Richard William Wright, one of the original members of Pink Floyd, passed away Monday at 65. Wright succumbed to cancer at his home in Britain, and no further details were given about his death.

Singer and guitarist David Gilmour, who joined the group in 1968, wrote on his website that Richard Wright was a lovely, gentle, genuine man who will be missed by the many who loved him. Gilmour also wrote that Wright got the loudest, longest round of applause at the end of every show in 2006.

The self-taught pianist and keyboardist was a founding member of The Pink Floyd Sound in 1965, together with Roger Waters and Nick Mason. He resigned from Pink Floyd during The Wall sessions, after conflicts with Roger Waters who more or less forced Richard Wright out of the band. Richard Wright re-joined Pink Floyd in 1987 after Roger Waters left the band, and he thus became the only band member besides Nick Mason to perform on every Pink Floyd tour.

The musician married three times and his last marriage began in 1996. He is survived by his wife Millie and three children.

Richard Wright released two solo albums, Wet Dream in 1978 and Broken China in 1996. He was due to release an instrumental album this year. Wright last joined with his bandmates (including Waters) in 2005 for at a one-off reunion set at Live 8.

Richard Wright used, lately, Kurzweil digital synthesizers for reproducing his analogue synthesizer sounds, without ever giving up for good his favorite Hammond C-3 organ. He also enjoyed the Farfisa organ, which was his main instrument onstage early on and was resurrected for the tour promoting David Gilmour's most recent solo album, On an Island in 2006.