Ric Marlow
Ric Marlow, born Sanford Phillip Schafler on December 21, 1925, in the Bronx, New York, was an American songwriter and actor. He is best known for co-writing the song “A Taste of Honey” with Bobby Scott; it won a Grammy in 1962 for best instrumental theme and has been recorded by hundreds of artists, including the Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. The song has sold more than 300 million copies worldwide.
Marlow also acted on television, often playing tough bad guys in shows like Bonanza, Hawaii Five-O, and Magnum, P.I. He started his career singing in cafés and clubs, and later joined the Screen Actors Guild in 1959. He came from a musical-influenced family; his aunt worked as a secretary for the president of Chappell & Company, which later became Warner/Chappell Music, helping him meet prominent musicians of the era.
Raised on Long Island after being born in the Bronx, Marlow survived several accidents in his youth and briefly joined the Army but was deemed unfit due to a fractured skull. He was married five times and had seven children.
Ric Marlow died on February 28, 2017, in Palm Springs, California, at age 91.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:42 (CET).