Folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens, who opened the 1969 Woodstock music festival with a legendary and lengthy set that helped make him famous, died Monday at age 72. 

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Richie Havens in concert in 1973.

His family says Havens died of a heart attack, and that a public memorial will be announced later. A statement on his official website posted before Havens' death says that the singer never fully recovered from kidney surgery he underwent several years ago.

His career spans decades, but he may be most famous for his role as the first performer at Woodstock. He launched the three-day festival with more than two hours of music, even running out of songs and thus improvising the song "Freedom" based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child."

Steve Davidowitz, who co-wrote Havens' 1999 autobiography, "They Can't Hide Us Anymore," tells TODAY that the book title was what Havens said while looking out at the enormous Woodstock crowd.

"The promoters of the event actually appealed to Richie to perform for 20 minutes or so, because no one wanted to be first," Davidowitz told TODAY. "Instead of 20 minutes, the crowd kept him on stage for more than two hours with their cheers and demands for more."

Many Woodstock fans noticed that Havens didn't have his top row of teeth while performing at the festival. After the event, and with the encouragement of Johnny Carson, who had the singer on "The Tonight Show" more than a dozen times, the singer bought dental implants.

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Richie Havens in 2009.

After Woodstock, Havens started his own record label, Stormy Forest. He also worked as an actor, appearing in the London stage version of The Who's "Tommy" and in the 1977 Richard Pryor movie "Greased Lightning," about the first black stock-car driver to win an upper-tier NASCAR race. 

"Richie Havens was gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music," Havens' agent said in a statement. "His fiery, poignant, soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since his historic appearance at Woodstock in 1969. For four decades, Havens used his music to convey passionate messages of brotherhood and personal freedom."

Havens was always grateful for his fans. "From Woodstock to The Isle of Wight to Glastonbury to the Fillmore Auditorium to Royal Albert Hall to Carnegie Hall, Richie played the most legendary music festivals that ever were, and most of the world’s greatest concert venues," the statement went on to say. "But even when performing in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse or a small club or regional theater, he was eternally grateful that people in any number turned up each time to hear him sing. More than anything, he feels incredibly blessed to have met so many of you along the way."

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Actor Lou Gossett Jr. was Havens’ co-writer on one of his most popular songs, “Handsome Johnny,” which was released in 1967 and was also part of Havens' Woodstock set. In 2001, the song was covered by reggae musician Peter Tosh, and in 2002, by The Flaming Lips.

Havens also had a 1971 hit with his cover of The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun."

"Working with Richie to write his book -- a very good book, one with no curse words, no sexual exploits, but a book that shared how he self-taught himself virtually everything ... was the single most enjoyable professional experience of my life," Davidowitz told TODAY. "Besides that, he was a great friend,  an amazing,  fantastic performer, a truly warmhearted, giving human being. "

After hearing of his death, fans began to share memories of Havens on The Roots Agency's Facebook page.

"His legacy will live on forever," wrote Reese Karlan.

Wrote Robert Rothstein: "Richie Havens was a great ambassador of peace and humanity. His voice was unique."

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Storm Thorgerson stands next to his album cover artwork for Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" at a 2008 art exhibit.

"His ending was peaceful and he was surrounded by family and friends," Thorgerson's family said in a statement. "He had been ill for some time with cancer though he had made a remarkable recovery from his stroke in 2003."

Pink Floyd members remembered him on the band's official website. Drummer Nick Mason described Thorgerson as a "scourge of management, record companies and album sleeve printers; champion of bands, music, great ideas and high, sometimes infuriatingly high, standards."

Mason also described Thorgerson as a "tireless worker right up to the end," saying, "Two days before he passed away, and by then completely exhausted, he was still demanding approval for art work and haranguing his loyal assistants."

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He went on to praise the designer as a "dear friend to all of us, our children, our wives (and the exes). Endlessly intellectual and questioning. Breathtakingly late for appointments and meetings, but once there invaluable for his ideas, humour, and friendship."

Pink Floyd lead singer David Gilmour wrote on the band's site that he first met Thorgerson when the two were young teenagers.

"We would gather at Sheep's Green, a spot by the river in Cambridge, and Storm would always be there holding forth, making the most noise, bursting with ideas and enthusiasm," Gilmour wrote. "Nothing has ever really changed. He has been a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on and a great friend. The artworks that he created for Pink Floyd from 1968 to the present day have been an inseparable part of our work. I will miss him."

His work with Pink Floyd, especially the prism reflecting a rainbow that graces the "Dark Side of the Moon" album cover, was Thorgerson's most famous. But he also created album covers for bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Muse.

In 2011, Thorgerson told Rolling Stone that the idea of the prism related to Pink Floyd's traveling light show.

"They hadn’t really celebrated their light show," he told the magazine. "That was one thing. The other thing was the triangle. I think the triangle, which is a symbol of thought and ambition, was very much a subject of Roger (Waters)'s lyrics. 

Thorgerson is survived by his mother, Vanji, his son Bill, his wife Barbie Antonis and her two children Adam and Georgia.

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Richard LeParmentier in 2012.

Actor Richard LeParmentier, whose character was infamously choked by villain Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" movie, has died at age 66, his representative confirms to TODAY.

LeParmentier died suddenly, his son Tyrone told Derek Maki, who represented the actor. 

LeParmentier's name may be unfamiliar to many, but "Star Wars" fans well know his most famous scene.

"Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader," says LeParmentier in his role as General (sometimes described as Admiral) Motti. "Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the rebels' hidden fort--"

At that point, LeParmentier's character stops speaking and grabs at his throat as if he was being choked by an invisible hand. Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones) then delivers one of his most famous lines, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

The actor's family noted that LeParmentier, who lived in Bath, England, was visiting his children in Austin, Texas when he died. The family remembered him in a statement that fondly referenced his most famous scene.

"Every time we find someone's lack of faith disturbing, we'll think of him," the family statement said. "At age 66, Richard Le Parmentier is one with the Force."

The statement went on to thanks LeParmentier's friends and fellow "Star Wars" fans, saying it was tributes from those people who gave the family "all the best lines in this message."

LeParmentier, who was also a screenwriter, was still working right up until the end, the family said. "He edited another draft of his latest project two days before death, with its sorcerer's ways, took him from us," the statement noted in another homage to the famed scene. "He has gone to the Stars, and he will be missed. We love you dad, and thank you to everyone. Love, Rhiannon, Stephanie, and Tyrone Le Parmentier." 

LeParmentier also had numerous film and television appearances, though his most famous after "Star Wars" was the role of Lt. Santino in 1988's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" He also provided the narration for the 2004 video game "Soldiers: Heroes of World War II." 

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Alternative metal bassist Chi Cheng of the Deftones has died, four years after a car accident left him in a coma.

Ethan Miller / Reuters, file

Chi Cheng, right, -- seen with his fellow Deftones (left to right) drummer Abe Cunningham, guitarist Stephen Carpenter, keyboardist Frank Delgado and singer Chino Moreno -- died after a four-year coma following a car accident.

Cheng died on Saturday after being brought to a hospital emergency room, according to a website set up to raise funds for the stricken musician. He was 42.

"I know you will always remember him as a giant of a man on stage with a heart for every one of you," his mother wrote in a statement on the site. "He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear."

No cause of death was given on the site. It was not immediately clear where Cheng died.

Cheng was seriously injured during a head-on car collision in Santa Clara, California, in 2008.

Cheng was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle, local media reported at the time.

"Rest in peace Chi Cheng," wrote the band's lead vocalist, Chino Moreno, on his Facebook page, where more than 2,000 messages were left by fans eulogizing Cheng.

The Deftones, an alternative metal band out of Sacramento, California, was founded in 1988. The band won a Grammy for the Best Metal Performance in 2000.

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Mick Jagger and Ed Koch on "Saturday Night Live."

Outside of New York City, Mayor Ed Koch may seem a distant memory -- yet another big New York personality who happened to run the Big Apple from 1978-89. But while few big city mayors resonate much beyond their town's borders or for longer than their terms of office, Koch -- who died on Feb. 1 at 88 -- was a big city mayor like no other. 

Among his many accomplishments politically (including three terms of office and eight years as a congressman), Koch left a very large media footprint during his post-mayoral years. He was the first New York City mayor to ever host "Saturday Night Live" (1983) and ultimately made four appearances on the NBC show: Cameos in 1978 and 1984, and as a co-host in 1984 ("I was pretty good," he said in 2010).

In general, Koch was a busy, camera-loving guy: Based on IMDB.com credits, he appeared in more than 60 films and TV shows (including "Sex and the City," "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and "We Own The Night") often -- but not always -- as himself. 

His longest-running TV gig featured him in his best-known role -- himself -- as he presided over "The People's Court" from 1997-99. And starting in 2009, he hosted a weekly web series, "Mayor at the Movies," in which the film buff opined on everything from "Moneyball" to Betty White's "Saturday Night Live" performance.

Meanwhile, he also found time to write several non-fiction books ("How'm I Doing? The Wit and Wisdom of Ed Koch," "Giuliani: Nasty Man"), crime fiction novels ("Murder at City Hall," "Murder on Broadway") and even a children's book, "Eddie, Harold's Little Brother."

He did always have a sense of show business presence, so while it could never have been planned, it was almost fitting that he made his final exit just days after the documentary "Koch" had its first official New York screening.

Early reviews give thumbs-up to the film: "Compared to the man himself, 'Koch' is low-key," wrote the New York Daily News. "Director Neil) Barsky examines this colorful, often dramatic parade with his veteran reporter's eye. Yet while opposing views are heard, Koch's take on them -- now 25 to 35 years after the fact -- puts a definite period at the end of the sentence." Adds the New York Times, "It is hardly an uncritical account of Mr. Koch's dozen years as mayor, but time has a way of turning the furious political battles of the past into amusing war stories." 

Few would be happier than Ed Koch to know he was still being talked about, 24 years after he left office. Mr. Mayor, you may be gone, but you're still doin' fine.

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