Roger Williams Dead At 87


Celebrity pianist Roger Williams has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 87.

He passed away at his Los Angeles home on Saturday (08Oct11), according to the Associated Press.

Williams, real name Louis Wertz, was born in Nebraska and began playing the piano when he was just three years old. He eventually moved to New York to study jazz at the Juilliard School of Music and broke out as a star with the Billboard hit Autumn Leaves.

He played for nine U.S. presidents throughout his long career and was a regular guest on a number of hit TV shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show.

The Born Free star announced his diagnosis in March (11) and played his final concert in Palm Desert, California just days later before undergoing chemotherapy treatment.