Friends theme songwriter Allee Willis dies

Willis had originally written the "Friends" theme song "I'll be there for you" on assignment as a 60-second piece. When the pop duo Rembrandts came on board, they wanted to expand it into a complete song, so contributed a bridge and a lyric for the second verse. This was born the full-length version of the song.

Willis recorded her lone album "Childstar" in the seventies. This helped introduce her as a songwriter to other singers of the era. She was also a visual and social artist, painter, director, collector of odd artifacts and memorabilia, and a stand-up comedian and performance artist. Willis is survived by her brother Kent Willis, sister Marlin Frost and niece Mandy Becker.

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