Marvin Laird, Composer of Ruthless! and Longtime Musical Director for Bernadette Peters, Dies at 85

Marvin Laird, the longtime musical director for Bernadette Peters and the composer of the musical Ruthless!, died on December 2 at the age of 85.

Laird wrote dance music and.or vocal arrangements for two dozen Broadway and West End productions, including Ben Franklin in Paris, Skyscraper, and The Happy Time, along with the films Hello, Dolly! and New York, New York. He conducted the Peters-led revivals of Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, and Follies, and served as an associate conductor of Hello, Dolly! when Peters was in the cast.

In addition to serving as Peters’s longtime maestro, Laird also conducted concerts for the likes of Diana Ross, Cass Elliot, Dusty Springfield, and Joel Grey. ““My beloved Marvin had impeccable style, a delicious sense of humor, and his generous spirit made everyone he worked with fall in love with him,” Peters said in a statement.

Born on October 26, 1939 in Kansas City, KS, Marvin is survived by partner Joel Paley, with whom he wrote Rutheless!, his brother and sister-in-law, Larry Lee and Jeanne Laird, and nieces, Lana Whittaker and Lynnette Norcross.