‘Grease’ Musician Dies of Cancer, Michael Strahan Gives an Update on His Daughter’s Treatment and More
From Ben Lanzarone of “Happy Days” and “Grease” dying of lung cancer to “Good Morning America’s” Michael Strahan providing an update on his daughter’s medulloblastoma treatment, here’s what’s happening in the oncology space this week.
Ben Lanzarone, the musical director of the Broadway show "Grease," has died of lung cancer.
A composer who worked on “Happy Days” and “Grease” died of lung cancer.
Ben Lanzarone, the composer behind musicals such as “Happy Days,” “Grease” and “Love Boat,” among others, died of lung cancer. He was 85 years old and died in his Los Angeles home, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Lanzarone, who was married to actress Ilene Graff since 1978, was born in Brooklyn, New York and toured with musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Art Garfunkel and Mason Williams. He then was the musical director for Broadway shows including “Grease” and “Truckload,” and ended up arranging music for episodes of television shows like “Happy Days,” “Laverne and Shirley” and “Mork and Mindy.” Due to his influence in the music of television, he won the Most Performed Composer Award from the ASCAP in 1986.
Michael Strahan provided an update about his daughter’s cancer.
In January 2024, “Good Morning America” host and former professional football player, Michael Strahan, announced that his 19-year-old daughter, Isabella had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a cancer that starts near the brain stem.
More recently, the Strahans provided an update on Isabella’s chemotherapy treatment — which was started last month — when a clip from her YouTube channel was shared on “Good Morning America.” In the video, Isabella provided a tour of her hospital room, where she showed her “big bag of chemo” that she received intravenously for six hours.
Later, the video cut to Isabella at home. “I don't mind the hospital too much because I feel safe, but I do like being home,” she said.
"It is tough to see her go through it, but I know she's a tough young lady and she's going to make it through," Michael said on “Good Morning America.”
Actress, Kaitlyn Denver, honored her late mother in an Instagram post.
Kaitlyn Denver, the actress who starred in shows such as “Unbelievable” and “Dopesick” — the latter of which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for, recently made a tribute to her later mother, Kathy, who died of breast cancer.
“Your love was like sunshine, warmed me when I needed it the most and made me smile when I was ever sad. You were everyone’s favorite. You are my favorite. The sweetest in the world,” the 27-year-old actress wrote in an Instagram post featuring 10 photos of the mother-daughter duo. “I will be broken forever without you and I don’t know how I’ll go on.”
A 2020 Instagram post from Denver said that her mother was “battling stage 4 metastatic breast cancer for 10 years now.”
A 6-year-old with leukemia was made an honorary member of the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder women’s basketball team.
Bellamy, a 6-year-old who was diagnosed with leukemia last year and has been in treatment ever since recently signed a two-year honorary position on the CU basketball team. The collaboration between the young patient and the team was made through Team IMPACT, a nonprofit that matches children with serious conditions or disabilities with college athletic programs, according to FOX31.
As an honorary member, Bellamy will be able to attend practices and games, socialize with the team, and keep in contact with them when they are playing away games or when Bellamy is undergoing cancer treatment.
“Well, I think Bellamy’s [going to] be our emotional leader this year,” coach JR Payne told FOX31. “You know, we have lots of great players, but I think she’s going to be the one that gets us really hyped.”
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