since I was 13 years old. He arranged my first album, my second album, the songs for Judy Garland & Liza Minnelli at the London Palladium and just about everything else,” Minnelli said in an email to The Miami Herald.

“I have lost my first lifelong best friend, and sadly we have lost a splendid, splendid talent.”

“He was one of the funniest people I knew. I will miss his talent, our laughter & friendship, but mostly I will miss Marvin. My heart is with his wife Terre always.

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BERNADETTE – “Marvin Hamlisch was an amazing writer, conductor, raconteur and all in all, a wonderful showman!! Working with him was a dream come true. His talents gave joy to audiences worldwide. What a great loss for all.”

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DONNA – “When I first met Marvin he was rehearsal pianist and I asked him to play an audition for me. I went to his apartment, and he told me the most incredible story about his family fleeing the Nazis. His father was a musician, and he had to jump off the train to avoid being caught, throwing his trombone off first. He survived and made it to this country with his trombone. His family was close and worked very hard to make sure he had good musical training. The energy and passion and sense of fun he possessed never left him. As a pianist, he was renowned for his brilliance and speed and a strong left hand (which was always my baromoter for a great player). His success as a composer as everyone knows is world-wide, but when I hear his sublime and beautiful melodies, I can’t help thinking about that impassioned young man and his family legacy of courage, love and triumph.”

IDINA – “Marvin was a friend and mentor, but often felt like a second father to me. To have shared the stage with such a legend has been some of the most rewarding moments in my career. Not only does he leave us with the most precious of melodies and music, but anyone who has ever shared an after-show drink with him can attest to his hysterical storytelling and deep love for his stunning wife Terry. My heart is broken. He made me feel so special. I love him so much.”

BABS – “I’m devastated. He was my dear friend. He’s been in my life ever since the first day I met him in 1963, when he was my rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl. He played at my wedding in 1998… and recently for me at a benefit for women’s heart disease. The world will remember Marvin for his brilliant musical accomplishments, from A Chorus Line to ‘The Way We Were,’ and so many others, but when I think of him now, it was his brilliantly quick mind, his generosity, and delicious sense of humor that made him a delight to be around. Just last night, I was trying to reach him, to tell him how much I loved him, and that I wanted to use an old song of his, that I had just heard for the first time. He was a true musical genius, but above all that, he was a beautiful human being. I will truly miss him.”

BETTY – “So shocked & sad to learn of Marvin Hamlisch passing away at 68 after a brief illness. Such a lovely, gracious, talented man. Such a loss.”