Brian Easdale
Born: 10 August 1909, Manchester, England. Died: 30 October 1995.
Background: Acclaimed British composer, most famous for his Oscar-winning score for the seminal ballet movie "The Red Shoes" (1948). Studied with Sir Malcolm Sargent at the Royal College of Music in London, and wrote his first opera, "Rapunzel", at the tender age of 17. Served with the Royal Artillery during WWII but spent a lot of that time working as a composer for various government Film Units, composing the music for training films and propaganda works. Began to embrace the world of film in the late 1940s at the insistence of his friend and mentor Benjamin Britten. The majority of his subsequent film work was written for the famous directing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and he completed thirteen scores before his retirement from the industry in 1978. A lifelong alcoholic, Easdale had finally managed to conquer his problems, and was planning a large-scale multi-media work based on de Quincey's "Confessions of an English Opium Eater", when he died in 1995, aged 86.
Highlight Scores: Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, The Elusive Pimpernel, Peeping Tom.
Awards: Academy Award for "The Red Shoes" (1948).
Clint Eastwood
Born: 31 May 1930, San Francisco, California.
Background: Iconic, near-legendary star of action movies and westerns, who has since made the transition to being a respected, Oscar-winning director. Dropped out of college in the late 1940s, where he had been studying for a degree in business, and joined the army, serving briefly in Korea. Encouraged to pursue a career in acting, his earliest roles were bit-parts in B-pictures and monster movies, until a recurring role in the 1959 cowboy TV series "Rawhide" brought him a small degree of fame and acclaim. It was not until 1964 that Eastwood truly become synonymous with the western genre. The success of Sergio Leone’s "A Fistful of Dollars" let to further roles reprising his character The Man with No Name in “For A Few Dollars More” (1965) and “The Good The Bad and The Ugly” (1966), and the iconic Eastwood image was cemented. Further hit movies, notably “Where Eagles Dare” (1968), the musical “Paint Your Wagon” (1969), "Dirty Harry" (1971), “High Plains Drifter” (1973), “Magnum Force” (1973), "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976), “The Enforcer” (1976) and "Every Which Way But Loose" (1978) made Eastwood one of the world’s biggest movie stars in the 1970s. Eager to have more control over his projects, and with support from his long-time collaborator Don Siegel, Eastwood made his directorial debut on “Play Misty For Me” in 1971, and has since gone on to direct some 30 films, winning an Oscar for “Unforgiven” in 1992. A life-long piano player, Eastwood began writing music for his own films as early as 1980, penning songs for “Bronco Billy”, “City Heat” and “Heartbreak Ridge”. He wrote the main theme for “Unforgiven” in 1992, and until recently Eastwood collaborated with his friend Lennie Niehaus on each of his subsequent movies: Eastwood contributed a simple piano-based theme for each project, which Niehaus would then flesh out and write a full score around. Eastwood wrote his first full score for "Mystic River" (2003), and was surprisingly nominated for a Golden Globe for his follow-up work, “Million Dollar Baby” (2004).
Highlight Scores: Unforgiven, The Bridges of Madison County, Absolute Power, True Crime, Space Cowboys, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers.
Awards: Multiple Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards for Best Director for "Unforgiven" (1992). Golden Globe nomination for music for “Million Dollar Baby” (2004). Lifetime Achievement Award from the AFI in 1996.
Links: Comprehensive Web Tribute by Cal Anderson
Roger Edens
Born: 9 November 1905, Hillsboro, Texas. Died: 13 July 1970.
Background: Musician, composer, and producer who enjoyed a successful career at MGM during their musical heyday. Began his career in the as a pianist in the late 1920s, initially in Texas ballrooms and orchestra pits. Moved to New York in 1931 and worked as Ethel Merman’s accompanist and musical arranger before being asked to join the staff at MGM as a musical supervisor and composer in 1935. During his time, Edens worked on many noted films as musical supervisor or director, including “Born to Dance” (1936), “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), “Strike Up the Band” (1940), “Babes on Broadway” (1941), “Ziegfeld Follies” (1944) and “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944). He received Academy Awards for “Easter Parade” in 1948, "On The Town" in 1949 and “Annie Get Your Gun” in 1950, before turning his hand to producing; he subsequently was involved in the production of classic musicals such as “Show Boat” (1951), “An American in Paris” (1951), “Funny Face” (1957), “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” (1964), and “Hello, Dolly” (1969). He is even credited with inventing the classic opening shot of Julie Andrews running across an alpine pasture in “The Sound of Music” (1965). Was still active in the industry when he died of lung cancer at the age of 64.
Highlight Scores: A Day at the Races, Go West, Ziegfield Follies, Easter Parade, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, The Pirate, On the Town, Annie Get Your Gun, Funny Face.
Awards: Academy Awards for "Easter Parade" (1948), "On The Town" (1949) and "Annie Get Your Gun" (1950).
Ross Edwards
Born: 1943, Sydney, Australia.
Background: Award-winning and well respected Australian composer, better known for his classical works than his film scores. Predominantly self-taught, Edwards first emerged into the scene in the late 1970s, presenting a style of music that combined traditional western symphonic techniques with elemental nature-based sounds, including birdsong and insect noises. His best known compositions include the "Symphony Da Pacem Domine", his second symphony "Earth Spirit Songs", "Dawn Mantras", and the violin concerto "Maninyas". Made his film music debut in 1987, had a film made about his life entitled "The Dance of Nature" in 1995, and achieved a modicum of international exposure for his choral score for Bruce Beresford's "Paradise Road" in 1997.
Highlight Scores: Phobia, Eternity, Paradise Road, Texas and the Death Penalty.
Links: Official Site
Stephen Edwards
Born:
Background: One of film music's unsung heroes, Edwards is one of the most prolific B-movie composers working today. Studied at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and first appeared in the film music world in the late 1980s and early 1990s, working in Britain with composers such as Richard Hartley and John Scott. Since then, Edwards has become prolific in the industry’s “lower reaches”, contributing music to over 60 straight-to-video horror movies, action thrillers and martial arts movies, many of which have starred ageing action heroes such as Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Away from film music, Edwards maintains a career as an accomplished pianist and songwriter; he recently completed a large scale classical work to commemorate the victims of 9/11, as well as a commission from Domino's Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan to compose an orchestral mass in honour of a group of new chapels built on the grounds of the Domino's Farms office complex in Michigan.
Highlight Scores: Twin Warriors, The Legend II, Fist of Legend, Bloodsport II, The Patriot, K-911, Bridge of Dragons, Hellraiser: Hellseeker, Run for the Money, Girls Will Be Girls.
Hanns Eisler
Born: 6 July 1898, Leipzig, Germany. Died: 6 September 1962.
Background: German composer and lyricist, probably best known internationally for his song Das Lied von der Moldau" ("La Chanson du Moldau", "The Song of the Moldau"). After serving in World War I, during which he fought for the Hungarian regiment of the Austro-Hungarian army, Eisler studied music with Arnold Schönberg and Anton Webern in Vienna, and caused a splash with the premiere of his atonal debut composition, “Piano Sonata No.1” in 1923. A long-standing practitioner of dodecaphonic twelve-tone composition, Eisler was at the forefront of modern European classical music during the late 1920s and 1930s, until the political upheaval and onset of WWII forced Eisler to move to California in 1942. Having already written music for a number of film and theatre projects in Europe, he was nominated for an Oscar for his Hollywood debut “Hangmen Also Die” in 1943. A second nomination for “None But The Lonely Heart” in 1944 seemed to indicate the beginnings of a long and fruitful career in the movies, but despite support from friends and colleagues, Eisler was driven out of Hollywood at the end of the 1940s by the anti-communist witch hunts who branded him the “Karl Marx of Communism in the musical field”. Eisler returned to his native Germany, where he subsequently composed music for a dozen or so European films (notably director Alain Resnais’s devastating Holocaust-themed documentary short “Nuit et Brouillard”in 1955), several more concert works, and the national anthem of East Germany, before he died, aged 64, in 1962.
Highlight Scores: Hangmen Also Die, None But The Lonely Heart, The Spanish Main, Deadline at Dawn, The Woman on the Beach, Nuit et Brouillard.
Awards: Oscar nominations for “Hangmen Also Die” (1943) and “None But The Lonely Heart” (1944).
Links: Hanns Eisler Resource edited by Andy Lang and James Miller.
Jonathan Elias
Born:
Background: American composer whose work in advertising has eclipsed his achievements in film music. Studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York,, and upon graduation set up Elias Associates, an organisation which quickly established itself as one of the pioneers of advertising music. Elias applied film scoring techniques to the advertising industry, and before long had secured lucrative contracts for himself for brands including Coca-Cola, Nike, Taco Bell and Levis. In addition, Elias also wrote a number of original pieces for theatrical trailers, as well as the original MTV logo music) and in writing. Following a number of fruitful collaborations as an arranger for John Barry, Elias began turning his hand to film scores in 1984, scoring a big hit with one of his first films, the Steven King adaptation “Children of the Corn”. In addition to his applied work, Elias has also written two acclaimed classical pieces - "Requiem for the Americas" and "The Prayer Cycle" – which were inspired by his love of native American culture, and featured performances by artists including Alanis Morissette, James Taylor, Ofra Haza, Linda Rondstadt and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Highlight Scores: Children of the Corn, Tuff Turf, Vamp, Two Moon Junction, Shakedown, Rude Awakening, Leprechaun II.
Duke Ellington
Born: 29 April 1899, Washington D.C. Died: 24 May 1974.
Background: Real name Edward Kennedy Ellington. One of the best loved and well known jazz musicians, bandleaders and composers in history, a pioneer in his field. Studied piano as a child, and under the under the tutelage of Oliver "Doc" Perry and Louis Brown, made his debut as a performer in 1917 in the jazz clubs of Washington. A performance at the Cotton Club in New York brought Ellington a new level of recognition and acclaim and, by 1928, Duke's jazz band became the most sought-after in the United States, possibly the world. Some of Ellington's greatest works include "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing", "Sophisticated Lady", "Mood Indigo", "Solitude", "In a Mellotone" and "Satin Doll" and, during his career, Ellington and his band played with such greats as Miles Davis, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Louis Armstrong. Although his career in film was brief, he nevertheless worked on some acclaimed films, from his critically acclaimed debut "Anatomy of a Murder" in 1959, to his final solo score "Change of Mind" in 1969. By the time he died of lung cancer in 1974, Ellington had written and recorded hundreds of musical compositions, paving the way for today's modern jazz artists, and the success of "black" music in general.
Highlight Scores: Anatomy of a Murder, Paris Blues, The Asphalt Jungle (TV), Assault on a Queen, Ådalen 31, Change of Mind.
Awards: Oscar and Grammy nomination for "Paris Blues" (1961). Grammy Award for "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959).
Links: Official Site
Jack Elliott
Born: 7 May 1914, Gowanda, New York. Died: 18 August 2001.
Background: Versatile and talented composer, arranger and producer who spent 30 years working in almost every conceivable area of film and television music. Studied at the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music, and privately with Arnold Franchetti and Bohuslav Martinu, before beginning his career as Judy Garland’s musical director on Broadway, and later in Los Angeles. His Hollywood career saw him working in just about every capacity possible: he made his debut as a composer in 1945, but enjoyed his most prolific period during the 1970s, during which time he worked on over 30 projects. On television, he wrote episodic underscore for series such as “Charlies Angels”, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, “Banacek”, “Police Story”, “Starsky & Hutch”, “The Love Boat”, “Night Court”, and dozens of others. As an orchestrator and arranger, he was nominated for an Oscar for his work on “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” (1964). As a music director and arranger, he worked with and for an array of stars including George Burns, Andy Williams, Phyllis Diller, Ben Vereen and Goldie Hawn. Towards the end of his composing life, Elliott found a collaborator in the form of Carl Reiner, who hired him to compose for what would ultimately be the three biggest films of his career: “Oh God” (1977), “The Jerk” (1979) and “Sibling Rivalry” (1989). In addition to his work as a composer, Elliott led the American Jazz Philharmonic and was a music director for events such as the Academy Awards, the Grammys, the Emmy Awards, the Kennedy Center Honors and the 1984 Summer Olympics. He was also a director of the Henry Mancini Institute for many years, until his death from a brain tumour in 2001, aged 87.
Highlight Scores: The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Where’s Poppa, Support Your Local Gunfighter, T.R. Baskin, Oh God, Just You and Me Kid, The Jerk, Sibling Rivalry.
Awards: Academy Award nomination for “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” (1964).
Don Ellis
Born: 25 July 1934, Los Angeles, California. Died: 17 December 1978.
Background: Groundbreaking jazz composer of the 1970s, whose career in the ascendancy was cut short by his unexpected death of a heart attack in 1978, aged 44. Began his career as a virtuoso trumpeter, but was best known for leading the Don Ellis Orchestra, an innovative and progressive big band and jazz troupe which he formed in 1966. With the Orchestra, Ellis recorded a number of acclaimed albums, notably "Live in 3 2/3 4 Time", "Live at Monterey", "Shock Treatment" and "Electric Bath", as well as building up a cult following on the jazz performance circuit. He came to the attention of film producers during this period of success, and made his debut in 1969, before going on to record the seminal score of his career, the classic action movie "The French Connection" in 1971. Despite scoring just eleven movies in his short career, all of which expertly combined a symphonic sensibility with his popular jazz work, he is still remembered today.
Highlight Scores: Moon Two Zero, The French Connection, Kansas City Bomber, The Seven-Ups, French Connection II, The Deadly Tower.
Charles Engstrom
Born:
Background: Talented American composer who has spent virtually his entire film career scoring movies by his long-time friend and collaborator, Peruvian director Victor Nunez. Engstrom and Nunez first met while at University in Tallahassee, Florida, and began collaborating initially on short films, before the pair made their respective debuts in 1979 on the low-budget drama “Gal Young ‘Un”. Enjoyed a brief taste of success when their film “Ulee’s Gold” earned its star Peter Fonda an Oscar nomination, and Engstrom’s was score released on CD by Rykodisc; other than this brief flirtation with fame, little is known about his life or career.
Highlight Scores: Gal Young ‘Un, A Flash of Green, Ruby in Paradise, Ulee's Gold, Abilene.
Micky Erbe
Born:
Background: One half of a Toronto-based husband-and wife-composing team, Erbe (and Maribeth Solomon) has been writing music for film and television since 1974. In recent years, Erbe and Solomon have become well-known for their contribution to several large format IMAX movies, notably "Nomads of the Deep", "North of Superior", "Hail Columbia!," "Blue Planet" and "Space Station 3D". They also received a great deal of exposure through their work on Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's last project, "Earth: Final Conflict", for which they were nominated for an Emmy Award in 1997. As well as film and TV work, Erbe has composed, arranged or produced songs and albums for such performers as Isaac Hayes, Anne Murray, Natalie Cole, The Canadian Brass and opera star Maureen Forrester.
Highlight Scores: Ticket to Heaven, Threshold, Milk and Honey, Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story, Dancing in the Dark, Visitors of the Night, Blackjack, Earth: Final Conflict, Space Station 3D.
Links: Mickymar Productions
Leo Erdody
Born: 17 December 1888, Chicago, Illinois. Died: 5 April 1949.
Background: American Composer, songwriter, author, conductor and violinist of Hungarian heritage, who worked in Hollywood during the earliest years of the Golden Age. The son of a pianist, he studied with Max Bruch at the Royal School of Music in Berlin, and was a violin student of Joseph Joachim. First came to Hollywood at the end of the 1930s, and freelanced as a composer and music director, working for the Republic and First National, before settling down as the Head of Music for PRC. Worked on some thirty films during his tenure, often for director Edgar G. Ulmer, notably the critically acclaimed B-movie “Detour” (1946). Received an Oscar nomination for his work on the 1944 musical biography of Dixie Boy Johnson, “Minstrel Man”. Was still working in Hollywood when he died of arteriosclerosis in 1949, aged just 60.
Highlight Scores: Minstrel Man, Bluebeard, Detour, Strange Illusion.
Awards: Oscar nomination for “Minstrel Man” (1944).
Jim Ervin
Born:
Background: Los Angeles-based composer and producer, with a background in the world of commercial advertising. Made his film music debut in 1993 as the regular composer for the action series "Acapulco Heat", and first came to prominence writing music or the popular TV series "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" in 1996, but in terms of solo composing (and with the exception of the recent documentary feature “Uncovered: The War on Iraq” (2004), Ervin’s career has had very few highlights since then. However, as a music producer and consultant with his company, Warrior Records, Ervin has enjoyed considerable success producing songs for motion pictures: he recently worked with composers Marco Beltrami (on "Blade 2”), and Tyler Bates (on "Half Past Dead"), and contributed songs to successful drama series such as “Soul Food” and “The Shield”.
Highlight Scores: Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV), Overkill, Hindsight, Ripper Man, The Man in the Iron Mask, Uncovered: The War on Iraq.
Links: Official Site
Pascal Estève
Born:
Background: Young, extremely talented French composer who has contributed music to some of the most successful French films of recent years. Studied piano as a child, and was plucked out of relative obscurity by director Patrice Leconte as a replacement for Michael Nyman on his 1994 film "Le Parfum d'Yvonne". Has since gone on to build a reputation for himself as Leconte’s composer of choice through acclaimed films such as “La Veuve de Saint-Pierre” (2001), “L'Homme du Train” (2003) and “Confidences Trop Intimes” (2004). Esteve is undoubtedly an exciting young talent whose musical sensibilities lie very much in the old tradition of the French new wave
Highlight Scores: Le Parfum d'Yvonne, L'Irrésolu, La Veuve de Saint-Pierre, L'Homme du Train, Confidences Trop Intimes.
Yuri Faier
Born:
Background: Russian composer and conductor Yuri Faier was best known in the west as the director of the world-famous Bolshoi ballet company. Faier contributed original music for three cinematic films – “The Grand Concert” (1951), “Swan Lake” (1957) and “The Bolshoi Ballet” (also 1957), the latter of which saw him receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture in 1959, along with fellow composer/conductor Gennadi Rozhdestvensky. Little is known about the rest of Faier‘s career.
Highlight Scores: The Grand Concert, Swan Lake, The Bolshoi Ballet.
Awards: Oscar nomination for “The Bolshoi Ballet” (1959).
Links: Bolshoi Ballet English site.
Sammy Fain
Born: 17 June 1902, New York, New York. Died: 6 December 1989.
Background: Real name Samuel Feinberg. One of the most successful songwriters in the history of Hollywood, who contributed some of the most popular tunes to a multitude of films across four decades. A self-taught pianist, as a schoolboy he plagued New York publishers with his songs, and finally got his breaks in the 1920s working for a music publisher and as a singer/pianist for radio and vaudeville. Enjoyed a successful stint writing Broadway musicals, including titles such as "Everybody's Welcome", "Right This Way" and "Hellzapoppin'", and eventually threw his hat into Hollywood in the early 1930s. Over the next 48 years, Fain wrote music for almost 100 films (mainly songs, although he did write a small number of full scores), and among his most popular ballads were titles such as 'Secret Love', 'Love is a Many Splendored Thing', 'Tender is the Night' and 'A World That Never Was'. His most regular collaborator was lyricist Paul Francis Webster. He died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California in 1989, aged 87.
Highlight Scores: Vogues of 1938, Calamity Jane, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, April Love, Marjorie Morningstar, A Certain Smile, Tender is the Night, The Stepmother, Half a House, The Rescuers.
Awards: Academy Awards for "Calamity Jane" (1953) and "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" (1955). Eight further nominations between 1937-1977.
Percy Faith
Born: 7 April 1908, Toronto, Canada. Died: 9 February 1976.
Background: Popular and successful 'light music' composer and conductor of the 1950s and 60s. Studied at the Toronto Conservatory, and was a child piano prodigy, but switched to conducting and arranging after his hands were badly burned in a fire when he was 18. Joined the staff of Columbia Records in the 1930s as an arranger and conductor, and during his time there recorded an amazing 85 albums, and had three hit singles: "Delicado", "Theme from A Summer Place" and "Theme for Young Lovers" - none of which, surprisingly, were written for films. Began his career in the cinema the height of his fame in 1951, and subsequently wrote a dozen or so scores over a fifteen year period, the highlights being his Oscar nomination for "Love Me or Leave Me" in 1955, and the theme music he wrote for the popular TV series "The Virginian" in 1962. Retired from music at the beginning of the 1970s, and died in 1976, aged 67.
Highlight Scores: Love Me or Leave Me, The Virginian (TV), I'd Rather Be Rich, The Love Goddesses, The Oscar.
Awards: Oscar nomination for "Love Me or Leave Me" (1955).
Harold Faltermeyer
Born: 5 October 1952, Munich, Germany.
Background: Along with Giorgio Moroder, Harold Faltermeyer was one of the best known and highest regarded exponents of the European "synth-pop" sound which infiltrated film music in the 1980s. Began his career as a session keyboardist, working with Donna Summer and Kraftwerk among others, before being bitten by the film score bug after collaborating with Moroder on "Midnight Express" and "American Gigolo" in the late 1970s. After a string of high-profile successes in the 1980s, including smash hit films sich as “Top Gun”, and the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, his "sound" gradually fell out of fashion, and Faltermeyer virtually vanished from the soundtrack scene. He is now a sought after producer, having recently worked with the Pet Shop Boys. He also recently collaborated with Austrian composer Rainhard Fendrich on an original stage musical which debuted in Vienna in 2002. His signature theme, "Axel F" from Beverly Hills Cop, was a world-wide smash and one of a small number of instrumental number one singles.
Highlight Scores: Beverly Hills Cop, Fletch, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Running Man, Tango & Cash, Kuffs, Asterix Conquers America.
Awards: Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for "Beverly Hills Cop II" in 1988. Golden Globe nominee for "Top Gun" (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop II. BAFTA nominee for "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984). Grammy winner for "Beverly Hills Cop".
Jim Farmer
Born:
Background: The regular composer for indie director Tom Di Cillo, Farmer's roots actually lie on the New York stage. He began his career undertaking music and creating sound designs for television and radio commercials, for clients including Sony, MTV, The Gap, Citibank, Armani, A&E, Lifetime, Kool Aid, Timex, Reebok and Fruitopia, before becoming heavily involved with the world of the American Repertory Theater in New York. He subsequently wrote directed, and composed music for the plays such as "Frontier Halloween", "Pistols and Stamens", "The Savage Routine of Living", "We Never Learn", and "When Existential Things Happen to Good People", and collaborated with acclaimed playwright Bob McGrath on the Ridge Theater's productions of "Jungle Movie" and "Fragments of Ridge". Made his film music debut with "Johnny Suede" in 1991, and has since collaborated with Di Cillo on four other occasions, but has yet to make an impact in the wider film music world.
Highlight Scores: Johnny Suede, Living In Oblivion, Box of Moonlight, The Real Blonde, The Waiting Game, Double Whammy.
Robert Farnon
Born: 24 July 1917, Toronto, Canada. Died: 23 April 2005.
Background: Immensely popular Canadian-born composer of “light music” who found success in the United Kingdom. Initially a trumpet player, Farnon took over the baton of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Orchestra from Percy Faith, subsequently working alongside the likes of Glenn Miller during WWII. Farnon re-located to England at the end of the 1940s, where he quickly gained notoriety as a member of the group of respected musical bandleaders that included Charles Williams, Eric Coates and Ted Heath. With his own orchestra, Farnon worked with artists such as Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields, Norman Wisdom and Anne Shelton, and released several acclaimed solo recordings, including the popular and influential "Jumping Bean", "Portrait of a Flirt", “Journey Into Melody, "A Star Is Born" and "Westminster Waltz", and the more serious classical works "A La Claire Fontaine", "Lake Of The Woods" and "Rhapsody For Violin and Orchestra". During the 1950s, Farnon also became active in the film music scene, scoring the popular “Captain Horatio Hornblower RN” starring Gregory Peck in 1951, the Burt Lancaster adventure “His Majesty o’Keeffe” in 1954, and the final Bing Crosby/Bob Hope road movie “The Road to Hong Kong” in 1962. As the film assignments dried dup as the 1960s progressed, Farnon returned to his first love – as an arranged and bandleader – and subsequently worked with an illustrious list of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Lena Horne, Jose Carreras, and even soul star J.J. Johnson (whose collaboration led to Farnon winning a Grammy Award in 1995). Farnon’s brothers were also composers: elder sibling Brian worked as a bandleader for Spike Jones, and at a resort in Lake Tahoe; younger sibling Dennis wrote quirky scores for the popular “Mr. Magoo” cartoons. Farnon lived on the English Channel Island of Guernsey until his death of “natural causes” in 2005, aged 88.
Highlight Scores: Captain Horatio Hornblower RN, His Majesty O'Keefe, The Little Hut, The Road to Hong Kong, The Truth About Spring, Shalako, Bear Island.
Links: The Robert Farnon Society, maintained by Albert Killman.
Louis Febre
Born: 1959, Saltillo, Mexico.
Background: Talented Mexican composer and arranger who has spent most of career in Hollywood orchestrating and arranging for John Debney and Mark Snow, and writing music for B-grade action flicks and "movies-of-the-week". Attended a private academy in his hometown, where he was taught the piano, and attended Cal State University in Northridge after moving from Mexico to Los Angeles in 1973. Scored his first projects in the early 1980s, and first came to prominence co-composing the Emmy-winning music with John Debney for the NASA drama “The Cape” in 1997, and enjoyed a rare taste of box office success with the thriller “Swimfan” in 2002. His other projects include a number of TV-movies for the production company PM Entertainment, scores for the recent straight-to-video Scooby-Doo animated features (some of which are very good!), and most recently writing for the hit TV series “Smallville” and “Desperate Housewives”.
Highlight Scores: The Cape (TV), Doctor Who, Tower of Terror, Strike!, Mr Murder, First Daughter, Nowhere to Land, Swimfan, Red Water, Smallville (TV), Unstoppable, Desperate Housewives (TV).
Awards: Emmy for "The Cape" (1997).
Links: Official Site
Allyn Ferguson
Born: 18 October 1924, San Jose, California.
Background: Prolific composer for television, especially in the 1970s, when contributed themes and episodic music for many hit prime-time shows. Studied piano and jazz trumpet as a child, and continued his education with Nadia Boulanger in France and Ernst Toch and Aaron Copland at Tanglewood. Briefly taught music at Stanford University (where he formed the noted Chamber Jazz Sextet and became very active in the experimental Poetry-and-Jazz movement), before moving back to California to embark on his career in film. Actually made his feature debut in 1962, but did not come to prominence until 1970 when he was hired to work on a summer variety TV show hosted by The Everly Brothers. Ferguson was prolific during the rest of the decade, working on a wide variety of from “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Burns and Schrieber Comedy Hour” to episodic series such as “Police Story”, “Barney Miller”, “Bustin’ Loose”, “The Love Boat”, and most notably , "Banacek", "Starsky & Hutch" and "Charlie's Angels". Scored a number of prestigious TV movies in the late-70s and 1980s, which saw him receive six Emmy nominations; has now semi-retired, having scored just two films since the turn of the millennium.
Highlight Scores: Support Your Local Gunfighter, The Count of Monte Cristo, Charlie's Angels (TV), The Man in the Iron Mask, Les Miserables, All Quiet on the Western Front, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Peter and Paul, Ivanhoe, Camille, The Last Days of Patton, April Morning, Pancho Barnes.
Awards: Emmy for "Camille" (1984), nominations for "Les Miserables" (1978), "Ivanhoe" (1982), "The Last Days of Patton" (1986), "April Morning" (1988), and "Pancho Barnes" (1988).
Jay Ferguson
Born: 10 May 1947, Burbank, California.
Background: Popular American songwriter and composer, best known for his exploits in the world of rock and pop than his film music. Played guitar and piano as a child, and in numerous folk and rock bands as a teenager, before achieving a great deal of success as a member of Randy California’s rock band Spirit, who meshed elements of rock, jazz, late British Invasion pop into a popular whole. When Spirit broke up in the early 1970s, he formed another band (Jo Jo Gunne), and then went solo, eventually having a top ten single with the song "Thunder Island" in 1977. Began composing for films in the 1980s, and worked on a number of successful films, including “Best Seller” (1987), “Bad Dreams” (1988), “Johnny Be Good” (1988), “Licence to Drive” (1988) and “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child” (1989), his highest-grossing film to date. In addition to his film work, Ferguson also wrote music for a number of episodes of the horror anthology series “Tales from the Crypt”, and has recently been working on the US version of the cult Japanese cookery game show “Iron Chef”.
Highlight Scores: Best Seller, Johnny Be Good, Bad Dreams, Pulse, Licence to Drive, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Gleaming the Cube, Double Dragon, Tremors 2, Driven.
Charles Fernandez
Born: 1963, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Background: Prolific composer of music for animated features and television animation - one of the few composers who have specifically devoted themselves solely to the medium. Studied composition and bassoon at Loyola University, and had a successful career as a classical bassoon player in the USA and Europe before turning to composition in the late 1980s. Has since enjoyed long collaborations with Disney and Dreamworks, resulting in work on numerous animated movies and cartoon series. In addition to his film work, Fernandez has also written a number of chamber and classical pieces, one his most recent being “The Statue” commissioned by the Bakersfield Musica de Camara and the Bakersfield Civic Dance Company. He also recently conducted and orchestrated the score for “The Butterfly Effect” for composer Michael Suby. As well as his composing work, Fernandez also owns and operated Trone Music, a service which allows aspiring composers with limited financial resources to record music with a 38-piece piece orchestra comprising LA studio session musicians.
Highlight Scores: Casper (TV), Doug's 1st Movie, All Dogs Go To Heaven II, The Pebble and the Penguin, Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein, The New Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina.
Links: Official Charles Fernandez Site
Cy Feuer
Born: 5 January 1911, New York, New York.
Background: Prolific composer of the 1930s and 40s, whose job as head of the Music Department at Republic Pictures saw him overseeing some of the classic action, adventure and western movies of the decade. Studied at Juilliard School of Music, and played trumpet in the Radio City Music Hall orchestra, before headed to California at the end of the decade to join the music department at Republic Pictures in 1938. Was appointed Head of Music shortly thereafter, and held the position until 1947, during which time he was involved in over 120 films, including classics such as "The Adventures of Captain Marvel" and "Drums of Fu Manchu". Effectively retired from composing at the end of the 1940s, but went on to become one of the most successful stage musical producers in Broadway history, having worked on classic shows such as "Where's Charley", "Cabaret", "A Chorus Line", "Guys and Dolls," "Silk Stockings" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". Was Oscar nominated for co-producing the screen version of "Cabaret" in 1972. Now in his 90s, Feuer lives in happy retirement in Los Angeles.
Highlight Scores: Storm Over Bengal, Overland Stage Raiders, She Married a Cop, Daredevils of the Red Circle, Hit Parade of 1941, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, Ice-Capades, Mercy Island, The Crimson Ghost.
Awards: Five Oscar nominations beyween 1938-1941, for "Storm Over Bengal", "She Married a Cop", "Hit Parade of 1941", "Ice-Capades" and "Mercy Island".
Jerry Fielding
Born: 17 June 1922, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Died: 17 February 1980.
Background: Real name Joshua Feldman. Bold, challenging composer of the 1970s who took the work of Rosenman, North and Goldsmith, and ran with it, resulting in a filmography full of harsh, angry scores that exude class and intelligence. Began as the leader of a travelling dance band, and looked to have a fulfilling Hollywood career ahead of him - until his left-wing political leanings landed him in trouble with McCarthy and HUAC, and he found himself blacklisted from 1953-1961. Took refuge and worked in Las Vegas during the 1950s, but returned and to Hollywood after McCarthyism faded. Enjoyed a number of successful collaborations with directors such as Sam Peckinpah, Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood and Michael Winner during the 1970s, resulting in such classic scores as “The Wild Bunch”, “Straw Dogs”, “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, “Escape from Alcatraz”, “The Gauntlet”, “The Big Sleep” and “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”. Was scoring the wrestling comedy "Below the Belt" for director Rob Fowler in Canada, when he died suddenly of a heart attack aged just 58.
Highlight Scores: Advise and Consent, The Wild Bunch, Johnny Got His Gun, Straw Dogs, The Mechanic, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, The Enforcer, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Bad News Bears, Semi-Tough, The Gauntlet, Demon Seed, The Big Sleep, Escape from Alcatraz, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure.
Awards: Three-time Oscar nominee, for "The Wild Bunch" (1969), "Straw Dogs" (1971) and "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976).
Magnus Fiennes
Born:
Background: British composer who has been heavily involved in the world of commercial classical and pop music for over 20 years. Aside from a single short film in the 1990s, he did not make his film music debut until 1997, on the bawdy sex comedy "Preaching to the Perverted". In addition to his film work, Fiennes has written songs for popular pop artists such as All Saints (including their #1 hit "Never Ever"), Morcheeba, Eagle Eye Cherry, Neneh Cherry, Roland Gift and Marianne Faithfull; acted as a producer and arranger for classical performer such as Bond, Lara St. John and Bertine Zeitlitz. He has also written music for numerous advertising campaigns. Magnus is the middle brother of popular actors Ralph Fiennes and Joseph Fiennes. His wife, Maya, is a director, and he occasionally collaborates musically with his sister, Martha.
Highlight Scores: Preaching to the Perverted, Onegin, Pleasureland.
Mike Figgis
Born: 28 February 1948, Carlisle, England.
Background: Respected director of slightly avant-garde feature films, and one of the few directors who scores his own movies. Spent his childhood in Kenya, before returning to England to study music. He formed the acclaimed R&B group Gas Board, and later went on to be a part of an experimental theatre group, The People Show. This in turn led to him being asked to direct pop videos, TV movies and - eventually - features, making his debut in 1988 with "Stormy Monday". Has since gone on to direct and write music for several acclaimed films, notably the Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA winning "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), the sexual drama “One Night Stand” (1997), and the recent Dennis Quaid/Sharon Stone thriller “Cold Creek Manor” (2003).
Highlight Scores: Stormy Monday, Internal Affairs, Liebestraum, Leaving Las Vegas, One Night Stand, The Loss of Sexual Innocence, Miss Julie, Time Code, Cold Creek Manor.
Simon Fisher-Turner
Born: 21 November 1954, London, England.
Background: Highly eclectic British composer noted for his work on the experimental films of the late Derek Jarman. Studied piano, violin and voice as a child, but quickly became more interested in the worlds of rock and pop in the 1960s after exposure to the cult pirate radio channel Radio Luxembourg. Made his film music debut in the early 1980s, an subsequently worked on six films with Jarman prior to the director’s death, including “Caravaggio” (1986), “Edward II” (1991), and the highly surreal and personal “Blue” (1993). Enjoyed a brief taste of box-office success in 2000 following his work on director Mike Hodges’s critically acclaimed drama “Croupier”. As well as his film scoring work, Fisher-Turner has enjoyed a wide and varied career as a child actor (he appeared in the popular British TV series “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” and “Kim & Co” in the 1970s), a session musician, a producer, a journalist and a singer-songwriter, having collaborated with everybody from T-Rex, Jonathan King and The The, to The Portsmouth Sinfonia Orchestra and The Sex Pistols.
Highlight Scores: Caravaggio, Edward II, Elenya, Blue, Nadja, Loaded, Croupier, Claire Dolan, Trance, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.
Dan Foliart
Born:
Background: Successful and acclaimed composer for American television, who has been associated with some of the most popular prime-time shows since making his debut in the late 1970s. Born in Oklahoma, he studied law at Amherst College, before making the switch to study music in his junior year. Moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s to study at USC, and began his career writing episodic underscore for series such as “Angie”. “Happy Day” “Laverne & Shirley”, “Mary” and ”Joanie Loves Chachi”. He is probably best known for his work on the classic blue-collar sitcom “Roseanne”, and the hugely successful Tim Allen vehicle “Home Improvement”, for both of which he received an Emmy nominations. In addition to his composing work, Foliart is active in film music politics, and serves as the current President of the Society for Composers and Lyricists.
Highlight Scores: Roseanne (TV), Beverly Hills 90210 (TV), Not Our Son, Home Improvement (TV), Seventh Heaven (TV).
Awards: Emmy nominations for “Roseanne” (1988), “Carol & Company” (1990), "Home Improvement" (1991).
Louis Forbes
Born: 12 August 1902, St. Louis, Missouri. Died: 4 June 1981.
Background: Missouri-born composer, songwriter and conductor, who studied under Edward Kilenyi and Max Steiner. Began his career in Hollywood in 1936, working under contract for David O. Selznick, before going on to be a director of music for Goldwyn Productions and RKO. During his 20-year career, Forbes worked on a number of popular and successful films, including “Nothing Sacred” (1937), “Gone With the Wind” (1939), “Intermezzo: A Love Story” (1939), “Made for Each Other” (1939), “Rebecca” (1940), “Since You Went Away” (1944), “Story of G.I. Joe” (1945), “Wonder Man” (1945) and the groundbreaking “This is Cinerama” (1952). Among his popular-song compositions include "Passion Tango", "The Bat", "Hong Kong Affair", "What Would I Do Without You?", "What's the Use of Crying?", "Heart of Gold", "From the Earth to the Moon", and "Appointment in Honduras". His brother, Leo F. Forbstein, was a prolific music director in his own right, having overseen over 500 productions for Warner Brothers during the 1930s and 40s. Forbes died in 1981, aged 77.
Highlight Scores: Intermezzo: A Love Story, Made for Each Other, Pot o’Gold, Up in Arms, Brewster’s Millions, Wonder Man and This is Cinerama, The Bat.
Awards: Academy Award nominations for “Intermezzo: A Love Story”, “Up in Arms”, “Brewster’s Millions”, “Wonder Man” and “This is Cinerama”.
Charles Fox
Born: 30 October 1940, New York, New York.
Background: Hugely popular and successful composer of film music, especially in the 1970s, but whose pop-infused style of music has fallen out of favour of late. Graduated from the New York Music and Art High School, and later studied electronic music at Columbia University, which indirectly led to him being asked to score the kitsch "Barbarella" for director Roger Vadim in 1968. Was a prolific composer for television thereafter, contributing themes and music to popular TV series such as "Happy Days", "Little Darling", "Wonder Woman", "The Love Boat" and "The Paper Chase", and cinematic successes such as “The Other Side of the Mountain” (1978), “Foul Play” (1978), “Nine to Five” (1980), “Little Darlings” (1980) and “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” (1985). In addition to his music for film, Fox has written orchestral suites, critically acclaimed ballets, and a number of pop songs for artists such as Barry Manilow, Jim Croce and Roberta Flack (notably the classic "Killing Me Softly").
Highlight Scores: Barbarella, Goodbye Columbus, The Drowning Pool, Foul Play, The Other Side of the Mountain, The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox, Nine to Five, Strange Brew, National Lampoon's European Vacation, Short Circuit 2, Repossessed.
Awards: Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for "The Other Side of the Mountain" (1975) and "Foul Play" (1978). Grammy nomination for "Nine to Five" (1980). Emmy nomination for "The Paper Chase" (1978).
Benjamin Frankel
Born: 31 January 1906, London, England. Died: 12 February 1973.
Background: Superbly talented English composer and arranger, who could have been huge in Hollywood had he got the right breaks. Studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and at conservatories in Germany, and began his career as a jazz violinist, pianist and arranger for the BBC Dance Orchestra. Diversified into writing music for theatre, and was music director for Noel Coward in the West End, before scoring his first film in 1934. Enjoyed a fruitful career throughout the 1940s and 50s, with such classic films as “The Man in the White Suit” (1951), “The Importance of Being Earnest” (1952), “The Night of the Iguana” (1964) and “The Battle of the Bulge” (1965) to his name. In addition to his film and theatre work, Franke undertook various classical commissions, resulting in a number of acclaimed chamber works, a Holocaust-inspired violin concerto entitled “In Memory of the Six Million”, eight symphonies and an opera, "Marching Song", from the play by John Whiting. His score for "Curse of the Werewolf" (1960) is acknowledged as the first 12-tone Schoenberg-inspired film score by a British composer. Reputedly, he was the highest paid British composer of film music, during the 1950s. Frankel died in London in 1973, aged 67, shortly after marrying his third wife.
Highlight Scores: The Importance of Being Earnest, Old Dark House, The Night of the Iguana, Battle of the Bulge, The Man in the White Suit, Curse of the Werewolf
Awards: Golden Globe nomination for "Battle of the Bulge" (1965).
Ian Fraser
Born:
Background: Successful and acclaimed musical director, with numerous Emmy and Grammy awards to his name. Born and educated in England, Fraser began his career working in the London West End, and received great acclaim for his musical direction of “Stop the World, I Want to Get Off” in 1962. Fraser re-located to New York shortly thereafter, where he conducted “Pickwick” on Broadway, before moving to Los Angeles to work on the film version of Leslie Bricusse’s “Doctor Dolittle”. Fraser’s subsequent career in Hollywood included working with John Williams on “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” and Bricusse again on the Oscar-nominated “Scrooge” in 1970, but his first musical love remained the stage. He spent much of the 1970s working with Julie Andrews, as her vocal arranger, musical director, and conducting “Victor/Victoria” on Broadway. He commenced his long-standing association with the American Film Institute, and received his first of his 24 Emmy nominations for their “Salute Richard Rodgers," beginning what was to become the longest run of individual Emmy nominations in the history of the Television Academy – one per year, every year, from 1977-1999, for everything from helming the orchestra at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, working with Andy Williams and Michael Crawford, and even being music director at Bill Clinton’s Presidential Inauguration Gala. Fraser’s film and television scores include titles such as “Torn Between Two Lovers” (1979), “Hopscotch” (1980), “First Monday In October” (1981), and “Zorro The Gay Blade” (1981). Fraser also has the rather ignominious honour of having provided the score for the much maligned, infamous 1978 “Star Wars Holiday Special” spin-off.He is a Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, a past President of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers, and lives with his wife Judith in Los Angeles.
Highlight Scores: Doctor Dolittle, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Scrooge, The Star Wars Holiday Special, Hopscotch, First Monday in October, Babes in Toyland.
Awards: Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for “Scrooge”. 24 Emmy nominations, including 11 wins.
Gavin Friday
Born: 8 October 1959, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
Background: Real name Fionan Hanvey. Acclaimed Irish singer, composer and painter who has achieved critical acclaim in all three fields. Was a founder member of the Irish pub band The Virgin Prunes and, with his long-time collaborator Maurice Seezer, has released a number of solo albums on the Island record labels. In addition to this, Friday and Seezer have orchestred and arranged for music for U2, own a club in Dublin called "The Blue Jaysus". Made his film debut in 1993, working with director Jim Sheridan, and achieved a degree of critical acclaim for his subsequent scores for “The Boxer” (1997) and the Golden Globe-nominated “In America” (2003).
Highlight Scores: In The Name of the Father, Angel Baby, The Boxer, In America.
Awards: Golden Globe nomination for "In America" (2003).
Links: The World According to Gavin Friday.
Gerald Fried
Born: 13 February 1928, New York, New York.
Background: Respected composer of the 1960s, probably best known to the public-at-large as the composer of the classic staccato Kirk vs. Spock fight music from the episode “Amok Time”, which has been parodied countless times in popular culture since then. Educated at Juilliard, and began his career as an oboe player with the Dallas Symphony and the New York Little Orchestras before turning to composing full-time in the 1950s. Was the first-choice composer of Stanley Kubrick during the early part of the director’s career, and wrote five scores for the him, including the groundbreaking, percussive work “Paths of Glory”. Was prolific in television in the 1960s, when he wrote episodic music for series such as “The Man from UNCLE”, “Gilligan's Island”, “Mission: Impossible” and of course “Star Trek”. Returned to prominence during the 1970s, following his 1976 Oscar nomination for the documentary “Birds Do It Bees Do It” and his score for the classic 1977 mini-series “Roots”. Retired from scoring in the early 1980s, he subsequently wrote an acclaimed symphonic piece for “Visions and Values”, one of the main exhibits at the Skirball Jewish Cultural Centre in Los Angeles.
Highlight Scores: Day of the Fight, Fear and Desire, Killer's Kiss, The Killing, Paths of Glory, The Return of Dracula, I Bury the Living, Birds Do It Bees Do It, Roots.
Awards: Oscar nomination for "Birds Do It Bees Do It" (1976). Emmy for "Roots" (1977).
Hugo Friedhofer
Born: 3 May 1901, San Francisco, California. Died: 17 May 1981.
Background: The forgotten composer of the Golden Age, whose enormous contribution to the development of the film music art was overshadowed by his more famous contemporaries. Began his career in Hollywood mainly as an orchestrator at Warner Brother, working regularly for Erich Korngold and Max Steiner, but had actually made his debut as early as 1929. Although much of his music in the 1930s was either uncredited, stock music or ghost-written for his good friend and colleague Alfred Newman, he blossomed in the 1940s, and quickly became one of the most respected film composers of his generation. During a career which lasted for almost 40 years, Friedhofer eventually accrued well over 200 credits, including such classic films as "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "An Affair to Remember". Made his swansong in the early 1970s, writing episodic music for the popular TV series "Barnaby Jones", and retired to his home in Los Angeles. Sadly, he died of complications after an accidental fall in 1981, aged 80.
Highlight Scores: Topper, Lifeboat, The Woman in the Window, Gilda, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Bishop's Wife, Joan of Arc, Broken Arrow, Ace in the Hole, Above and Beyond, Vera Cruz, Between Heaven and Hell, Boy on a Dolphin, An Affair to Remember, The Young Lions, One-Eyed Jacks.
Awards: Academy Award for "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946). Eight other nominations between 1945-1958.
Bill Frisell
Born: 18 March 1951, Baltimore, Maryland.
Background: Acclaimed jazz guitarist who has only recently begun to enter the world of film. Spent his childhood in Colorado, where he played guitar and clarinet, and studied at the University of Northern Colorado before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. Became interested in jazz during a year spent working in Belgium, and subsequently recorded a number of acclaimed jazz albums on the ECM and Nonesuch labels, such as "Intercontinentals", "Good Dog Happy Man", "Ghost Town" and "Nashville". After having contributed guitar performances to scores written by others, he made his "proper" film music debut in 2000, working with director Gus Van Sant on the Sean Connery drama “Finding Forrester”.
Highlight Scores: Tales from the Far Side, American Hollow, Finding Forrester.
Links: Official Site.
Dominic Frontiere
Born: 17 June 1931, New Haven, Conneticut.
Background: American composer of French heritage, Frontiere studied the accordion as a child, performing at Carnegie Hall while still at school. Studied composition and arranging at college, and began his career as the bandleader for Horace Heidt. Moved to California in the 1950s, and studied film music at UCLA while being mentored by the likes of Dimitri Tiomkin and Alfred Newman. After "moonlighting" as part of the west coast jazz movement, he began scoring career proper in the early 1960s, and worked on a number of acclaimed movies and TV series, including “Incubus” (1965), “Hang ‘Em High” (1968), “Chisum” (1970), “Freebie and the Bean” (1974), “The Stunt Man” (1980) and “Modern Problems” (1981), before eventually becoming Head of Music at Paramount in the mid-1970s. Now-semi retired, Frontiere moved to New Mexico in the late 1980s, and now only occasionally writes music for films – his last major score was for the 1994 Bruce Willis erotic thriller “Color of Night”.
Highlight Scores: Incubus, Hang 'Em High, On Any Sunday, Chisum, The Train Robbers, Freebie and the Bean, Brannigan, The Gumball Rally, The Stunt Man, Roar, Modern Problems, Color of Night.
Awards: Golden Globe nominations for "The Stunt Man" (1980) and "Color of Night" (1994).
Lewis Furey
Born: 7 June 1949, Montreal, Canada.
Background: Real name Lewis Greenblatt. Canadian actor, director, writer and composer with an eclectic background in films. Played violin as a child (he toured with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the age of 11), and studied at Conservatoire de Musique du Québec and the Juilliard School in New York, before being lured away from the classics by the lights of pop music. He released three albums in Canada in the early 1970s – the self-titled “Lewis Furey”, “The Humours of Lewis Furey” and “The Sky Is Falling”. Met and married the actress and singer Carole Laure in 1975, and entered the film world through her, composing music for her film “L’Ange et la Femme” (1977). He subsequently wrote music for Allan Moyle’s gritty, controversial drama “The Rubber Gun”, before going on to receive critical acclaim for his scores for the features “Maria Chapdelaine” (1983) and “The Peanut Butter Solution” (1985). As a film-maker in his own right, he wrote and directed the musical “Night Magic” in 1985 in collaboration with songwriter Leonard Cohen, and the offbeat sci-fi “Rats and Rabbits” (2000), both of which also starred his wife. As an actor, he was nominated for the 1980 Genie Award (Canadian Oscar) for Best Actor for his performance in Gille Carle’s 1980 musical “Fantastica”, as well as appearing in the French-language feature and “Au Revoir à Lundi” (1979), which he also scored. Contributed a number of scores to the Canadian TV romance series “Shades of Love” in the 1980s, and virtually retired from film music: thereafter, he concentrated on supporting his wife’s career as a singer, acting as her musical director in live performance, and producing her studio albums. In the midst of all this Furey still found time to write and record Western Shadows, a collection of country western songs which won the Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles-Cros in 1991.
Highlight Scores: L’Ange et la Femme, The Rubber Gun, Au Revoir à Lundi, Fantastica, Maria Chapdelaine, American Dreamer, Night Magic, The Peanut Butter Solution, Rats and Rabbits.
Awards: Genie Awards for “Maria Chapdelaine” and “Night Magic”.


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