STUDIO CITY, CA (CelebrityAccess) – Mike Lang, celebrated Hollywood pianist, died Friday (August 6) of lung cancer at his home in Studio City. He was 80.
Lang was born December 10, 1941, in Los Angeles and is the son of Jennings Lang, a Hollywood agent. His name was Michael Herbert Lang, but he later changed it to Michael Anthony Lang. He began piano lessons before age five and studied music with composers Leonard Stein and George Tremblay, studio pianist Pearl Kaufman, and Lalo Schifrin. He graduated with a music degree from the University of Michigan in 1963.
Lang played piano on approximately 2,000 film and TV scores during his career, which began in the 1960s. Film scores include Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Specialist, The Rainmaker, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, The Russia House, Body Heat, 10, Gremlins, and Catch Me If You Can, among many others.
According to Variety, when Lang was interviewed for the Legacy of John Williams podcast, he reflected on his style: “The music itself tells me how to relate to it. I have a sound in my head. I play as an improviser, even if I’m playing Beethoven. I’m hearing the music as if it’s in Beethoven’s head. When I get it to match so that the real sound comes out of the piano and matches what’s in my head, the piano disappears. It’s a facilitator for me. The last thing I think about is, ‘I am a pianist.’ I try to make the music breathe, be vocal and expressive, and to that end the piano loses its identity.”
Lang also played for composers, including Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), Hans Zimmer (As Good As It Gets, Pearl Harbor), Randy Newman (Toy Story, Secretariat), and Clint Eastwood (The Bridges of Madison County), among others.
Lang’s hundreds of TV credits as a keyboardist ranged from The Waltons and Kung Fu in the 1970s to such later shows as Amazing Stories, The Simpsons, Frasier, Penny Dreadful, Family Guy, and American Dad.
Survivors include his partner, Deborah Pearl; son Dave Lang, a brother, Rocky Lang, and grandson Sunny.
