Leonard Cohen dead at 82

LOS ANGELES -- Leonard Cohen, the baritone-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter who seamlessly blended spirituality and sexuality in hits like "Hallelujah," ''Suzanne" and "Bird on a Wire," has died at age 82.

Cohen's label confirmed a statement on his Facebook page Thursday that he has passed away, and a memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. No further details on his death were given.


He remained wildly popular into his 80s, when his deep voice plunged to gravelly depths. He toured as recently as earlier this year and released a new album just last month.

His "Hallelujah" became a cult hit when it was covered by musician Jeff Buckley in 1994, singing an arrangement by John Cale, and has become a modern standard since, an unending staple on YouTube videos, reality shows and high school choir concerts..








Born Sept. 21, 1934, in Montreal, he formed a country music group called the Buckskin Boys while still in his teens.






Biblical imagery appears in many of his songs. "Suzanne," for instance, contains the lyric: "And Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the waters." The love song "Hallelujah," which was used in the animated Disney movie "Shrek," makes references to the biblical stories of Samson and King David and Bathsheba.




He continued to write and produce albums and books.

In 2006, Cohen won a lawsuit against his former manager, Kelley Lynch, whom he alleged stole more than $5 million of his retirement money while he was in seclusion at the Zen center. He was left with a nest egg of about $150,000, the lawsuit claimed.

Cohen was awarded $9.5 million but he was unable to collect it. He returned to touring in 2008-09 in part because of the financial losses, telling The New York Times the case was "a long, ongoing problem of a disastrous and relentless indifference to my financial situation. I didn't even know where the bank was."


In later years, he was linked romantically with actress Rebecca De Mornay and with jazz singer Anjani Thomas, who performed on several of his albums.

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WLS-TV contributed to this report.
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