Lonny Heckman was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

.

Heckman wrote several songs, but his best-known song was "When I See Beth Smiling," written for radio jock Howard Stern

Howard Stern

Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...

 about Stern's fiancée, model Beth Ostrosky

Beth Ostrosky

Beth Stern is an American television personality and actress who is the wife of radio personality Howard Stern.-Early life:...

. Heckman also played guitar and keyboards, the instruments mainly featured in the songs he wrote. He had hoped to sing the song at the planned wedding of Stern and Ostrosky. However, he died of a pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...

. in November 2007, at the age of 38. Stern's wedding took place on 3 October 2008.