Today, 11 September 2004, I mourn the passage of Fred Ebb, a great lyricist of the American musical theater. He was 71 years old. Born in New York City, he became enthralled with the theater from a young age. He graduated from New York University and did a Masters degree in English Literature at Columbia University. His major interest was in theater and he attended as many performances as opportunity would entertain. In 1962 Fred Ebb was introduced to John Kander by his music publisher, Tommy Valando. KRL