Peter Gabriel
Born: 13 February 1950, Woking, England.
Background: Popular and influential rock and pop artists whose forays into film music have been equally well-regarded. Studied at Charterhouse School in Surrey, and was one of the founder members of the highly successful rock band Genesis, which he created with Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford. Left Genesis in 1975 to embark on a successful solo career as a singer-songwriter, which has resulted in popular albums such as "Car", "Melt", "So", "Us" and "Up", and a number of hit singles, notably 'Solsbury Hill' and 'Sledgehammer'. Made his film music debut on "Birdy" (1986), and received universal acclaim for his work on Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988), which embraced world music styles, and was released under the title 'Passion'. A highly political man, Gabriel is well known as an anti-Apartheid activist, and his efforts to bring different styles of international music to the attention of the West and his support for pressure groups such as Amnesty International are well documented.
Highlight Scores: Birdy, The Last Temptation of Christ, Rabbit-Proof Fence.
Awards: Golden Globe nominations for "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988) and "Rabbit-Proof Fence" (2002).
Links: Official Site
Douglas Gamley
Born: 24 September 1924, Melbourne, Australia. Died: 5 February 1998.
Background: Australian-born composer and arranger who spent most of his working career in the United Kingdom. First came to prominence in the late 1950s, working with the legendary Muir Matheson on the British-MGM production of “Tom Thumb”. Enjoyed a successful career as a composer on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1960s and 70s, and worked on popular films such as the classic Monty Python sketch movie “And Now For Something Completely Different” (1971), and the cult dinosaur adventure “The Land That Time Forgot” (1975). However, it was his work as an arranger that brought him the most acclaim, receiving an Oscar nomination for his work adapting the music of Lerner and Loewe for “The Little Prince” (1974), and scoring the biggest hit of his career when he conducted the orchestral portions of Wendy Carlos’s sci-fi classic “Tron” in 1982. Gamley retired from music in the mid 1980s, and died in 1998, aged 74.
Highlight Scores: The City of the Dead, Spring and Port Wine, And Now For Something Completely Different, Asylum, Tales from the Crypt, The Little Prince, The Beast Must Die, The Land That Time Forgot, The Monster Club.
Awards: Academy Award nomination for "The Little Prince" (1974).
Eva Gancedo
Born:
Background:Exciting young Spanish composer who burst onto the scene in 1998 with her Spanish Oscar-winning score for “La Buena Estrella”. A talented child, she won a Scholarship from the Hungarian Government in 1980 to travel from Spain to study at Esztergom University in Budapest. She subsequently attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, and at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid, before making her professional composing debut in 1996. In addition to writing music for film, Gancedo has written extensively for the Carmen Senra Dance Company, for a number of theatrical productions, and lectures on music across Spain, and has written a number of academic papers on the subject.
Highlight Scores: La Buena Estrella, Lágrimas Negras, La Rosa de Piedra, La Reina Isabel en Persona.
Awards: Goya Award for “La Buena Estrella” (1998).
Links: Official Site [ESPAÑOL].
Russell Garcia
Born: 12 April 1916, Oakland, California.
Background: Bandleader, trumpeter, composer, arranger and songwriter, one of the “forgotten legends” of Hollywood film music. Studied at San Francisco State University and at the San Francisco State Teachers College. Began his career with dance bands during the 1940s, firstly as a trumpeter, then as an arranger for the likes of Harry James, before he got his break writing music for a radio starring Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman. This in turn led to him being employed as a conductor and arranger at Universal pictures, where he subsequently worked under composers such as Henry Mancini, Quincy Jones and Percy Faith. Garcia’s biggest hit came in 1960s, when he was asked to write his classic sci-fi score for H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine", and he effectively retired from film music at the end of the 1960s with just a handful of credits to his name. In addition his film music, Garcia enjoyed fruitful musical collaborations with the likes of Mel Torme and Louis Armstrong, resulting in the release of many successful swing, jazz and blues albums. Interestingly, Garcia was “cheated” out of an Oscar when, in 1973, the Academy awarded the Best Original Dramatic Score to Charlie Chaplin’s “Limelight”, which had been finally released 20 years after its creation in the 1950s. Chaplin, along with arrangers Ray Rasch and Larry Russell, got the awards posthumously – but Larry Russell only got the Award because he was mistakenly credited on the film, when the arrangements were actually carried out by Garcia!
Highlight Scores: Rawhide (TV), The Time Machine, Atlantis: The Lost Continent, Laredo (TV), Three Guns for Texas, Limelight (uncredited).
Snuff Garrett
Born: 5 July 1939, Dallas, Texas.
Background: Real name Thomas Garrett. Country-inspired composer and arranger, who has spent the majority of his film career working on projects starring or produced by either Clint Eastwood or Burt Reynolds. Began his career as a record producer in his home state of Texas, before moving to Liberty Records in Los Angeles, where he subsequently worked with artists such as Jimmy Burnette, Bobby Vee, Tommy Tedesco and Sonny & Cher. Made his film music debut in 1978, producing and arranging Steve Dorff's country music for the action comedy "Every Which Way But Loose". Enjoyed success on a number of films during the early 1980s, notably the Burt Reynolds vehicles "Smokey and the Bandit II" and "Sharky's Machine", and has recently worked on a number of TV shows for Reynolds, including "B.L. Styker", "Evening Shade" and the "Hard Time" TV movies.
Highlight Scores: Every Which Way But Loose, Bronco Billy, Smokey and the Bandit II, Any Which Way You Can, Sharky's Machine, Honkytonk Man, Hard Time (TV).
Brian Gascoigne
Born:
Background: A familiar face on the British music scene, who has worked variously as a composer, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, pianist and synth programmer for over 30 years. Studied at Cambridge University, where he was for a time the music director of the infamous Footlights theatre group, and began his career in London in the early 1970s, working across the board in the worlds of film, television and pop. He scored his first major film, “Under Milk Wood” in 1972, his second “Phase IV” in 1974, was nominated for a BAFTA (along with Junior Homrich) for “The Emerald Forest” in 1985, played synthesisers for Basil Poledouris on “Cherry 2000” in 1987, and has recently become a part of Patrick Doyle’s regular scoring team. In addition to this, Gascoigne has also collaborated with a number of artists in the rock and classical worlds over the years, including Scott Walker, Julian Cope, Loreena McKennit, folk musician Ralph McTell, 70s balladeer Leo Sayer, violinist Lara St. John and classical fusion group Bond.
Highlight Scores: Under Milk Wood, Phase IV, The Emerald Forest.
Awards: BAFTA nomination for “The Emerald Forest” (1987).
Tony Gatlif
Born: 10 September 1948, Algiers, Algeria.
Background: Real name Michel Dahmani Gatlif. Critically acclaimed French actor/writer/director of Algerian heritage, who more often than not scores the films he makes. Studied dramatic arts at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the 1960s, and made his debut as an actor in the early 1970s, before directing his first feature film, “La Tête en Ruines” in 1975. Throughout the 1970s and 80s Gatlif made a number of highly personal independent films about his pet subject – the lives of Romany gypsies – before reaching a wider audience through his groundbreaking documentary “Latcho Drom” in 1993. Since then, Gatlif has directed the international successes “Gadjo Dilo” (1997) and “Vengo” (2000), both of which saw him also receive Cèsar Awards for Best Score from the French Academy. As a film-maker, Gatlif has won awards from Film Festivals ranging from Cannes and Istanbul to Locarno, Paris and Tromsø, and remains one of French cinema’s true renaissance men.
Highlight Scores: Latcho Drom, Mondo, Gadjo Dilo, Vengo, Exils.
Awards: Cèsar Awards for “Gadjo Dilo” and “Vengo”, nomination for “Exils”.
Lisa Gerrard
Born: 12 April 1961, Melbourne, Australia.
Background: World renowned, critically acclaimed Australian singer and composer, best known in the film music world for her frequent collaborations with Hans Zimmer, and for turning the “wailing female vocals” into a familiar musical scoring device. First came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of the alternative/Goth band Dead Can Dance, which she formed with fellow musician Brendan Perry. As a member of DCD, Gerrard released a number of critically acclaimed albums including "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun" (1987), "Into the Labyrinth" (1993) and "Spiritchaser" (1996), before teaming up with fellow composer Pieter Bourke in the early 1990s, to release the albums "The Mirror Pool" (1995) and "Duality" (1998). Having already lent her vocal talents to the work of composer Michael Stearns on “Baraka” (1993), Gerrard began composing for film in her own right at the behest of director Michael Mann, who asked Bourke and herself to write original music for his film “The Insider” (1999). She has since gone on to write a number of successful scores, including “Ali” (2001), “Whale Rider” (2002), “Salem’s Lot” (2004) and “Later Cake” (2004), in addition to regularly collaborating with Hans Zimmer and other members of the Media Ventures organisation, lending her vocal and compositional talents to a number of high-profile projects, notably “Gladiator” (2000), “Mission: Impossible 2” (2000) and “Tears of the Sun” (2003).
Highlight Scores: Baraka, The Insider, Gladiator, Mission: Impossible 2, Ali, Black Hawk Down, Whale Rider, Tears of the Sun, Salem's Lot, Layer Cake.
Awards: Golden Globe for "Gladiator" (2000), nominations for "The Insider" (1999) and "Ali" (2001). Further BAFTA and Grammy nominations for "Gladiator".
Links: Official Site
Joseph Gershenson
Born: 12 January 1904, Kishinev, Moldova. Died: 18 January 1988.
Background: Hugely prolific Hollywood composer and music director, who came to the United States from his native country, Moldova (which was then part of the Russian Empire) with his parents in the early 1910s. Began his show-business career in 1920 as a conductor of orchestras in movie theatres, and was subsequently hired by Universal Pictures for its music department. Became Universal’s Head of Music in 1940, and as a result Gershenson's name appears on virtually every Universal film made between 1940 and 1969 – including such legendary titles as “Winchester '73” (1950), “It Came from Outer Space” (1953), “The Glenn Miller Story” (1953, for which he received his first Oscar nomination), “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), “Tarantula” (1955), “All That Heaven Allows” (1955), “This Island Earth” (1955), “Written on the Wind” (1956), “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957), “Touch of Evil” (1958), “Operation Petticoat” (1959), “Pillow Talk” (1959), “Spartacus” (1960), “Lover Come Back” (1961), “Lonely Are the Brave” (1962), “The List of Adrian Messenger” (1963), “Send Me No Flowers” (1964), “Father Goose” (1964), “Shenandoah” (1965), “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966), “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (1967, for which he received his second Oscar nomination) and “Sweet Charity” (1969), as well as virtually every Abbott & Costello movie. As a composer in his own right, Gershenson scored just half a dozen or so movies, only one of which – the 1955 Kirk Douglas western “Man Without a Star” received any kind of critical or commercial success. Retired to Woodland Hills, California at the end of the 1960s, and died in 1988, six days after his 84th birthday.
Highlight Scores: The Glenn Miller Story, Man Without a Star, Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Awards: Oscar nominations for The Glenn Miller Story and Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Michael Giacchino
Born: Riverside, New Jersey.
Background: Spectacular young composer whose musical work in the video games industry has revolutionised the genre. Studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and at Juilliard, and worked for both Universal and Disney's New York publicity offices before moving to Los Angeles to take the UCLA film scoring programme. Began working for Dreamworks Interactive in 1996, as both a producer and a composer on games such as the “Lost World” movie spin-off, before eventually being asked by Steven Spielberg to score the ground-breaking Medal of Honor series of video games in 1999. Since then Giacchino’s stock has risen considerably, and during the last five years he has written music for the critically successful and popular series "Alias", won an Emmy for the superb TV mystery “Lost”, received acclaim for the 2004 animated blockbuster “The Incredibles”, and has a number of exciting projects lines up for 2005 and beyond, notably the eagerly awaited action sequel “Mission: Impossible III”. In addition to his film work, Giacchino has also written a number of classical pieces, including "Camden 2000", commissioned by the Haddonfield Symphony. His regular collaborators include orchestrator/conductor Tim Simonec, and orchestrator Chris Tilton.
Highlight Scores: The Lost World, Medal of Honor, My Brother the Pig, Medal of Honor Underground, Redemption of the Ghost, Alias (TV), Medal of Honor Frontline, Secret Weapons Over Normandy, Call of Duty, Lost (TV), Sin, Mercenaries, The Incredibles, Sky High, The Family Stone, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, Mission: Impossible III.
Links: Official Site
Jeff Gibbs
Born: 29 November 1954, Flint, Michigan.
Background: A high school friend of incendiary documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, Jeff Gibbs became a film composer almost by accident – Moore invited Gibbs to help out on the shoot of his 2002 film “Bowling for Columbine”, and when contractual problems with the original composer left Moore with no original music for the film, he remembered Gibbs's musical background. In just four days Gibbs wrote and recorded thirteen new original cues for the project. This in turn led to Gibbs becoming an integral part of the production crew of “Fahrenheit 9/11” (2004), the highest grossing documentary feature in the history of cinema, and for which he composed the score and acted as the film’s co-producer. In addition to his film work, Gibbs has also recorded a CD of original piano music entitled “Reflections”; as a member of Moore’s team, Gibbs directed, produced, and filmed most of the additional material for the Bowling for Columbine DVD, and served as a researcher/writer on Moore’s best-selling non-fiction books ‘Stupid White Men’ and ‘Dude, Where's My Country?’.
Highlight Scores: Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11.
Links: Official Site.
Michael Gibbs
Born: 25 September 1937, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Background: Born in colonial Africa, Gibbs studied piano and trombone in his youth, moving to the USA in 1959 to study at the Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory. It was during this time he discovered a love of jazz, and he moved to England in the 1960s, where he found work as an arranger for Johnny Dankworth and Graham Collier. Gradually became a prominent member of the British jazz scene, releasing a number of acclaimed and influential albums. Became involved in producing during the 1970s and 80s, and worked with Michael Mantler, Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, Whitney Houston, Peter Gabriel, and Sister Sledge among many others. Gibbs has been dabbling in film music since the 1970s, and for a time has been a regular musical collaborator with the anarchic British comedy trio The Goodies, but first came to international prominence as a composer in the early 1990s, working for director Ken Russell on films such as “Whore” (1991). Since then, Gibbs has combined his work as a jazz musician and producer with occasional film assignments, the most high-profile being the classic John Woo thriller “Hard Boiled” (1992), the Robin Williams comedy/drama “Being Human” (1993), and the working class British comedy “Purely Belter” (2000).
Highlight Scores: Whore, Hard Boiled, Being Human, All Men Are Mortal, Purely Belter.
Richard Gibbs
Born: Bay Village, Ohio.
Background: Talented American composer and musician who has enjoyed a successful career in both the pop and film worlds. Born in Ohio, but raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, Gibbs studied music composition at Berklee College in Boston, before moving to California to work as a session keyboardist. During the 1970s and early 1980s Gibbs recorded and toured with a number of popular artists, from Chaka Khan, Tom Jones and Robert Palmer to Tom Waits, War, and Boy Meets Girl, but was probably best known as a member of Danny Elfman's alternative rock band Oingo Boingo. Was lured into the world of film towards the end of the 1980s, and made his debut on the bittersweet 1988 drama “Sweethearts Dance”. Having been employed as the music director of the Tracey Ullman show, Gibbs enjoyed a stint as the lead composer for the first season of “The Simpsons” in 1989, but a change in policy by the show‘s producers led to him concentrating on feature film scoring rather than episodic TV. Since then, Gibbs has gone on to score a number of box-office successes, including “Son in Law” (1993), “Doctor Dolittle” (1998), “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999), “Big Momma’s House” (2000), “Like Mike” (2002), and the recent “Barbershop 2: Back in Business”, but remains strangely under-valued by the film music public, and is shockingly under-represented on CD.
Highlight Scores: Bingo, Ladybugs, Son in Law, First Kid, That Darn Cat, Doctor Dolittle, 10 Things I Hate About You, 28 Days, Big Momma’s House, Queen of the Damned, Like Mike, I Spy, Love Don't Cost a Thing, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Johnson Family Vacation, Fat Albert, The Honeymooners.
Links: Official Site.
Herschel Burke Gilbert
Born: 20 April 1918, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Died: 8 June 2003.
Background: Popular composer and musical director of the 1940s, 50s and 60s, one of the few who made the successful transition from film studio music department to episodic television. Studied composition and viola performance at the Julliard School of Music in New York, and began his career as an arranger with the Harry James Dance Band in the 1940s. Re-located to Hollywood in the late 1940s, and worked as an orchestrator for Dimitri Tiomkin prior to making his solo compositional debut in 1947. He received three Oscar nominations for his scores for "The Thief"(1952), "The Moon Is Blue"(1953) and “Carmen Jones” (1954), but by this time Gilbert had already begun to transfer his attentions to writing for the new medium of television. Over the next 20 years, Gilbert would go on to write music for such popular shows as “Gunsmoke”, "The Rifleman", "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater", "Johnny Ringo", "Law Of The Plainsman", "Wanted: Dead Or Alive", "The Westerner", "The Detectives", "Trackdown", "Yancy Derringer", "Burke's Law", "The Big Valley", and "Gilligan's Island", as well as feature films such as “The Ring” (1952), “It Came from Beneath the Sea” (1955), “While the City Sleeps” (1956) and “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” (1956). Gilbert retired from film music in 1976 following the completion of his final score, “The Witch Who Came from the Sea”. He died after a series of strokes in 2003, aged 85.
Highlight Scores: The Thief, The Ring, The Moon is Blue, Carmen Jones, It Came from Beneath the Sea, While the City Sleeps, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.
Awards: Oscar nominations for “The Thief” (1952), “The Moon is Blue” (1953) and “Carmen Jones” (1954).
Evelyn Glennie
Born: 19 July 1965, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Background: Internationally famous and world renowned percussionist, who rose to fame as a solo performer in the 1980s despite being profoundly deaf. Studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and achieved a high level of fame in the UK through her subsequent frequent television appearances, which highlighted both her disability and her immense talent. Has gone on to perform with virtually every major orchestra in the world, and released seventeen albums of classical music. Began writing for film in the early 1990s (in collaboration with her husband, composer Greg Malcangi), and currently enjoys a long-standing association with the producers of the popular drama series "Trial and Retribution", which is now in its seventh season.
Highlight Scores: Trial and Retribution, Bramwell, Trial and Retribution II, The Trench, Trial and Retribution III, Trial and Retribution IV, Blind Ambition, Trial and Retribution V, Trial and Retribution VI.
Links: Official Evelyn Glennie Web Site
Lud Gluskin
Born: 16 December 1898, New York, New York. Died: 13 October 1969.
Background: Full name Ludwig Elias Gluskin. German/American composer and music director from the early years of the Hollywood Golden Age. Began his career as a drummer, initially in the clubs of New York, later in Europe (notably the ‘Barberina’ in Berlin), and established his own jazz band which featured some of the best American and European talents, notably Gene Prendergast and George Haentzschel. First came to Hollywood in the late 1930s, and was Oscar nominated for the first score he worked on, the 1939 swashbuckler “The Man in the Iron Mask”. Spent much of the 1940s at RKO pictures, where he oversaw the music direction on such films as “Lil Abner”, “Abroad with Two Yanks” and “The Return of Monte Cristo”. As the age of television dawned at the beginning of the 1950s, Gluskin was one of the first to make the sideways move: he acted as music director for “The Ed Wynn Show”, “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” and “The Johnny Carson Show”, and conducted the music of Hollywood’s best during the heyday of “Gunsmoke”. Gluskin retired to Palm Springs, California, in the mid 1960s, and died in 1969 aged 70.
Highlight Scores: The Man in the Iron Mask.
Awards: Oscar nomination for “The Man in the Iron Mask” (1939), shared with Lucien Moraweck.
Lucio Godoy
Born: 1958, Argentina.
Background: Talented Argentine composer, currently making it big in the Spanish film music industry. First appeared on the international scene in the mid 1990s, working as a music producer for composer Alberto Iglesias on Pedro Almodovar’s “The Flower of My Secret”. Since then, Godoy has split his time between writing music on his own, and producing and arranging for others; his solo credits include the internationally successful films “El Cielo Abierto” (2001), “Intacto” (2001), “Mondays in the Sun” (2002) and “Non Ti Muovere” (2004); his collaborative credits include working with Alberto Iglesias on “Live Flesh” (1997), “Lovers of the Arctic Circle” (1998) and “All About My Mother” (1999), and with Alejandro Amenabar on “Butterfly Tongues” (1999) and “The Others” (2001)
Highlight Scores: The First Night of My Life, Manolito Gafotas, El Cielo Abierto, Intacto, Mondays in the Sun, Non Ti Muovere.
Ernest Gold
Born: 13 July 1921, Vienna, Austria. Died: 17 March 1999.
Background: A child prodigy in Austria, Gold wrote his first full-length opera at the age of 13, and had moved to America by the time he was 20, intent on composing for film. Joined the staff of Columbia Pictures and made his debut in 1945, becoming one of the many staff composers contributing additional uncredited music to a multitude of pictures. His music began to reach a wider audience in the 1950s through his work on popular TV shows such as "Gunsmoke", "Wagon Train" and "M Squad", and he finally made his international breakthrough at the end of the decade with his score for "On the Beach" (1959) and the multi-award winning, massively successful "Exodus" (1960). Continued composing right up until the mid-1980s, with credits such as “Inherit the Wind” (1960), “Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961) “It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” (1963) and “Cross of Iron” (1977) to his name, after which he retired to Santa Monica, California, where he died in 1999, aged 77, after suffering a stroke. Was formerly married to singer and actress Marni Nixon. His son, Andrew Gold, wrote the theme tune for the popular 1980s TV series "The Golden Girls", and his song 'Final Frontier' was used as the main title music for the comedy series "Mad About You".
Highlight Scores: The Defiant Ones, On the Beach, Exodus, Judgement at Nuremberg, Inherit the Wind, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Ship of Fools, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Cross of Iron, Fun With Dick and Jane.
Awards: Oscar and Grammy Awards for "Exodus" (1960). Golden Globe for "On the Beach" (1959). Further Oscar nominations for "On the Beach", "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1963) and "The Secret of Santa Vittoria" (1969).
Murray Gold
Born: 1969, Portsmouth, England.
Background: British TV composer of great reputation, who has enjoyed a number of domestic successes over the last decade. Appeared on the scene in the mid-1990s, scoring the moderately successful independent feature “Mojo” (1996), but first came to prominence in 1999 following his work on the groundbreaking comedy/drama series “Queer as Folk”, which explored the lives of a group of friends on Manchester’s gay scene, and won the composer a Royal Television Society Award and a BAFTA nomination. Since then, Gold has become one of British TV’s hot properties: he has worked on the popular shows “Vanity Fair”, “The Second Coming”, “The Canterbury Tales” and “Shameless”, and is set to become the regular composer for the new incarnation of “Doctor Who”. In addition to his film work, Gold is also a writer, having written a play entitled “Electricity” for BBC Radio 3 in 2002; he is also currently working on a musical of “Queer as Folk”, which is due to premiere on the London stage in 2006.
Highlight Scores: Mojo, Vanity Fair (TV), Queer as Folk (TV), Beautiful Creatures, Wild About Harry, Clocking Off (TV), Miranda, Shameless (TV).
Awards: BAFTA nominations for “Vanity Fair” (1998) and “Queer as Folk” (1999).
Billy Goldenberg
Born: 10 February 1936, Brooklyn, New York.
Background: Popular composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and songwriter, the son of the famed percussionist, teacher, and author Morris Goldenberg. Studied at Columbia College, and began his career writing incidental music for Broadway plays and shows, before embarking on a career in film music in the late 1960s. Enjoyed an especially prolific output during the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly for television where he specialised in long-running series (notably “Night Gallery”, “Alias Smith and Jones”, “Kojak” and “Columbo”) and movies of the week, and is notable for being one of the first composers hired by the then-fledgling director Steven Spielberg for "Duel" in 1971. As well as his music for film, Goldenberg has also written a number of classical pieces, including a brass quintet, a woodwind quintet, and a string quartet.
Highlight Scores: Alias Smith and Jones (TV), Columbo (TV), Duel, Play It Again Sam, Kojak (TV), The Last of Sheila, Helter Skelter, King, Scavenger Hunt, Reuben Reuben, Kane & Abel, 18 Again, Onassis!, Around the World in 80 Days.
Awards: 13 Emmy nominations between 1972-1982, winning for "King" (1978).
Joel Goldsmith
Born: 19 November 1957, Los Angeles, California.
Background: Born into a family steeped in film music - he is the eldest son of legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith - Joel Goldsmith could not help but follow in his father's footsteps. Following graduation from college, Goldsmith began his scoring career working on solo projects with composer Richard Band, and with his father, specialising in music of an electronic nature. His biggest successes to date have been the 1983 Carl Reiner comedy “The Man With Two Brains”, the 1993 family drama “Man’s Best Friend”, and the 1997 sword-and-sorcery epic “Kull the Conqueror”, in addition to several additional music credits on films scored by his father, notably "Runaway" (1984), "Hoosiers" (1986) and "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996). In recent years Goldsmith has become a familiar name in television scoring, having written extensively for the popular sci-fi series “Stargate SG-1” and the action crime series “Martial Law”.
Highlight Scores: Laserblast, The Man With Two Brains, Moon 44, The Rift, Man's Best Friend, Joshua Tree, Shiloh, Star Trek: First Contact, Stargate SG-1 (TV), Kull the Conqueror, Shadow of Doubt, Diamonds, Witchblade, Helen of Troy.
Awards: Emmy nomination for "Stargate SG-1" (1998).
Jonathan Goldsmith
Born:.
Background: Canadian composer who has spent the majority of his career working in that country, receiving acclaim for his efforts in cinema and television. Made his film music debut in 1982, and made a splash, receiving the first of his three Genie Award (Canadian Oscar) nominations for his work on his first score, "Visiting Hours". Since then, Goldsmith has scored numerous television shows, syndicated series, TV movies and features over the years, without truly breaking out into the international market – among his few “world” credits are the Indian-influenced drama “Such a Long Journey” (1998) and the recent William Hurt comedy “Rare Birds” (2001). Among his other awards are eight Gemini Award nominations (the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy), including two wins, and a citation from the Biarritz International Film Festival. Jonathan Goldsmith is no relation to his film music namesake, Jerry Goldsmith.
Highlight Scores: Visiting Hours, Diplomatic Immunity, Dead Silence (TV), Such a Long Journey, Pit Pony (TV), The Girl Next Door, Out of Sync, Rare Birds, Global Heresay.
William Goldstein
Born:
Background: Prodigiously talented American composer, who enjoyed a successful period of critical acclaim in the 1980s, but who has slipped beneath the film music radar in recent years. Was evaluated by Columbia University at the age of nine (due to his improvisational ability and because he had already developed a "classical" piano technique despite no formal training), and was subsequently hired by Motown Records as a composer, arranger and producer. Goldstein had already been composing for film and television irregularly since the early 1970s (and had has one hit movie, “Force Five”), when he was asked to score the popular primetime TV series "Fame", a spin-off from the Oscar-winning 1981 movie. His work on the series saw him receive an Emmy nomination, and over the next decade he went on to enjoy a fruitful career writing for television and interactive media (where his love of electronica has proved useful) on projects such as the white-water rafting comedy “Up the Creek” (1984), the Shelley Long comedy vehicle “Hello Again” (1987), the Wes Craven horror “Shocker” (1989), and the epic mini-series “Zoya” (1995), on which he worked alongside Basil Poledouris. In recent years, Goldstein has become more active in the classical and theatrical worlds, being an expert in ‘improvisational’ techniques, and having written the musical “Haven” for the New York stage. In addition to his work as a composer, Goldstein is heavily involved in music education - he is a founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, a director of the California State Summer School for the Arts, and is a member of the music branch executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Highlight Scores: Force: Five, Fame (TV), Forced Vengeance, Up the Creek, Hello Again, Shocker, Danielle Steele's Zoya, Miracle at Midnight, The Miracle Worker.
Links: Official Site
Awards: Emmy nominations for "Omnibus" (1980) and "Fame" (1982).
Howard Goodall
Born: 26 May 1958, Bromley, England.
Background: Popular English composer who has carved out a niche for himself writing music for the most successful British comedy shows of recent years. An outstanding choirboy as a child, he attended New College Oxford, the prestigious Stowe and Lord Williams Schools, and eventually graduated from Oxford University (where his classmates included writer Richard Curtis and actor Rowan Atkinson) with a first in music. Goodall began his career accompanying Rowan Atkinson on stage in revue, and appearing in and writing music for the satirical comedy series "Not the Nine O'Clock News" in the late 1970s, which featured Atkinson, Curtis, Stephen Fry, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones among others. Continuing his relationship with Curtis and Atkinson, Goodall made his ‘proper’ debut in 1983 writing for the first series of the classic comedy “Blackadder”. Since then, Goodall has written for a number of highly successful comedy series, notably “Red Dwarf” (1988), “Mr. Bean” (1989) and “The Vicar of Dibley” (1994). In recent years, Goodall has begun to broaden his horizons to take in more cinematic and dramatic work, scoring the international hit comedy “Bean” (1997), the Golden Globe nominated WWII drama “The Gathering Storm” (2002), and co-composing the main theme for “Johnny English” (2003). He is also slated to score the “Red Dwarf” movie in 2006. In addition to his film and TV work, Goodall has written a number of musicals for theatre (including the Ivor Novello-winning "The Hired Man", and several Royal Shakespeare Company Productions directed by John Retallack), numerous classical pieces (particularly sacred and secular choral works and original plainsong), and regularly appears on television: he recently presented his own programme, "Howard Goodall's Big Bangs", which charted the history of modern music, and is a regular panellist on the intellectual quiz show “QI”.
Highlight Scores: Not the Nine O'Clock News (TV), Blackadder (TV), Red Dwarf (TV), Bernard and the Genie, The Vicar of Dibley (TV), Bean, The Gathering Storm, Johnny English.
Links: Official Site
Awards: BAFTA nomination for "The Gathering Storm" (2002).
Miles Goodman
Born: 27 August 1949, Los Angeles, California. Died: 16 August 1996.
Background: Popular American composer of mainly comedy scores in the 1990s, who died at a tragically young age. The cousin of fellow composer Johnny Mandel, Miles “Budd” Goodman studied music and drama at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, undertook further study in London, and originally intended to be an actor/director until Mandel encouraged him to switch his attention to music. First began writing for film and television in the 1970s; enjoyed a successful stint writing for television in the early 80s, on shows such as "King's Crossing", "Me and Mom" and Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories", and had graduated on to major studio films such as “Footloose” (1984), “La Bamba” (1987), “Problem Child” (1990), “What About Bob” (1991) and “Housesitter” (1992) when he tragically died of a heart attack at his home in Brentwood, California, aged just 47. Many people feel that prior to his death Goodman was on the brink of breaking through into the Hollywood major leagues, but sadly his promise was never fulfilled. In addition to his film work, Goodman had been a prolific songwriter and producer, having worked with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Ottmar Liebert, Toots Tielemans and Terence Blanchard. Trivia note: the amphitheatre on campus at Antioch College is named after him, and the College also awards as music scholarship in his name.
Highlight Scores: Footloose, Teen Wolf, Little Shop of Horrors, About Last Night…, La Bamba, Like Father Like Son, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, K-9, Problem Child, What About Bob?, Housesitter, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Indian Summer, Getting Even With Dad.
Awards: Golden Globe nomination for "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986).
Gordon Goodwin
Born:
Background: Highly respected jazz composer and arranger who has come to the attention of film music fans through his recent collaborations with Trevor Rabin and other members of the Media Ventures organisation. Began his career as an arranger for Johnny Mathis, which led to subsequent collaborations with Mel Torme, Quincy Jones, Barry Manilow, Diana Ross, Manhattan Transfer, Paul Anka, and many others. Spent music of the 1980s and early 1990s writing music for Disney and Warner Brothers television animation, before becoming involved with MV in 1997. He is the founder member of the Big Phat Band, a modern jazz troupe from Los Angeles which received a Grammy nomination for its first album, "Swingin' for the Fences". In addition to his film and jazz work, Goodwin has also written classical pieces, including a Fantasia for Soprano Saxophone and Orchestra, and a Suite for Trombone and Orchestra, commissioned by Jack Elliott and the New American Orchestra.
Highlight Scores: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, My Brother's War, additional music on many Media Ventures projects including Con Air, Speed 2, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Deep Blue Sea, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Rock Star, Bad Boys 2.
Links: Official Site
Ron Goodwin
Born: 17 February 1925, Plymouth, England. Died: 8 January 2003.
Background: Highly respected and beloved English composer and conductor, best known for his rousing war movie scores of the 1960s and 70s. Played piano and trumpet as a schoolboy in London, and began his career at the tender age of 14 with his own dance band, ‘The Woodchoppers’, who he styled after Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw. Despite his young age, the success of the band led to him being hired as an arranger for leading British big bands and orchestras including Geraldo, Ted Heath and the BBC Dance Orchestra, while working full-time as a music copyist. Goodwin eventually went on to work as a musical director at EMI under George Martin, where he produced hit songs for Petula Clark and Jimmy Young among others. Scored his first films in 1959 (one of which was the popular “Whirlpool”, and over the course of the next 20 years Goodwin would go on to become one of the most influential and well-respected British composers of his era. Among his most successful films were the 1960 sci-fi horror “Village of the Damned”, the 1962 British chiller “Day of the Triffids”, the classic 1964 war movie “633 Squadron”, the 1965 farce “Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines”, the 1968 adventure movie “Where Eagles Dare”, the 1972 Hitchcock thriller “Frenzy”, and the 1978 war movie sequel “Force 10 from Navarone”. His theme from "The Trap" (1966) subsequently became well known as the theme music for BBC TV's annual coverage of the London Marathon. In addition to all this, Goodwin continued to record dozens of albums of “light music” with his own orchestra, as well as carrying out a gruelling diary of concert performances. During his career, he received three Ivor Novello Awards, the most recent of which was in 1994 for Lifetime Achievement. Following his retirement from active composing in 1992, Goodwin spent the last years of his career travelling the world as a guest conductor, performing with symphony orchestras in Britain, America, New Zealand and Singapore. He died in 2003, aged 77, having suffered from asthma for many years.
Highlight Scores: Village of the Damned, Day of the Triffids, 633 Squadron, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Operation Crossbow, The Trap, Where Eagles Dare, Battle of Britain, Frenzy, One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing, Force 10 from Navarone, Miss Marple (TV).
Links: Official Site.
Awards: Golden Globe nomination for "Frenzy" (1972).
Christopher Gordon
Born: London, England.
Background: British-born composer who has spent the majority of his working career in Australia. Was a member of the Australian Boys Choir as a child, but received no formal music training; despite this, he began working in the film music industry in Australia in the mid 1980s, on small-scale TV movies of his own, and undertaking orchestration and conducting duties for other composers, notably Mario Millo and Roger Mason. First came to prominence internationally in 1998 with the “Moby Dick”, the first of several scores he wrote for the American cable channel Hallmark, and has since gone on to build a small but high quality filmography that includes titles such as “On the Beach” (2000) and the multi Oscar-winning “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003). He also continued to provide support to other composers working in Australia, having conducted the score for “Moulin Rouge” (2001) on behalf of Craig Armstrong, and “Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course” (2002) for Mark McDuff. In addition to his film work, Gordon has also written music for the concert hall, arts festivals and special events that include the Sydney Harbour Millennium Celebrations, the Australian Centenary of Federation celebration and the recent Rugby World Cup.
Highlight Scores: Sanctuary, Moby Dick, On the Beach, The Magic Pudding, When Good Ghouls Go Bad, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Salem's Lot.
Michael Gore
Born: 5 March 1951, New York, New York.
Background: Acclaimed American composer whose star was in the ascendancy during the early 1980s, when he burst out of nowhere and unexpectedly won multiple Oscars for his work on the dance musical "Fame". Contributed music to a number of successful films thereafter, notably “Terms of Endearment” (1983) and “Pretty in Pink” (1986), but for some reason he has not enjoyed the career his early successes suggested; recently, he has been concentrating mainly on writing songs and collaborating with lyricists such as Lynn Ahrens, in addition to writing material for his singer siblings, Christopher Gore and Lesley Gore. Has also written several musicals for Broadway, including "Carrie" (1988).
Highlight Scores: Fame, Terms of Endearment, Pretty in Pink, Defending Your Life, The Butcher's Wife, Mr Wonderful, Superstar, Camp.
Awards: Two Oscars, one Oscar nomination, one Golden Globe, plus additional Golden Globe, BAFTA and Grammy nominations for "Fame" (1980). Oscar nomination for "Terms of Endearment" (1983).
Damon Gough
Born: 2 October 1970, Bolton, England.
Background: British independent singer/songwriter and composer, who uses the nickname “Badly Drawn Boy” when recording as a solo artist. Began his career in the mid-1990s after a chance meeting with record producer Andy Votel at a Manchester nightclub where he was DJ’ing. Formed the Twisted Nerve label, released his first self-titled album “Badly Drawn Boy” in 1996. As a member of the group of experimentalist pop fringe artists like Scott 4 and the Beta Band, Gough never achieved much “pop chart” success (his 1999 single "Once Around the Block" just about made the Top 40), but he was a darling with the critics, winning the Mercury Prize for Best Album in 2000 for his second release, “The Hour of Bewilderbeast”. Made his one and only film music bow to date in 2002, writing original songs and score for director Paul Weitz’s adaptation of the Nick Hornby best-seller “About a Boy”, starring Hugh Grant. Since then, Gough has continued to be active in the pop scene, releasing the albums “Have You Fed the Fish?” later in 2002, and “One Plus One is One” in 2004. Trivia notes: Gough chose his stage name from a character that appeared on a TV cartoon show called “Jamie and his Magic Torch”, which was on TV at a party he went to in 1995. He is also almost never seen without his trademark hat.
Highlight Scores: About A Boy.
Links: Official Site.
Gerald Gouriet
Born:
Background: British composer and conductor who burst into the film music world in 1988, receiving a Golden Globe nomination for his work on director John Schlesinger’s musical drama “Madam Sousatzka” starring Shirley MacLaine. For the next four or five years, Gouriet enjoyed a successful, if modest career writing mainly for TV movies, with occasional features such as “The Innocent” and “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” thrown in for good measure. Then, in 1994, he simply stopped writing for films, and has not worked in the cinema again. Beyond these meagre facts, he remains a mystery…
Highlight Scores: Madam Sousatzka, Grand Tour: Disaster in Time, The Innocent, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me, The Philadelphia Experiment II, To Dance With the White Dog, The Substitute, Men of War.
Awards: Golden Globe nomination for "Madam Sousatzka" (1988).
Patrick Gowers
Born: 5 May 1936, Islington, England.
Background: Well-regarded British composer of classical and modern music. Studied at Cambridge University, where he was a member of the Footlights Theatrical Troup, and made his debut as a composer with an original musical, "Share My Lettuce", first performed on stage in 1957. Made his film music debut a decade later, writing the opening organ prelude for the screen version of Peter Weiss’s play “Marat/Sade”. Over the next 30 years, Gowers would go on to write music for a number of successful productions, notably Tony Richardson’s "Hamlet"(1969), "The Virgin and the Gypsy"(1970), "Stevie"(1978), the mini series "Smiley's People" and "The Woman in White"(1982), and most famously the critically acclaimed and immensely popular "Sherlock Holmes" TV series starring Jeremy Brett and David Burke. In addition to his film work, Gowers has also written several virtuoso works for the organ, music for the Three Choirs Festival, a "Guitar Concerto" performed by John Williams in the Sydney Opera House, a "Toccata for Organ" for performer Simon Preston, and an anthem, “Viri Galilaei”, which was composed for the consecration of the Bishop of Oxford in 1988. He is also a director of the British Performing Right Society.
Highlight Scores: Hamlet, The Virgin and the Gypsy, A Bigger Splash, Stevie, Smiley’s People (TV), The Woman in White (TV), Sherlock Holmes (TV).
Paul Grabowsky
Born: 1958, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Background: Born in Papua New Guinea but raised in Melbourne, Australia, Paul Grabowsky studied piano as a child, and developed an interest in improvisational jazz in his late teens. Moved to live and work in Germany during the 1980s, where he collaborated with Chet Baker, Art Farmer and Benny Bailey, before returning to Australia in 1986 to form the Paul Grabowsky Trio, still one of Australia's longest-living and most influential jazz bands. Began composing for film around the same time, and was subsequently nominated for six Australian Oscars, the first in 1988. First came to prominence in internationally in 1993 following his score for “The Last Days of Chez Nous” for director Gillian Armstrong, and since then has gone on to work extensively for the American Hallmark cable TV channel on the popular “Noah’s Ark” (1999), and director Fred Schepisi on “Last Orders” (2002), “It Runs In The Family” (2003) and the upcoming “Empire Falls” (2005). In addition to his film work, Grabowsky is a founder member of the Australian Art Orchestra, and has written numerous operas and theatre scores, a symphony entitled "Streets or Hurqalya", and a piano concerto. He also produced and presented the Australian television series "Access All Areas" in 1996, and was Commissioning Editor for ABC Television Arts and Entertainment from 1996-98.
Highlight Scores: Georgia, A Woman's Tale, The Last Days of Chez Nous, Exile, Mushrooms, Noah's Ark, Shiner, Last Orders, It Runs in the Family, Jessica (TV), Empire Falls.
Ron Grainer
Born: 11 August 1922, Atherton, Australia. Died: 21 February 1981.
Background: Australian composer and musician, best known for his scores written for British TV in the 1960s and 70s. Played the violin and piano as a child, and studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, before moving to England in 1952. Despite having ambitions to become a classical composer, ended up as a highly regarded pianist and accompanist, working with artists such as Al Martino and Frankie Laine. After a spell as a pianist and arranger for hire for the BBC, Grainer began composing for film and TV in 1960, and during the next 20 years would write music for such classic series as "Maigret", "Steptoe and Son", "That Was The Week That Was", "Man in a Suitcase", "The Prisoner", "Tales of the Unexpected", and by far his most famous work, "Doctor Who". In a career which lasted almost 20 years, Grainer also wrote several acclaimed film scores, the most famous being "The Omega Man" in 1971, before he died of cancer of the spine in 1981, aged 59.
Highlight Scores: The Mouse on the Moon, The Moon-Spinners, Doctor Who (TV), To Sir With Love, The Assassination Bureau, In Search of Gregory, The Omega Man, Man in a Suitcase (TV), The Prisoner (TV), I Don’t Want to be Born, Tales of the Unexpected (TV).
Awards: Grammy nomination for "To Sir With Love" (1967).
Barry Gray
Born: 1925, Blackburn, England. Died: 26 April 1984.
Background: English composer who, uniquely, spent the vast majority part of his career writing music for the cult puppet-based 'Supermarionation' action TV series created by Gerry Anderson. Studied Royal Manchester College of Music, and began his career as a composer and conductor on radio working with artists such as Hoagy Carmichael, Eartha Kitt and Dame Vera Lynn. After establishing his own recording studio and experimenting with electronic music, he made his film music debut in 1957, working on Anderson's prototypical series "Torchy the Battery Boy". Gray went on to contribute music to classic Anderson programmes such as "Supercar", "Fireball XL5", "Stingray", "Captain Scarlet", "Joe 90", the live-action "UFO" and "Space 1999", and the hugely popular "Thunderbirds". Throughout this busy time, Gray also managed to write music for two big-screen Doctor Who films, as well as a dozen low-budget science fiction shows, before retiring to the Channel Island of Guernsey, where he died in 1984.
Highlight Scores: Stingray (TV), Thunderbirds (TV), Dr Who and the Daleks, Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 AD, Captain Scarlet (TV), Doppleganger, UFO (TV), Space 1999 (TV).
Stephen Graziano
Born: 26 December 1954, Fort Worth, Texas.
Background: American composer, mainly for television, with a number of popular series among his credits. Began his career as a composer of music for film trailers, writing over 100 spots in a five year career, prior to his "proper" debut in 1990. Has since gone on to write extensively for episodic television, with occasional forays into theatrical features, his most successful outing to date being the fourth Highlander sequel, “Highlander: Endgame”, in 2000, when he was a late replacement for Nick Glennie-Smith. In addition to his film work, Graziano has also written a number of classical and concert pieces, many of which have been performed by leading orchestras around the United States.
Highlight Scores: Scam, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (TV), Past Tense, Party of Five (TV), Sliders (TV), Ruby Jean and Joe, Dawson's Creek (TV), Nice Guys Sleep Alone, Highlander Endgame.
Links: Official Site
Johnny Green
Born: 10 October 1908, Far Rockaway, New York. Died: 15 May 1989.
Background: Hugely successful composer, songwriter and arranger who excelled during Hollywood's Golden Age in the 1940s and 50s. Studied at Harvard University and, after a brief career as a stockbroker on Wall Street, turned to music full time at the end of the 1920s. After working as an arranger for dance orchestras, he his debut in 1930, and quickly became immersed in film music, writing original music and acting as a music director and arranger for both Paramount and MGM. In a career which spanned almost 40 years, he was musical director on over 50 films (including classics such as "Easter Parade", "An American in Paris", "Singin' in the Rain", "Brigadoon", "High Society", "West Side Story", "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Oliver!"), composed over original 40 scores, was Oscar nominated twelve times (winning on four occasions), and conducted the Academy Award Orchestra seventeen times on Oscar Nights over the years. He also managed to write several well-loved songs, notably "Body and Soul", "Coquette", "I Cover the Waterfront", "I'm Yours" and "Out of Nowhere" before his retirement at the end of the 1960s. Died in 1989, aged 81.
Highlight Scores: Fiesta, Body and Soul, Easter Parade, The Great Caruso, The Inspector General, A Star is Born, Meet Me in Las Vegas, Raintree County, Pepe, They Shoot Horses Don't They?
Awards: Academy Awards for "Easter Parade" (1948), "An American in Paris" (1951), "West Side Story" (1961) and "Oliver!" (1968), plus eight other nominations between 1947-1969. Golden Globe for "The Inspector General" (1949).
Gavin Greenaway
Born: 15 June 1964, London, England.
Background: British composer and conductor, most famous in film music terms for his “background” collaborations with the Media Ventures crew. Studied composition at London's Trinity College of Music, and became involved with various performance art and media groups, along with his long-time collaborator John Powell. Began working in film music in the late 1980s when, supported by the publishing house Air-Edel, he co-founded the commercial music house Independently Thinking Music (ITM), and composed scores for more than a hundred high-profile European ad campaigns. Subsequent collaborations with composers Patrick Doyle, and especially Hans Zimmer, led to a move to Los Angeles, where Greenaway has since been involved with many projects for the Media Ventures organisation as a conductor, orchestrator and composer of "additional music". He also wrote music for Disneyland's Millennium Celebrations.
Highlight Scores: Peter's Friends, The Fragile Heart, Face/Off, The Peacemaker, Antz, Spy Kids, Evolution, many other Media Ventures projects.
Walter Greene
Born: 23 January 1910, Tarkio, Missouri. Died: 23 December 1983.
Background: Generally overlooked composer of the 1940s and 50s, best remembered today for the vast amounts of cartoon music he composed in the 1960s and 70s. Began his career as a big band arranger, working for Orville Knapp, Freddy Martin and Horace Heidt before making his Hollywood debut in 1945, receiving an Oscar nomination for his first film, “Why Girls Leave Home”. Over the next 20 years Greene would work tirelessly for lesser studios such as PRC-Eagle Lion, Howco and Lantz, with limited critical acclaim or public awareness – among his more popular titles are films such as “Superman and the Mole Men” (1951), “Naked Gun” (1956) and “The Brain from Planet Arous” (1957). This all changed, however, in 1964 when he was hired by animation giants DePatie-Freleng to be on their musical staff; thereafter, Greene wrote music for over 150 animated short films starring an array of loony characters, including Daffy Duck, Speedy Gonzales, Woody Woodpecker and Chilly Willy, and especially the Pink Panther, for whom he adapted and arranged Henry Mancini’s popular jazzy theme. Greene retired to Victorville, California at the end of the 1970s, with his place alongside Carl Stalling and Milt Franklin in the annals of cartoon composing assured. He died in 1983, aged 73.
Highlight Scores: Why Girls Leave Home, Superman and the Mole Men, Naked Gun, The Brain from Planet Arous, Teenage Monster, War of the Satellites, Tarzan’s Deadly Silence, dozens of Pink Panther/Woody Woodpecker/Chilly Willy cartoons.
Awards: Oscar nomination for “Why Girls Leave Home” (1945).
Richard Grégoire
Born: 1944, Montreal, Canada.
Background: Acclaimed French Canadian composer, best known internationally for his epic scores for popular Canadian TV mini-series. Studied music at the Université de Montréal and took private composition lessons with composer Serge Garant. Began his career working in French theatre with the ORTF, before returning to Canada in 1970s, where has since worked as an arranger, orchestrator and music director for stage, recording, television and advertising productions. Began to make serious in-roads into the film industry in the early 1980s, and gradually become one of the most respected French-Canadian composers of film music, with a number of successful films and popular TV series to his name. Received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Soirée des Jutra, the annual Quebec film awards ceremony, in 2004. He has also been nominated for five Genie Awards (Canadian Oscars), winning in 1992 for his work on the film "Being at Home with Claude".
Highlight Scores: Exit, La Ligne de Chaleur, Being at Home with Claude, Octobre, L'Enfant d'Eau, Souvenirs Intimes, Nuremberg, Les Filles de Caleb (TV), Marguerite Volant (TV), Napoleon (TV).
Rupert Gregson-Williams
Born:
Background: Talented English composer and conductor, the younger brother of fellow composer Harry Gregson-Williams. Studied music St. John's College in Cambridge, but initially embarked on a career in rock, spending much of the 1970s performing with unsuccessful rock band after unsuccessful rock band. A chance meeting with composer Richard Harvey in the early 1980s put Gregson-Williams back on the film music trail, and subsequent successful collaborations with Elvis Costello – notably on the BAFTA nominated “GBH” (1991) - confirmed the direction of his career change. Since then, Gregson-Williams has become one of England's most in-demand young composers, having been employed consistently since the mid-1990s, with popular films such as “Virtual Sexuality” (1999), “Thunderpants” (2002), “Jack and the Beanstalk” (2002) and “What a Girl Wants” (2003) to his name. Capitalising on his brother’s success and popularity in the Hollywood studio system, Gregson-Williams has also made regular forays to work with Hans Zimmer and other members of the Media Ventures team projects such as "Antz", "The Prince of Egypt", "Hannibal" and "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron". In addition to his film work, Gregson-Williams has cultivated a parallel career as a songwriter and producer in the pop world; he has already undertaken successful collaborations with Elvis Costello, Maire Brennan and guitarist John Williams, and was commissioned to write the Official Anthem for the 2002 Football World Cup by world governing body FIFA.
Highlight Scores: GBH, Urban Ghost Story, Virtual Sexuality, Muppets From Space, Take a Girl Like You, Thunderpants, What a Girl Wants, Hotel Rwanda, Undertaking Betty.
Awards: Emmy nomination for “Jack and the Beanstalk” (2002).
David Grisman
Born: 23 March 1945, Hackensack, New Jersey.
Background: Critically acclaimed and popular composer, songwriter, mandolin player and performer, who invented his own genre – “dawg music” - to describe the unique tapestry of acoustic bluegrass, folk, swing and jazz that makes up his musical sound. Played piano, saxophone and mandolin as a teenager, and studied at New York University, where he immersed himself in the proliferating folk music scene of the early 1960s. Made his first recordings as a solo artist in 1963, and spent much of the next decade combining his solo work with a burgeoning career as a session musician. He formed the Great American Music Band in 1974, which subsequently morphed into the David Grisman Quintet, and the rest is string band history – within a year Grisman was one of the most successful artists in his field, and over the next decade he would go on to collaborate with artists as diverse as Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, Stephane Grappelli, Emmylou Harris, Chris Isaak, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Earl Scruggs and James Taylor. Grisman’s film music career is short but notable – he composed his first score in 1974 for the blaxploitation action/comedy “Big Bad Mama”, and enjoyed his greatest box office success in 1978 on Frank Pierson’s drama “King of the Gypsies”, but other than the 2000 documentary “Grateful Dawg” (which focused on his friendship with Jerry Garcia and features footage from several of their live performances), he has not worked in film since. Instead, Grisman founded his own company, Acoustic Disc in 1990, which he now runs from his studio in northern California. Since then, Grisman has produced over 50 critically acclaimed albums, five of which have been nominated for Grammy Awards.
Highlight Scores: Big Bad Mama, Capone, Eat My Dust!, Sleeping Dogs, King of the Gypsies, Grateful Dawg.
Links: Official Site [WARNING! FLASH HEAVY!].
Ferde Grofé Sr.
Born: 27 March 1892, New York, New York. Died: 3 April 1972.
Background: Full name Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé. Successful American composer, songwriter and composer, best known for his massively popular classical piece “Grand Canyon Suite”, and the song “My Wonderful One”. Born into a musical family - his father was a baritone and actor and his mother was a cellist and music teacher – Grofé studied privately with Pietro Floridia and Ricardo Dallera, and subsequently at St. Vincent's College, Illinois Wesleyan University, and the Western State College of Colorado. Began his career as a violist with the Los Angeles Symphony, before joining the Paul Whiteman orchestra in 1923 as a pianist and arranger. While with Whiteman, Grofé's arranged Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue”, the success of which established Grofé's reputation as a composer and arranger, particularly in the jazz world. Grofé's film music career was short but distinguished: he made his debut in 1930 orchestrating for Whiteman on the musical revue movie “The King of Jazz”, and scored his first feature, “Diamond Jim” in 1935. Was nominated for an Oscar in 1944 for his work alongside Leo Erdody on “Minstrel Man”, but despite spanning over 20 years, Grofé completed just nine films in total, the last of which was released in 1950. In addition to the Grand Canyon Suite, his best known classical works include the “Mississippi Suite” and “Metropolis: A Fantasie in Blue”. During his lifetime Grofé was the recipient of several awards, including one from the Griffith Foundation, and the Golden Eaglet at the Hollywood Bowl. Interestingly, Grofé was one of the composers pictured on a set of 32¢ commemorative US postage stamps issued on 12 September 1997, celebrating "Classical Composers & Conductors", alongside such luminaries as Leopold Stokowski, Samuel Barber and Charles Ives. His son, Ferde Grofé Jr., is a writer/producer/director in Hollywood, whose most famous effort to date is the 1988 horror flick “Judgement Day”. Grofé Sr. died in 1972, aged 80.
Highlight Scores: The King of Jazz, Diamond Jim, Thousands Cheer, Minstrel Man, Rhapsody in Blue, Time Out of Mind, Rocketship X-M, The Return of Jesse James, The Treasure of Zapata.
Awards: Oscar nomination for “Minstrel Man” (1944).
Andrew Gross
Born: 30 September 1969, Los Angeles, California.
Background: Young American composer, best known for his work on a series of knockabout comedies in the mid-1990s, notably the Pauly Shore vehicle “Bio-Dome” and “8 Heads in a Duffel Bag” starring Joe Pesci. Recently, Gross has been the recipient of a great deal of acclaim for his work on the hit TV sitcom “The King of Queens”.
Highlight Scores: Bio-Dome, 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag, Overnight Delivery, Buying the Cow, Try Seventeen, Dysfunktional Family, The King of Queens (TV).
Charles Gross
Born: 13 May 1934, Boston, Massachusetts.
Background: American composer and conductor, best known for the string of big-screen comedy hits he enjoyed in the mid-1980s. Studied at Harvard University, the New England Conservatory and Mills College, where he was a student of Darius Milhaud. Joined the US Army upon graduation, and served as an arranger for the West Point Military Band, before going on to be a writer for industrial films and cartoons. Began working in film in the early 1960s, and enjoyed his first taste of success in 1971 following the release of the Burt Lancaster western “Valdez Is Coming”. Worked consistently on television during the remainder of the 1970s, and received a great deal of critical acclaim for his score for “Heartland” (1980), the first of his many collaborations with director Richard Pearce. Three large box office hits – “Punchline”, “Turner & Hooch” and “Air America” followed between 1988-1990, but for one reason or another Gross’s popularity with directors waned, and he has not scored a film now since 1997.
Highlight Scores: Valdez is Coming, Country, Sweet Dreams, Punchline, Turner & Hooch, Air America, Another You, A Family Thing.
Guy Gross
Born: Sydney, Australia.
Background: One of Australia's most versatile and respected film composers, Gross studied composition at the Conservatorium High School in Sydney, and began writing music for film even before he graduated (his parents, Yoram and Sandra Gross, are well known in Australia for their children's animation films). He first came to international prominence following the success of "The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert" in 1994, and has since gone on to score a number of successful films and TV series both in his homeland and internationally, most notably the hugely popular science fiction series “Farscape”. Recently, Gross has followed in his parents footsteps by writing and directing a 54-episode animated series for children entitled "Old Tom". He is also the co-owner of Trackdown Digital Studios, one of Sydney's finest state-of-the-art recording studios.
Highlight Scores: Blinky Bill, Frauds, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, McLeod's Daughters, Welcome to Woop Woop, Farscape (TV), Cut.
Awards: BAFTA nomination for "The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert" (1994).
Links: Guy Gross Music
Larry Groupé
Born:
Background: Full name Lawrence Nash Groupé. Exceptionally talented American composer, best known to film music fans as the lead orchestrator and conductor for composer John Ottman in the 1990s. Studied at the Conservatory of Music at the University of the Pacific, and at the University of California at San Diego with Toru Takemitsu. He first came to prominence in 1995 through his association with Ottman on scores such as "The Usual Suspects", "The Cable Guy" and "Apt Pupil", and composed his first 'major' solo score in 1999 for the Oscar-nominated Steven Spielberg-produced political drama “The Contender”. Since then Groupé has gone on to be involved with several acclaimed features, TV movies and series, notably the popular crime drama series “Line of Fire” (for which he received an Emmy nomination in 2004), and several other projects in collaboration with writer/directors Rod Lurie and Mike Binder. In addition to his film work, Groupé has written "Water Unfolding", a fantasy for orchestra commissioned by the San Diego Symphony, and wrote all the orchestral arrangements for the legendary rock band Yes on their 2001 “Magnification” tour. He currently resides in Oceanside, California, with his wife CeCe and their children.
Highlight Scores: I Woke Up Early The Day I Died, Deterrence, The Contender, Out of the Black, Mind of the Married Man (TV), The Search for John Gissing, Missions (TV), Line of Fire (TV), Man About Town.
Awards: Emmy nomination for "Line of Fire" (2004).
Links: Official Site
Louis Gruenberg
Born: 3 August 1884, Brest, Belarus. Died: 10 June 1964.
Background: Russian-American composer Louis Gruenberg moved to the United States shortly after his birth, when his father got a job working as a violinist in New York City. Played piano as a child, and studied at the National Conservatory in New York, under Antonin Dvorak. Toured Europe giving piano recitals prior to World War I, and spent a short time as the accompanist for Enrico Caruso, before devoting himself entirely to composition following the debut of his first orchestral work, “The Hill of Dreams” in 1919. Gruenberg was head of the composition department at the Chicago Musical College during the early 1930s, but he moved with his family to California in 1936 to pursue his interest in the merging of music with visual media and film. He was part of the team which arranged the music for the 1939 classic western “Stagecoach”, and received the first of his three Oscar nominations in 1940 for his work on the groundbreaking documentary feature “The Fight for Life”. In total, Gruenberg completed just nine scores in his Hollywood career, although his music was heard in many other films of the period due to the regular insertion of “stock music” he wrote for the Columbia Pictures music library. In addition to his film work, Gruenberg was instrumental in organizing the American Music Guild and the League of Composers, and continued to compose celebrated classical works, notably The Daniel Jazz (1923), The Creation (1924), an expressionistic opera entitled “The Emperor Jones” (based on the play by Eugene O'Neill), a violin concerto for the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, five other symphonies, three other operas, and a lengthy oratorio entitled A Song of Faith, most of which showed a strong jazz and ragtime influence. He was also a close friend of Arnold Schoenberg until the latter's death in 1951, and a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He died in 1964, aged 79.
Highlight Scores: Stagecoach, The Fight for Life, So Ends Our Night, Commandos Strike At Dawn, An American Romance, Counter-Attack, The Gangster, Arch of Triumph, Smart Woman, Quicksand.
Awards: Oscar nominations for “The Fight for Life” (1940), “So Ends Our Night” (1941) and “Commandos Strike At Dawn” (1942).
Jay Gruska
Born: Brooklyn, New York.
Background: American composer and pop arranger, born in New York but brought up in Caracas, Venezuela. First came to prominence as the lead singer/songwriter of the acclaimed pop group Maxis in the 1970s, and quickly found himself in demand in the pop music world as an arranger, subsequently collaborating with artists such as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Robert Palmer, Chicago, The Pointer Sisters and Patti LaBelle, A long-standing love of film inspired Gruska to unexpectedly return to school and attend the UCLA film scoring class; this subsequently led to him working as an orchestrator for James Horner on projects such as “Cocoon” and “Commando”, and eventually being hired as a composer in his own right. Since then Gruska has worked solidly on mainly American television, notably hit TV series such as “thirtysomething”, “Beverly Hills 90210”, “Against the Law”, "Lois and Clark", “Falcone” and “Charmed”.
Highlight Scores: The Principal, Sing, Shadow Dancing, Mo' Money, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (TV), Saved By The Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, Charmed (TV), Falcone.
Awards: Emmy nominations for "Lois & Clark" (1993) and "Falcone" (2000).
Links: Official Site
Vince Guaraldi
Born: 17 July 1928, San Francisco, California. Died: 6 February 1976.
Background: American composer and jazz musician who will forever be associated with the Charlie Brown/Peanuts animated films made for US television in the 1970s. Studied at San Francisco State College, and began performing in jazz clubs while still in college, and formed his own trio in 1955, playing piano himself. Inspired by the 1959 French/Portuguese film “Black Orpheus”, Guaraldi scored a popular hit with his own interpretations of Antonio Carlos Jobim's haunting soundtrack music, which he followed with a modest original composition titled "Cast Your Fate to the Wind", which became a smash hit, and won the 1963 Grammy as Best Instrumental Jazz Composition. By then, the world of film and TV has taken notice, especially producer Bill Melendez, who convinced Guaraldi to score his animated TV movie “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in 1965. The success of the show set in motion a 10-year relationship between Guaraldi and Melendez, resulting in scores for a further 18 projects based on Charles Schultz’s beloved Peanuts characters, including the 1969 theatrical feature “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” (for which he received an Oscar nomination). Sadly, Guaraldi died of a sudden heart attack in 1976, while relaxing in a motel room in Menlo Park, California. He was 47.
Highlight Scores: A Charlie Brown Christmas (TV), It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (TV), A Boy Named Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (TV), It’s The Easter Beagle Charlie Brown (TV), Be My Valentine Charlie Brown (TV).
Awards: Oscar nomination for “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” (1969).
Links: Official Site.
Andrea Guerra
Born: October 1961, Rimini, Italy.
Background: Exceptionally talented Italian composer, one of the younger generation waiting to take the torch from the likes of Morricone, Ortolani and Trovajoli. Studied composition and arrangement under maestro Ettore Ballotta, and came to Rome in 1987, intent on pursuing a career in film. First appeared on the scoring scene in the early 1990s, and worked on domestic projects for directors such as Giuseppe Bertolucci, Roberto Faenza, Roberta Torre, Vincenzo Marra and Mariasole Tognazzi throughout the decade, but did not reach a truly international audience until the release of the critically acclaimed drama “Le Fate Ignoranti” in 2001. Since then, Guerra has grown to become one of the rising stars of Italian film music, scoring successful films such as “Respiro” (2002), “La Leggenda di Al John e Jack” (2003) and “Semana Santa” (2002), and winning a David Award (Italian Oscar) for his work on “La Finestra di Fronte” in 2003. He scored his first international film – Terry George’s searing drama “Hotel Rwanda” - in collaboration with Rupert Gregson-Williams in 2004, and received a Golden Globe nomination for the song ‘Million Voices’ from that project, which he co-wrote with Wyclef Jean and Jerry Duplessis.
Highlight Scores: The Protagonists, Le Fate Ignoranti, Tornando a Casa, Respiro, La Leggenda di Al John e Jack, Semana Santa, La Finestra di Fronte, Prendimi l’Anima, La Guerra e Finita (TV), Hotel Rwanda, Che Ne Sarà Di Noi, The Pursuit of Happyness.
Awards: Golden Globe nomination for “Hotel Rwanda” (2004).
Links: Official Site.
Christopher Gunning
Born: 1944, Cheltenham, England.
Background: Popular and talented British composer, famous for his many elegant scores for television. Studied composition, piano and percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and at the Durham University, and began his career as an arranger for artists such as Mel Torme, Shirley Bassey and The Hollies. Eventually began to specialise in writing music for advertising, and during the 1970s contributed to hundreds of ad campaigns – the most famous being the jingle "The Right One" for Martini - any time, any place, anywhere. Gunning wrote his first scores for television in the early 1970s, initially assisting his former teacher Richard Rodney Bennett, but before long he had established himself as one of the most sought-after and respected composers in the UK through scores such as “Porterhouse Blue” (1987) and the long-running series “Poirot” based on the novels of Agatha Christie, arguably his most famous work. In addition to his film work, Gunning has written numerous concert works, including a concerto for soprano saxophone (premiered by John Harle in 1998) a piano concerto, a symphony, and several collaborations with guitarist John Williams.
Highlight Scores: Nicholas and Alexandra, Porterhouse Blue, Poirot (TV), The Big Battalions, Middlemarch, Under Suspicion, Karaoke, Cold Lazarus, Rebecca, Firelight.
Awards: BAFTA awards for "Porterhouse Blue" (1987), "Poirot" (1989) and "Middlemarch" (1994).
Links: Official Site
Manos Hadjidakis
Born: 23 October 1925, Xanthi, Greece. Died: 15 June 1994.
Background: Along with Mikis Theodorakis, Hadjidakis was one the leading Greek composers of his generation, who gained an international reputation through his few international features. Played piano as a child, and studied under composer Menelaos Palladios at School of Philopsophy of the Athens University. Began his career working with the Greek National Theatre, writing music for contemporary performances of ancient Greek drama, as well modern Greek productions of Medea, Othello and A Streetcar Named Desire. A highly respected figure in Greek artistic society who is credited with introducing the music of Copland, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Bernstein to Greek audiences, his famous lecture on the "rebetico" music inflamed passions from Greek media and made him a household name, admired and reviled in equal measure. Co-founded the Greek Dance Theatre Company in 1947, which subsequently premiered his four ballets, “Marsyas” (1949), “Six Popular Paintings” (1950), “The Accursed Serpent” (1950) and “Solitude” (1957). Made his film music debut in 1946, and over the next decade he built up a solid reputation with acclaimed directors such as Karolos Koun, scoring over 50 domestic films, before reaching a wider audience in 1960 with his Oscar-winning work on "Never on Sunday", starring Greek actress Melina Mercouri. His subsequent international work included popular titles such as “The 300 Spartans” (1962), “America America” (1963), “Topkapi” (1964) and “Sweet Movie” (1974). Lived in New York during the late 1960s and early 70s) where he wrote some of his most important classical works (“Rhythmology”, the song cycle “Magnus Eroticus”, the contemporary “Reflections”, and especially the epic “The Era of Melissanthe”, a musical chronicle of his life.) If this was not enough, Hadjidakis also devoted himself to the promotion of artistic life in Greece, founding the Athens Experimental Orchestra and the Orchestra of Colours, establishing music festivals Crete and Corfu, the cultural magazine Tetarto and the record label Sirius. He was also a published author, having written four books of original poetry. Moved back to Greece at the end of the 1970s, and died at his home in Athens in 1994, aged 68.
Highlight Scores: Stella, Kalpika Lira, Mia Zoi Tin Echome, O Drakos, Never on Sunday, I Akiki Sto Naftiko, The 300 Spartans, America America, Topkapi, Blue, Sweet Movie.
Awards: Oscar for "Never on Sunday" (1960).
Links: Official Site
Richard Hageman
Born: 9 July 1882, Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Died: 6 March 1966.
Background: Dutch-American composer who was an early pioneer of Hollywood film music. Moved back to the USA just after the turn of the century, and began his career as a songwriter and conductor, penning the American classic 'Do Not Go, My Love', and eventually becoming conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. Lured by Hollywood, he made his film music debut in 1938, and immediately made an impact, being nominated for an Oscar for his second score, "If I Were King", and winning the award the following year for his work on the classic John Ford western "Stagecoach". The majority of his credits in the 1940s came through use of the extensive back-catalogue of stock music he wrote for Paramount archive while he worked as a music director and arranger for RKO. He wrote his final scores in the 1950s, and retired to Beverly Hills, where he died in 1966 aged 83.
Highlight Scores: If I Were King, Stagecoach, The Long Voyage Home, The Howards of Virginia, This Woman is Mine, The Shanghai Gesture, Angel and the Badman, 3 Godfathers, Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.
Awards: Academy Award for "Stagecoach" (1939), five other nominations between 1938-1941.
Earle Hagen
Born: 9 July 1919.
Background: Successful and highly respected American TV composer, author, and educator/mentor. Played the trombone as a teenager, and began working professionally after high school, playing with the big bands of Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey. Spent the war years working for the Army Air Corps Radio and Film Unit, and stayed in Hollywood afterwards to work as a musician and arranger in the movies, initially as an arranger for Hugo Friedhofer. Lionel Newman hired Hagen to be one of the resident composers at Twentieth Century Fox in 1950, and he subsequently enjoyed great success on television with his themes for shows such as "Perry Mason", "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Mod Squad", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and the Bill Cosby/Robert Culp series "I Spy." Hagen wrote very few film scores in his career, but did manage to pick up an Oscar nomination for his work on the 1960 Marilyn Monroe comedy “Let’s Make Love”, which he co-wrote with Lionel Newman. More than just a composer/arranger, Earle Hagen has exerted great influence on other film and television composers, acting as one of the industry's leading teachers. His two ground-breaking texts, "Scoring for Films" (1971) and "Advanced Techniques for Film Scoring" (1990), created with the assistance of music editor Ken Johnson, are still widely used at film music educational facilities and hold respected positions in every Hollywood film composer's library.
Highlight Scores: Let’s Make Love, Stand By Your Man.
Awards: Oscar nomination for “Let’s Make Love” (1960). Emmy for “I Spy” (1965), three other Emmy nominations.
Karl Hajos
Born: 28 January 1889, Budapest, Hungary. Died: 1 February 1950.
Background: Hungarian-born composer and songwriter, educated at the University of Budapest and the Academy of Music in Budapest. Wrote classical in Europe before coming to the United States in the early 1920s, where he worked as a conductor and arranger of stage musicals in New York. Joined the staff of the fledgling music department of Paramount Pictures in 1927, and for many years worked on silent films for legendary producers such as Mack Sennett, prior to the advent of sound. The vast majority of his 200+ credits came through the use of stock music he wrote for music libraries; however, he was responsible for credited scores on successful films such as “Werewolf of London” (1935) and “Hitler’s Madman” (1943), as well as uncredited ‘additional music’ on “Morocco” (1930), “Dishonoured” (1931), “American Madness” (1932), “I’m No Angel” (1933), and other films by acclaimed director Josef von Sternberg. Became music director of the Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) in 1944, where over the next decade he oversaw the musical aspect of successful titles such as “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” (1944), “Colorado Serenade” (1946), and the Oscar-nominated pair “Summer Storm” (1944) and “The Man Who Walked Alone” (1945). In addition to his film work, Hajos’s output included popular operettas such as "The Black Pierrot", "The Red Cat", "Natja", "White Lilacs", and "America Sings", the classical pieces "Phantasy for Piano and Orchestra" and "Rhapsody in Waltztime”, and the songs "Falling Leaves", "Beautiful Dawn", and "Melodies Within My Heart". He died in 1950, aged 60.
Highlight Scores: Morocco, Dishonoured, American Madness, I’m No Angel, Werewolf of London, Hitler’s Madman, Charlie Chan in the Secret Service, Summer Storm, The Man Who Walked Alone, Colorado Serenade.
Awards: Oscar nominations for “Summer Storm” (1944) and “The Man Who Walked Alone” (1945).
Dick Halligan
Born: 29 August 1943, Troy, New York.
Background: American composer and trombone player, more famous for his work in the pop and jazz world than for his film music career. Studied at the Manhattan School of Music, and began his career as a session trombonist in New York, working with artists such as Sarah Vaughan, Jack Jones and Vic Damone. First came to prominence in 1967 as a member of jazz/rock group Blood Sweat and Tears, who released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the decade, “Child is Father to the Man”. The group's second, self-titled album, was released in 1969 and won Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, but their follow-up was a critical disaster, and Halligan left shortly threafter. Made his film music debut in 1970 scoring the Barbra Streisand comedy “The Owl and the Pussycat”. Worked consistently throughout the rest of the decade, enjoying box office success with the Chuck Norris action vehicles “A Force of One” and “The Octagon”, and on television with the series “The Bionic Woman” and “California Fever”, but he has not now scored a film since 1984.
Highlight Scores: The Owl and the Pussycat, Go Tell the Spartans, A Force of One, The Octagon.
Al Ham
Born: 1925, Malden, Massachusetts. Died: 2001.
Background: American composer, bandleader, producer and “innovator”, best known in the film music world for his work on the classic 1966 musical “Stop the World, I Want to Get Off”. Studied at Amherst College, and began his career as bass player for Artie Shaw aged just 17. He went on to be a jazz orchestra arranger for artists such as Tony Pastor, Tex Beneke and Henry Mancini, before being hired to work in the A&R Departmet of Columbia Records in the 1950s. Enjoyed a successful period producing records for artists such as Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett and Count Basie, before he made a sideways move and was appointed Recording Director for all Columbia’s original cast albums. Ham subsequently worked on the original cast albums of “West Side Story”, “Most Happy Fella”, “Gypsy”, “House of Flowers”, and “Bells Are Ringing”. Made his film music debut in 1965, working alongside colleague Nelson Riddle on a screen biopic of Jean Harlow, and brought his original cast recording expertise to the 1966 screen version of Anthony Newley’s “Stop the World, I Want to Get Off”, for which he received his one and only Oscar nomination. During his time at Columbia, Ham maintained a second career as a composer and arranger for advertising, where he oversaw musical campaigns for State Farm Insurance, McDonalds, Gillette, Woolco and Kodak. Ham also specialised in composing music for TV news station broadcasts, many of which were heard of TV stations across the USA. Ham won a Grammy Award for the “Best Spoken Word Recording” for his production of James Whitmore’s “Give Em’ Hell Harry”, which was subsequently made into a film in 1975 (and on which Ham received a producer credit). As an arranger, Ham received a great deal of critical acclaim for his arrangement and production of the hit “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” by his group, the Hillside Singers. After inventing the "Music of Your Life" radio format, which encouraged stations to keep performers like Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and others on the air, Ham retired form public life and moved to Tampa, Florida. He died in 2001, aged 76.
Highlight Scores: Harlow, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off.
Awards: Oscar nomination for “Stop the World, I Want to Get Off” (1966).
Jan Hammer
Born: 17 April 1948, Prague, Czech Republic.
Background: Popular Czech-born keyboard artist, who enjoyed massive success and popularity in the 1980s. Studied at the Prague Academy of Music Arts; emigrated to the United States in 1968, and undertook further studies Berklee School of Music in Boston, eventually becoming a US citizen in the early 1970s. First came to prominence as a member of the groundbreaking Mahavishnu Orchestra, and then as an acclaimed arranger and keyboardist in his own right, working with artists such as Sarah Vaughan, Beck, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, and many others. He began writing for film in the early 1980s, and achieved world wide fame when 'Crockett's Theme', which he wrote for the TV series "Miami Vice", became one of a small number of instrumentals to top the US Billboard charts as a single, and won him a slew of awards. Unfortunately, "Miami Vice" proved to be the high water mark of Hammer's career and, although he has continued to work in film and television, as an arranger and conductor, and as a solo artist in his own right, he has slowly disappeared beneath the film music radar.
Highlight Scores: Miami Vice (TV), A Night in Heaven, Secret Admirer, I Come In Peace, Curiosity Kills, Knight Rider 2000, Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus, The Babysitter's Seduction.
Links: Official Site
Herbie Hancock
Born: 12 April 1940, Chicago, Illinois.
Background: Jazz composer and keyboardist, generally regarded as one of the most influential artists of his generation in the genre. A protégé of jazz giants Miles Davis and Bill Davis, Hancock was a piano prodigy, playing the first movement of a Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony at the age of 11. Studied at Grinnell College in Iowa, and began his career in New York playing with Donald Byrd. Released his debut solo album in 1961 on the prestigious Blue Note label. Began collaborating regularly with Davis in 1963, while at the same time while cultivating his solo career; during the next decade, he recorded sophisticated compositions like "Maiden Voyage," "Cantaloupe Island," "Goodbye to Childhood," and the exquisite "Speak Like a Child". Hancock made his film music debut in 1966, writing a progressive jazz score for Michelangelo Antonioni's “Blow Up”, which gradually led to further movie assignments – “Death Wish” in 1974, “A Soldier’s Story” in 1984, the Oscar-winning “’Round Midnight” in 1986, and the commercially successful “Colors” (1988) and “Harlem Nights” (1989). At the same time as his film career was progressing, Hancock wrote, recorded and performed a great deal popular original music. He formed a jazz sextet in 1969 that evolved into one of the most exciting, forward-looking groups of the era; he released an album (“Head Hunters”) in 1973, with a hit single, "Chameleon", which became the biggest-selling jazz LP up to that time; he staged a hugely successful tour in 1976 reuniting members of the Miles Davis Quintet; he had an MTV hit in 1983 with the scratch-driven single "Rockit"; he undertook exciting partnerships with artists such as Foday Musa Suso, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and George Benson; released techno-pop album entitled “Perfect Machine” in 1988; and continues to release jazz and pop albums to great acclaim.
Highlight Scores: Death Wish, A Soldier's Story, Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling, Round Midnight, Action Jackson, Colors, Harlem Nights.
Awards: Academy Award for "Round Midnight" (1986).
Links: Official Site.
Denis M. Hannigan
Born: 6 October 1953, Sacramento, California.
Background: American composer for animation, best-known for his association with the “Recess” series of projects. Spent much of his childhood travelling around south-east Asia, where his father worked for the US government, and attended high school in China. Studied music with a number of Chinese composers, and was the only caucasian member of the popular jazz group Mother Goose, which achieved a great deal of success in that part of the world. Returned to the USA in the early 1970s, and undertook further study at Marin College in San Francisco, and at UCLA, before being hired by composer Mark Mothersbaugh to work with him on the Nickleodeon animated shows "Rugrats" and "Adventures in Wonderland". Following his work on further animated shows such as "Recess", "Beakman's World" and "CatDog", Hannigan has since been carried along on their success by translating his television music into scores for the various spin-off feature films, and remains one of the most in-demand animation composers working in Hollywood.
Highlight Scores: Rugrats (TV), Sliders (TV), Recess (TV), The Girl Next Door, Recess: School's Out.
Links: Official Site.
Awards: Emmy nomination for "Adventures in Wonderland" (1992).
Ronan Hardiman
Born: 15 May 1961, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
Background: Irish classical composer whose most popular works have been for dancer Michael Flatley's spectacular stage shows, "Lord of the Dance" and "Feet of Flames". Despite being surrounded by music as a child, Hardiman's only professional experience was as a member of several unsuccessful rock bands, and until as recently as 1990 he was working in a bank in Dublin. Hardiman decided he needed a career change, and through a combination of raw talent and hard work, quickly became one of Irish TV's most promising composers. Enjoyed several years of solid employment writing for Irish television and advertising, until Michael Flatley came along with a proposal for “Lord of the Dance” – and the rest is history. Since then, Hardiman has become one of Ireland's leading modern classical composers, with several high-profile releases and albums to his name.
Highlight Scores: Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, My Friend Joe, Waterways (TV), Solas
Links: Official Ronan Hardiman Site
John Harle
Born: 20 September 1956, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
Background: Acclaimed English composer and virtuoso saxophonist, best known for his work on British TV and his collaborations with Michael Nyman. Studied at the London College of Music, and at the Paris Conservatoire, before returning to England in the early 1980s when he was "discovered" by Nyman. Worked with Nyman on “The Draughtsman's Contract” (1982), “Drowning by Numbers” (1988), “The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover” (1989), “Prospero's Books” (1991) and “The Piano” (1993) prior to making his debut as a composer for film in his own right in 1994; he has since gone on to write music for several acclaimed cinema and television projects, notably the 1995 feature “Butterfly Kiss”, the popular reality TV show “The Cruise”, Simon Schama's “A History of Britain”, and the long-running TV detective series “Silent Witness” and “Dalziel and Pascoe”. In addition to his film work, he is the founder member of the John Harle Band, wich has since performed alongside such acclaimed classical figures as Luciano Berio, Riccardo Chailly and Harrison Birtwisle, as well as contemporary artists such as Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney.
Highlight Scores: Butterfly Kiss, Silent Witness (TV), Mothertime, The Cruise (TV), The Echo, Summer in the Suburbs, Simon Schama's A History of Britain (TV), Dalziel and Pascoe (TV), Al’s Lads.
Links: Official Site
Leigh Harline
Born: 26 March 1907, Salt Lake City, Utah. Died: 10 December 1969.
Background: Talented and extremely prolific American composer, best known for his work on the classic animated films of Walt Disney, but whose career encompassed projects across every genre. Studied at the University of Utah and was working as a musical director at a Los Angeles radio station prior to joining the fledgling Disney studio in 1933. Contributed music to a number of the early classic 'silly symphony' animated shorts, before eventually coming to prominence in 1937 through his work on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", which he co-wrote with Frank Churchill and Paul J. Smith. His place in cinema history was cemented following the release of "Pinocchio" in 1940; the classic melody ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’ has become one of the most well-known songs from the Disney canon, and is still used today as part of the Disney corporation media logo .In addition to his work with Disney, Harline scored the majority of the popular "Blondie" series of movies of the 1940s which starred Penny Singleton, and went on to score over 200 films in a thirty year career, including such films as "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942), the classic the Hope/Crosby vehicle "Road to Utopia" (1946), “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” (1948), “Monkey Business” (1952) and “The Enemy Below” (1947). Harline embraced the onset of television in the 1950s, and contributed episodic underscore to established series such as "Gunsmoke" in addition to an increasing amount of feature films, and was still writing original music until 1965, just three years before his death at the early age of 58.
Highlight Scores: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, The Pride of the Yankees, You Were Never Lovelier, Johnny Come Lately, The Sky's The Limit, Road to Utopia, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, They Live By Night, The Enemy Below, Monkey Business, Man of the West, Warlock, Pickup on South Street, The Desert Rats, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.
Awards: Two Oscars for "Pinocchio" (1940). Six further nominations between 1937-1962 for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “The Pride of the Yankees”, “You Were Never Lovelier”, “Johnny Come Lately”, “The Sky’s The Limit” and “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm”.
W. Franke Harling
Born: 18 January 1887, London, Englanf. Died: 22 November 1958.
Background: English composer and conductor who was involved in the birth of the Hollywood film music industry. Studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and at the Grace Church Choir School in New York where he was a student of Theodore Ysaye, and spent time as chief organist at the Church of the Resurrecion in Brussels before turning his compositional efforts to the stage. He wrote incidental music for London performances of plays such as "Machinal", "Deep River", "Paris Bound" and "The Outsider", before transplanting to Hollywood in the 1920s to work in the music department of Paramount Pictures. He was the composer of the score for Paramount’s first ever talkie, “Interference”, in 1928, and would go on to work on over 100 projects for the studio in the 1930s, although many of his listed credits are by way of the stock music he wrote for the Paramount archives. Among his more popular films are “Trouble in Paradise” (1932), “A Farewell to Arms” (1932), “Blonde Venus” (1932), “The Scarlet Empress” (1934) and “Penny Serenade” (1941). He won an Oscar in 1939 for his contribution to the classic Howard Hawks western “Stagecoach”, and was nominated again in 1943 for his score for “Three Russian Girls”. His other popular compositions include "West Point Forever" (the official march of the US Military Academy), "The Corps" (aka the West Point hymn), and the songs “Beyond the Blue Horizon", "Sing You Sinners", "Where Was I?", "Always in All Ways", and Give Me a Moment Please". Harling wrote his last credited score in 1944, and died in 1958 at his home in the Sierra Madre mountains of California, aged 71.
Highlight Scores: Interference, Trouble in Paradise, A Farewell to Arms, Blonde Venus, The Scarlet Empress, Stagecoach, Penny Serenade, Three Russian Girls.
Awards: Academy Award for "Stagecoach" (1939).
Joe Harnell
Born: 2 August 1924, Bronx, New York. Died: 14 July 2005.
Background: American composer and conductor, best known for his works for US television in the 1970s. Played the piano as a child, and studied at the University of Miami and at Trinity College, where his tutors included Aaron Copland, Darius Milhaud, Ernst Toch, and Leonard Bernstein. Served in the Air Force during World War II, but never saw action, touring instead with Glenn Miller, and undertaking further studies with Nadia Boulanger and William Walton while stationed in Europe. Spent the majority of the 1950s and 60s as one of the most sought-after arrangers in the business, working with such legendary artists as Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Marlene Dietrich, Pearl Bailey, Judy Garland, Lena Horne and Peggy Lee. Was employed as the music director of the popular "Mike Douglas Show" in 1971, and began composing for film and television shortly thereafter, appearing as the “$100,000 Pianist” on the game-show “Name That Tune”, and contributing original music to successful shows such as "The Incredible Hulk", “The Bionic Woman”, “V” and the soap opera "Santa Barbara". Died of heart failure in 2005, aged 80.
Highlight Scores: The Incredible Hulk (TV), The Bionic Woman (TV) Santa Barbara (TV), "V" (TV), Santa Barbara (TV), Shadow Chasers, Alien Nation.
Awards: Emmy nomination for "The Incredible Hulk" (1982).
Links: Official Site
Don Harper
Born:
Background: American composer and conductor, best known as a regular collaborator with Mark Mancina, John van Tongeren, and other members of staff of the former Media Ventures. Worked “in the backroom” on a number of successful films during the 1990s, notably “Speed”, “Twister” and “The Rock”, before launching his solo career in 1998 with the acclaimed TV movie “Houdini” and the popular TV series “The Magnificent Seven”. Harper continues to juggle his dual career in the limelight and as part of the supporting cast, having recently scored the animated sequels to “The Lion King” and “Atlantis”.
Highlight Scores: Houdini, The Magnificent Seven (TV), Tarzan & Jane, The Twilight Zone (TV), Atlantis: Milo’s Return, The Lion King 1½.
Richard Harvey
Born: 1957, London, England.
Background: Highly regarded and prolific English composer who has enjoyed a long and successful career, particularly on British TV. Prodigiously talented as a child, Harvey played clarinet in the British Youth Symphony Orchestra, and studied at the Royal College of Music in London, where he developed a life-long interest in unusual woodwind instruments. After performing on some of Maurice Jarre's acclaimed scores in the 1970s, Harvey began his own composing career in 1980, initially as an assistant to Stanley Myers, and since then has been involved with over 25 feature films and dozens of TV projects, including the BAFTA nominated “GBH”, “Animal Farm” and “Arabian Knights” for the US Hallmark network, the Thai epic “The Legend of Suriyothai”, and the recent UK mini-series “Colditz”. As well as his film work, Harvey is also a member of the internationally successful folk group Gryphon, has collaborated professionally with artists such as Elvis Costello, Kate Bush, Paul McCartney and classical guitarist John Williams, and recently completed an original classical work “The Plague and the Moonflower” narrated by Ben Kingsley. He has a collection of over 600 musical instruments from all over the world - and can play most of them!
Highlight Scores: Shroud for a Nightingale (TV), Half Moon Street, First Among Equals (TV), Game Set and Match (TV), GBH (TV), Jake's Progress (TV), Animal Farm, Arabian Nights, The Legend of Suriyothai, Luther, Colditz
Awards: BAFTA Award for "GBH" (1991).
Links: Official Site
Jimmie Haskell
Born:
Background: American composer, arranger, conductor and music producer who began his career working for Imperial Records, where he first came to prominence as Ricky Nelson’s lead producer. Since the early 1960s Haskell has been considered one of the premier arrangers in the music, with a list of collaborators that includes many of the best-known names in pop, rock, and soul music, notably Simon & Garfunkel, Chicago, Bobby Gentry, Bobby Darin, Jose Feliciano, Steely Dan, Sheryl Crow, k.d. Lang, Barbra Streisand, Tina Turner, Elvis Presley, The Bee Gees, Blondie, Pat Boone, Glen Campbell, Foreigner, The Four Tops, Neil Diamond, Fats Domino, The Doobie Brothers, Engelbert Humperdinck, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, and dozens of others. Haskell’s film music career actually began in 1952, when he was hired to be the TV music director for “The Adventures of Ozzy & Harriet”, but despite him having worked on movies such as “I'll Take Sweden” (1965), “Zachariah” (1971), “Night of the Lepus” (1972), “Dirty Mary Crazy Larry” (1974), the TV movie “The Jericho Mile” (1979), “The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980)” and “Hard Country (1981)”, his film music never reached the same heights as his pop and rock arranging. He is a three-time Emmy nominee (winning in 1978 for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Special - Dramatic Underscore for “See How She Runs”), and a three-time Grammy winner.
Highlight Scores: Night of the Lepus, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, The Jayne Mansfield Story, Hard Country.
Links: Official Site
Paul Haslinger
Born: 11 December 1962, Linz, Austria
Background: An Austrian composer and keyboardist, classically trained in Salzburg and at the Academy of Music in Vienna, Haslinger graduated with a Masters Degree in Musicology and first came to prominence as a member of the electronic/progressive group Tangerine Dream, which he joined in 1985. After a successful five year stint with the band, during which time he worked on several successful films such as “Near Dark” (1987) and “Miracle Mile” (1988), Haslinger moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a solo composer. He worked as Graeme Revell's synthesiser programmer and arranger from 1997 to 2001, contributing to successful scores such as ”The Negotiator” and “Tomb Raider”, before branching out on his own. He often works with director John Stockwell, ands has collaborated with him on several movies, notably “Crazy/Beautiful” (2001) and “Blue Crush” (2002). In addition to his film work, Haslinger has also released a number of solo albums, notably "Future Primitive", "World Without Rules" and "Score".
Highlight Scores: Near Dark, Three O'Clock High, Miracle Mile, Cheaters, Crazy/Beautiful, Blue Crush, Underworld, The Girl Next Door, Into the Blue.
Links: Official Site
Tony Hatch
Born: 30 June 1939, Pinner, England.
Background: Near-legendary English light music composer and songwriter, whose catchy tunes have graced some of the UK’s most celebrated and long-lasting TV shows. A talented choirboy as a child, Hatch joined the staff of Top Rank records in 1957 and immediately made an impact, writing the hit theme song "Look for a Star" from the film “Circus of Horrors”. His music firmly entered public consciousness in 164 when he penned the international smash hit “Downtown” for singer Petula Clark, and he went on to write some of the most popular songs of the 1960s and 70s, including “Call Me”, “My Love” and “I Know a Place” for Clark, “Where Are You Now” and “The Two of Us” for Hatch’s then-wife Jackie Trent, and “Joanna” for Scott Walker. At the same time, Hatch was also busy writing music for television. Among his most celebrated and famous themes are those for the popular detective series “The Champions” and “The Persuaders”, the English soap operas “Crossroads” and “Emmerdale”, and Australian soap “Neighbours”, which launched the careers of international superstars such as Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. He also dabbled in film scoring, writing the music for the Oscar-nominated 1972 drama “Travels With My Aunt”, and the sequel to the big-screen spin-off of the gritty British detective series “The Sweeney”.
Highlight Scores: Travels With My Aunt, Sweeney 2, The Champions (TV), The Persuaders (TV), Crossroads (TV), Emmerdale (TV), Neighbours (TV).
Links: Official Site
Marvin Hatley
Born: 3 April 1905, Reed, Oklahoma. Died: 23 August 1986.
Background: Oklahoma-born composer, conductor and author, who contributed music to a number of prominent films during the earliest days of Hollywood. Studied at UCLA in Los Angeles, and became a staff pianist for KFWB radio in Hollywood in 1925. After a successful stint working vaudeville theatre he was hired by producer Hal Roach in 1930 to head his fledgling music department; his first assignments included the now-classic Laurel & Hardy shorts and features such as “The Music Box” (1932), “Sons of the Desert” (1933), “Way Out West” (1937), “Block-Heads” (1938) and “A Chump at Oxford” (1940). In 1939, Hatley was fired from the Roach studio, although he returned, at Stan Laurel's insistence, to score one final Laurel & Hardy film, “Saps at Sea” in 1940. Hatley effectively took early retirement from film scoring at that time - aged just 35 – and became a lounge pianist, often remarking that he made more money in that career than during his days at the Roach studio, but content with the knowledge that Laurel & Hardy's signature tune 'The Cuckoo Song' would be a fitting legacy. He died of cancer in at his home in Hollywood 1986, aged 81.
Highlight Scores: The Music Box, Sons of the Desert, Them Thar Hills, Way Out West, Topper, Block-Heads, There Goes My Heart, A Chump at Oxford, Saps at Sea.
Awards: Academy Award nominations for “Way Out West” (1937), Block-Heads (1938) and “There Goes My Heart” (1938).
Todd Hayen
Born: Middletown, Virginia.
Background: Prolific composer and orchestrator, who has spent most of his professional career working for composer Gary Chang. Studied at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA, and at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, before moving to Hollywood in the early 1980s. In addition to his work supporting Chang, Hayen has written extensively for animation, notably for the legendary Hanna-Barbera studio, and has built up a small but solid resume of TV series and movies of the week. In addition to his TV work, Hayen worked with composer John Debney writing the "Lights of Liberty" soundtrack for the tour for Philadelphia's Independence National Park, and has arranged music for popular artists such as Roy Orbison, Duane Eddy, Julian Lennon and Van Dyke Parks.
Highlight Scores: Batman: The Animated Series (TV), The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (TV), Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders, When Time Expires, The Shadow Men.
Links: Hayen Music Productions
Isaac Hayes
Born: 20 August 1942, Covington, Tennessee.
Background: Hugely popular African-American composer, singer, songwriter and actor. The child of a poor family, he grew up picking cotton in his small home town of Covington, Tennessee. Always musically talented, he dropped out of high school and sought his fortune in Memphis, where he quickly became part of the “Memphis Sound” musical community which included Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor, The Bar Kays and Booker T. Jones. Hayes began his recording career in 1962, playing saxophone for The Mar-Keys, and after writing a string of hit songs at Stax Records with songwriting partner David Porter, he released his debut solo album, “Presenting Isaac Hayes” in 1967. His 1969 follow-up, “Hot Buttered Soul” was his breakthrough into the mainstream, established his image, brought him a legion of fans, and attracted the attention of Hollywood, which came calling in 1971. Gordon Parks, the director of “Shaft”, originally wanted Hayes for the lead role; it eventually went to Richard Roundtree, but Parks was such a fan of Hot Buttered Soul he convinced Hayes to write the score. The success of Shaft gave Hayes the honour of being the first black composer to win an Oscar, and set in motion a dual-career in music in movies that continues to this day. As an actor, he appeared in films such as “Truck Turner” (1974), “Three Tough Guys” (1974) and “Escape from New York” (1981), and TV shows ranging from “The Rockford Files” to “The A-Team”; as a composer, he wrote the scores for “Truck Turner” and “Three Tough Guys”; as a songwriter and solo artist, he released the critically acclaimed album “Black Moses”, but by the 1980s his career was in decline. Unexpectedly, he was saved from virtual oblivion in 1997 by filmmakers Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who cast Hayes as the voice of Chef, the sexually liberal soul food cook in their animated comedy show “South Park”. A song from the series performed by Chef, "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)", received international radio airplay in 1999, and reached number 1 on the UK singles chart that same year. Hayes was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, and is now enjoying a definite career resurgence.
Highlight Scores: Shaft, Truck Turner, Three Tough Guys.
Awards: Academy Award for "Shaft" (1971).
Links: Official Site
Lennie Hayton
Born: 13 February 1908, New York, New York. Died: 24 April 1971.
Background: American composer and arranger and pianist, who oversaw an array of classic Hollywood musicals during his time as music director for MGM. Began his career as a jazz arranger and bandleader, working with Bing Crosby, Bix Biederbecke and Joe Venuti in the 1930s. When his own jazz band broke up in 1939, Hayton went to Hollywood, were he made his debut in 1941. He split his time equally between his two roles thereafter, co-ordinating the music for enduring classics such as "The Harvey Girls", "The Ziegfeld Follies", "Summer Holiday", "On the Town" and "Singin' in the Rain", while composing original scores for some 45 films. Stepped down from MGM in 1953, and after almost a decade away from the cinema returned in the 1960s to direct the music for "Star!" and "Hello Dolly", for which he received his fifth and sixth Oscar nominations. Retired to Palm Springs, where he died in 1971, aged 63. Interestingly, Hayton had one of the first openly interracial marriages in Hollywood, having wed singer and actress Lena Horne in 1947. He was also noted for his trademark “captain's cap”, which he worse rakishly tilted to one side, and which is was rarely seen in public without.
Highlight Scores: The Harvey Girls, The Pirate, Battleground, On the Town, The Barkleys of Broadway, Act of Violence, Singin' in the Rain, Star!, Hello Dolly.
Awards: Academy Awards for "On the Town" (1949) and "Hello Dolly" (1969). Nominations for "The Harvey Girls", "The Pirate", "Singin' in the Rain" and "Star!".
Alex Heffes
Born:
Background: Talented and promising English composer who studied music at Oxford University, and began his career as a composer for commercials, and an "arranger-for-hire", working on everything from brass bands to experimental jazz. He entered the film world as an assistant to composer Simon Boswell in the early 1990s, working on films such as “Photographing Fairies”, “Cousin Bette” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, before breaking out on his own with his work on the Oscar-winning documentary "One Day in September" in 2000. Heffes has since enjoyed working on a number of successful films, notably the Steve Coogan comedy “The Parole Officer” (2001), the critically acclaimed docu-drama “Touching the Void” (2003) and the dark thriller “Trauma” (2004), and looks likely to become a major force in the British film music industry in years to come. Has also worked extensively in the pop and classical worlds, having recently completed an orchestral commission from the Sultanate of Oman.
Highlight Scores: Late Night Shopping, One Day in September, The Parole Officer, Touching the Void, Trauma, Dear Frankie, Imagine Me & You.
Links: Official Site
Neal Hefti
Born: 29 October 1922, Hastings, Nebraska.
Background: Popular film and TV composer of the 1960s and 70s, forever known as the man who wrote the "dinner-dinner-dinner-dinner" theme for "Batman", but whose career is far more varied than that. Began his career as an acclaimed jazz trumpeter, working with dance orchestras including those of Harry James, Woody Herman, and Charlie Spivak between 1941 and 1949, before going on to make his mark as a composer and arranger in the big band, jazz and bebop scene 1950s. Hefti was responsible for such classic tunes as "Wild Root” and "The Good Earth” for the Woody Herman, and "Li'l Darlin'”, "The Kid from Red Bank" and "Cute” for Count Basie, but eventually caught the Hollywood bug, scoring his first film in 1957. Came to prominence as the orchestra leader of the popular "Kate Smith Show" in 1960, and subsequently went on to score over 20 films and TV series, including the aforementioned "Batman" (1966), the Robert Redford/Jane Fonda romantic comedy “Barefoot in the Park” (1968), and the classic comedy "The Odd Couple" (1968) starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Effectively retired from scoring in 1976 after his last film, "Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood" flopped miserably, and now lives the quiet life in Los Angeles, although his more famous themes still crop up in films and on TV with pleasing regularity.
Highlight Scores: Sex and the Single Girl, Boeing Boeing, How To Murder Your Wife, Batman (TV), Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, A New Leaf.
Awards: Oscar nomination for "The Odd Couple" (1968).
Reinhold Heil
Born: Germany.
Background: German composer and arranger, best known in film music circles through his collaborations with director Tom Tykwer and fellow composer Johnny Klimek, with whom he formed the band Pale 3. Began his career in his native Germany in the 1970s as a founding member of the Nina Hagen band, who were successful on mainland Europe, and saw their debut albums go platinum. After Nina Hagen left the band, Heil and the remaining members continued under the name Spliff, and again had major gold and platinum success with the Spliff Radio Show, and the hits "Carbonara" and "Das Blech". Heil went on to study sound engineering at art school in Berlin, produced the first three albums for Nena (including the hugely successful song “99 Red Balloons”, and worked with artists such as Kim Wilde, Rio Reiser and Annette Humpe. Heil scored his first film, a German TV detective thriller called “Zweierlei Blut” in 1983, and moved to Santa Barbara, California in 1990 to set up his own studio and attempt to crack Hollywood. He first teamed up with the Tykwer and Klimek in 1997 for the film “Winterschläfer”, but it was their follow-up film, the massively successful “Run Lola Run”, which cemented their reputation. Since then, Heil has scored a number of high profile films – all of them in collaboration with Klimek, notably “Der Krieger Und Die Kaiserin” (2000), “One Hour Photo” (2002), “Land of the Dead” (2005), “The Cave” (2005), and “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” (2006). In addition to his film work, Heil has written music for Katharina Thalbach’s Shakespeare productions at Berlin's Schiller Theatre, wrote the hit song "Wish" for Thomas D. and Franka Potente (which went gold in the German charts), and recently orchestrated and produced Nina Hagen’s latest album, "Wind".
Highlight Scores: Run Lola Run, Der Krieger Und Die Kaiserin, One Hour Photo, Without a Trace (TV), Iron Jawed Angels, Land of the Dead, The Cave, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.
Links: www.pale3.com.
Ray Heindorf
Born: 25 August 1908, Haverstraw, New York. Died: 2 February 1980.
Background: Hugely prolific and talented composer and arranger, who spent almost forty years as the music director for Warner Brothers. Obsessed with the new medium of cinema as a child (his first job was a piano accompanist in his local theatre, aged 14), Heindorf moved to Hollywood as soon as he could. Made his film music debut on the "Hollywood Revue of 1929", aged just 21, and spent much of the 1930s writing uncredited incidental music for various studio features, and working on orchestrations for Erich Korngold, and others. First came to prominence in 1943, when he was Oscar nominated for his work on "Yankee Doodle Dandy", and was subsequently became music director in 1947, a post which he held until the late 1950s. During his his career, he supervised the music of over 100 films, including classics such as "Rhapsody in Blue", "The Jazz Singer", "Calamity Jane", "A Star is Born", "Auntie Mame", "Damn Yankees", "The Music Man" and "Finian's Rainbow", as well as writing over 50 original scores, and picking up 18 Oscar nominations on the way. Retired to Tarzana, California, in 1972, where he died six years later, aged 71.
Highlight Scores: The Roaring Twenties, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Young Man With a Horn, A Star Is Born, Young at Heart, No Time for Sergeants.
Awards: Academy Awards for "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942), "This Is The Army" (1943) and "The Music Man" (1962). Fifteen other nominations between 1945-1969.
Oliver Heise
Born: 1976, Marbach, Germany.
Background: Talented young German composer with a number of acclaimed credits in his homeland. Studied piano as a child, and attended the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg. Began composing for German TV projects in the mid-1990s, and won a film festival award in 1998 for his work on the comedy "Die Liebe Mein Schatz Ist Bodenlos". Looked to be on the brink of breaking into the international market when he recorded his score for "The Ring of the Buddha" with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the summer of 2000, but the film suffered from severe distribution problems, and Heise returned to Germany, where he has since divided his time between further domestic projects, and teaching piano and composition at the school of music in Ludwigsburg.
Highlight Scores: Headcleaner, Auf Wiedersehen Vincent, Nanny, Grüße Aus Tolú (TV), Die Liebe Mein Schatz Ist Bodenlos, The Ring of the Buddha
Charles Henderson
Born: 19 January 1907, Boston, Massachusetts. Died: 7 March 1970.
Background: Popular and successful American songwriter, composer, conductor, pianist, arranger and author. Educated at Roxbury Latin School, he graduated cum laude from Harvard University and was a student of Walter Piston, Ernst Toch, and Victor Bay before becoming a pianist, arranger and vocal arranger for orchestras, musicals and radio in the 1930s. Joined the staff of Universal Pictures in 1937, and worked alongside the likes of Alfred Newman and Hugo Friedhofer as a composer, arranger, music director and vocal supervisor on a number of projects, notably “Broadway Melody of 1940”, “State Fair” (1945), “The Bishop’s Wife” (1947), “Joan of Arc” (1948) and “The Enemy Below” (1957). He also contributed a great deal of stock music to the Universal archive, which was subsequently used in films such as “The Return of Frank James” (1940), “Hold That Ghost” (1941), “Who Done It?” (1942) and “House of Dracula” (1945). In addition to his film work, Henderson also created and conducted Las Vegas night club acts, writing special material for a number of popular artists during the swinging heyday of the resort. He also wrote a number of popular songs, including "Carefree", "This Is a Chance of a Lifetime", "So Beats My Heart for You", and “Deep Night”, his signature tune. Retired to Laguna Beach, California, in the 1950s; he died in March 1970, aged 63.
Highlight Scores: Broadway Melody of 1940, The Return of Frank James, Hold That Ghost, Who Done It?, State Fair, House of Dracula, The Bishop’s Wife, Joan of Arc, The Enemy Below.
Awards: Oscar nomination for “State Fair” (1945).
Jean-Jacques Hertz
Born:
Background: COMING SOON.
Highlight Scores: Dobermann, Blueberry.
Nigel Hess
Born:
Background: Prolific composer for television in Britain, with over 100 credits to his name, whose music evokes the charm and effortless Englishness of Vaughn Williams. Studied at Cambridge University, where he was musical director of Footlights Revue Company, before writing his first scores for television in the late 1970s. Is most famous for the proliferation of popular TV themes he wrote during the 1980s, notably “Campion”, “Dangerfield”, “Wycliffe”, “Maigret” and “Hetty Wainthropp Investigates”, although he recently received a more high profile assignment with his score for the feature film “Ladies in Lavender” (2004). In addition to his film and television work, has written a great deal of concert and theatre music, particularly for symphonic wind band, with commissions from the Royal Air Force, the Band of the Coldstream Guards, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Highlight Scores: A Woman of Substance (TV), Anna of the Five Towns (TV), Vanity Fair (TV), Campion (TV), Testament (TV)", Titmuss Regained (TV), Dangerfield (TV), Wycliffe (TV), Maigret (TV), Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (TV), Ladies in Lavender.
Links: Official Site
Werner R. Heymann
Born: 14 February 1896, Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). Died: 30 May 1961.
Background: Prussian/German composer of classic standards, film music, cabaret songs, operettas and serious music in Koenigsberg, Berlin, Paris, Hollywood and Munich. Born in a remote outpost of the old German empire, Heymann came to Berlin in 1912 with the ambition to be a serious classical composer. In 1918 his "Rhapsodic Simphony" received its première with the Vienna Philharmonic under the Musical Direction of Felix Weingartner, and in 1919 Heymann and Frederick Hollander were appointed musical directors of Max Reinhardt's cabaret, "Schall und Rauch", which featured artists such as Rosa Valetti and a young Marlene Dietrich. Having already written music for a number of stage productions, Heymann succeeded Ernoe Rapée as the musical director of UFA films, and subsequently worked on such landmark movies as F.W. Murnau's "Faust" (1926), Fritz Lang's "Spione" (1926), "Melodie des Herzens" (1929), Germany’s first “talkie”. By 1933 Heymann had composed music for 15 UFA films, and Hollywood was soon calling. Being Jewish, Heymann feared the onset of Nazism in Germany, and left for Hollywood in 1934. His first American credit was "The Beloved Vagabond" with Maurice Chevalier; over the next decade he went on to score a number of successful features, including "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife" (1938), “Ninotschka" (1939) with Greta Garbo, "One Million Years B.C." (1940), "The Shop Around The Corner" (1940), "That Uncertain Feeling" (1941), "To Be Or Not To Be" (1942), “Hail the Conquering Hero” (1944) and "Knickerbocker Holiday" (1944). Heymann returned to Germany after the end of WWII and settled in Munich. He married actress Elisabeth Millberg, and continued to write popular songs, stage plays, and scores for German films such as "Heidelberger Romanze" (1951), "Alraune" (1952), "Die Drei von der Tankstelle" (1955) and "Der Kongreß Tanzt" (1956), until his death in 1961 at the age of 65.
Highlight Scores: Faust, Spione, Melodie des Herzens, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, Ninotschka, The Shop Around The Corner, That Uncertain Feeling, To Be Or Not To Be, One Million Years B.C., Knickerbocker Holiday.
Awards: Oscar nominations for One Million Years B.C., That Uncertain Feeling, To Be Or Not To Be and Knickerbocker Holiday.
Links: Official Site, maintained by Elisabeth-Charlotte Trautwein-Heymann
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson
Born: 23 April 1958, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Background: One of the few internationally recognised classical musical artists from Iceland, Hilmarsson rose to fame as a member of the progressive group Psychic TV, before going on to become a prominent player of jazz, avant-garde and electronic music on the Icelandic stage. Released a series of albums in the mid-1990s with the popular artist Sigur Rós. Began composing for film in the mid-1980s, and has since written music for over 20 Icelandic features, but only made his international debut in 2003, on the Jane Campion-directed thriller "In the Cut" starring Meg Ryan. In addition, Hilmarsson has worked as a producer for a variety of artists, ranging from the 'death metal' bands to blues and contemporary classical artists. He was awarded the Felix Prize at the European Film Awards as 'European Film Composer of the Year' in 1992.
Highlight Scores: Children of Nature, Cold Fever, Devil's Island, Ungfrúin Góða og Húsið, Angels of the Universe, In The Cut.
Joel Hirschhorn
Born: 1938, Bronx, New York. Died: 18 September 2005.
Background: Academy Award-winning composer and songwriter who spent much of his professional career working with Al Kasha. Hirschhorn attended the LaGuardia Performing Arts High School in Manhattan and, after graduating, became a regular performer on New York’s nightclub circuit, both as a solo singer and as a member of the rock & roll band The Highlighters. During the mid-1960s Hirschhorn branched out into writing film soundtracks; his first score was for “Who Killed Teddy Bear?” in 1965, directed by his friend Joseph Cates. He worked with Cates again the following year on “The Fat Spy”, but when the film bombed Hirschhorn struggled to find work in Hollywood for a number of years afterwards. Instead, Hirschhorn spent much of the next five years writing with songwriting partner Al Kasha, and together the pair had their work performed by prominent artists such as Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison. Hirschhorn did not work on another film until 1970’s “The Cheyenne Social Club”, which was directed by Gene Kelly, but it was the pair’s next effort – “The Poseidon Adventure” - that really made their name. The song ‘The Morning After’ won Hirschhorn and Kasha their first Oscar and also topped the Billboard chart. “The Towering Inferno” (1974) provided Hirschhorn and Kasha with their second Oscar, this time for the song ‘We May Never Love Like This Again’. Following this success the pair received two further Oscar nominations, both for their work on “Pete's Dragon” (1977), and Hirschhorn and Kasha continued to work together until the late 1990s, their final collaboration being “Rescue Me” in 1998. The pair also worked together on a number of Broadway musicals, receiving Tony Award nominations for both “Copperfield” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”. Interestingly, Hirschhorn’s wife, Jennifer Carter, was the first woman in the world to dive down to the Titanic in a submersible. She led the 1987 expedition to find and bring up artifacts, also organized the Titanic expeditions in 1991 and 1992, and was one of the producers of the 1995 IMAX movie “Titanica”. Hirschhorn died of a heart attack at his home in Thousand Oaks, California in September 2005, aged 67.
Highlight Scores: The Cheyenne Social Club, The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Freaky Friday, Pete’s Dragon, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, The North Avenue Irregulars, China Cry.
Awards: Academy Awards for The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno.
Joe Hisaishi
Born: 6 December 1950, Nagano, Japan.
Background: Hugely popular and well-respected Japanese composer, whose real name is Mamoru Fujisawa (Joe Hisaishi is a stage name, a rough translation of "Quincy Jones"). Graduated from Kunitachi Music College, and began his career as a solo artist, before scoring his first major film, "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds" in 1984. Thereafter, Hisaishi has risen to be the leading light in Japanese film music, and is world renowned for his continued collaborations with actor/director Takeshi Kitano (Boiling Point, A Scene at the Sea, Kids Return, Hana-Bi, Kikujiro), and master Anime director Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle). In addition to his film work, Hisaishi has also written several classical pieces, notably "Piano Stories", "My Lost City" and "Shoot the Violist", was music the director at the 1998 Winter Olympics in his home city of Nagano, and recently directed his first movie, entitled "Quartet". He has also won the Japanese Oscar five times.
Highlight Scores: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds, Boiling Point, A Scene at the Sea, Kids Return, Sonatine, Princess Mononoke, Hana-Bi, Kikujiro, Spirited Away, Dolls, Howl’s Moving Castle.
Links: Official Joe Hisaishi Site (partly in Japanese)
Michael Hoenig
Born: 4 January 1952, Hamburg, Germany.
Background: German electronic musician and keyboard specialist whose career in film music reached a peak in the mid-1980s. Began as a member of the progressive rock group Agitation Free, before being hired by Christopher Franke and Tangerine Dream to replace their former member Peter Baumann. With TD, Hoenig enjoyed a brief taste of success, accompanying them on their 1975 tour of Australia and Europe, before summarily being dropped by the group when Baumann decided to re-join. Joined the film music fray in the early 1980s, both as a composer in his own right, and collaborating with artists such as Philip Glass, J.Peter Robinson and Jack Nitzsche, but never really achieved any level of success, aside from a few small scale hits and the TV series "Dark Skies". In addition to his film music work, Hoenig has released two solo albums, "Departure From The Northern Wasteland" (1978) and "Xcept One" (1987).
Highlight Scores: The Wraith, The Gate, The Blob, Class of 1999, The Amy Fisher Story, Above Suspicion, Dark Skies (TV), After Alice, The Contaminated Man.
Awards: Emmy nomination for "Dark Skies" (1996).
Joachim Holbæk
Born: 1957, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Background: Talented Danish composer whose work is gradually beginning to filter out of Scandinavia and into the world-wide mainstream. Studied at the Musikakademiet in Copenhagen, and began his career writing music for theatre productions and modern ballet companies across Denmark. Made his film music debut in 1988, having been plucked from relative obscurity by avant-garde filmmaker Lars von Trier to score his acclaimed TV production “Medea”; since then, Holbæk has gone on to develop a small-scale international profile, mainly through his various collaborations with Von Trier (“Europa”, “The Kingdom”, “Manderlay”) and popular director Ole Bornedal on films such as the 1994 thriller “Nattevagten”, it’s 1997 US remake “Nightwatch”.
Highlight Scores: Europa, Nattevagten, The Kingdom, Junk Mail, The Kingdom II, Nightwatch, Detektor, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself, Manderlay.
Frederick Hollander
Born: 18 October 1896, London, England. Died: 18 June 1976.
Background: English-born composer of German heritage, who worked extensively in Hollywood during the 1930s and 40s. The son of the composer Victor Hollander, who worked extensively in Berlin in the 1890s, young Frederick was a childhood prodigy who studied with opera composer Engelbert Humperdinck. He began his career working in cabaret clubs in Prague, and gradually became well known an important composer of shows and cabaret songs across Europe in the 1920s. His work with the pioneering German film studio UFA led to him being involved with the classic Marlene Dietrich film “Der Blaue Engel” in 1930, but with the onset of Nazism in Germany in 1933 he moved, to France, then to England, and eventually to Hollywood, where he was hired to songs and scores for various movies, including “Destry Rides Again” in 1939, which involved his old friend Ms. Dietrich. RKO Pictures signed him as a staff composer shortly thereafter, and for the next two decades he worked solidly in the industry, writing stock music for the vast RKO archive, and scoring such memorable films as “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” (1941), “The Talk of the Town” (1942), “The Man Who Came To Dinner” (1942), “Born Yesterday” (1950), “The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.” (1953), “Sabrina” (1954) and “We’re No Angels” (1955), with directors ranging from Billy Wilder to George Cukor and Michael Curtiz. Hollander returned to Germany in 1956, and settled in Munich, where he continued working for shows and cabaret. Hollander was married to actress Blandine Ebinger; he died in 1976, aged 79.
Highlight Scores: Der Blaue Engel, Artists & Models, Destry Rides Again, Midnight, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Talk of the Town, The Man Who Came To Dinner, Christmas in Connecticut, That Lady in Ermine, Born Yesterday, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., Sabrina, We’re No Angels.
Awards: Oscar nominations for Artists & Models (1937), The Talk of the Town, That Lady in Ermine (1948) and The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.
David Holmes
Born: 1971, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Background: Eclectic British composer and musician whose style bridges the gap between film music and the world of dance music, sampling, and electronica. The youngest of 10 children, Holmes was an avid music collector throughout his teenage years, and became a club DJ at the age of just 15. His taste in music as a teenager was very eclectic, ranging from Motown R&B, Latin jazz and punk rock to film scores, and disco, and although he worked as a fanzine writer and a concert promoter, his career path was always set on music. Holmes traveled to England in the warly 1990s and met fellow musician Ashley Beedle; the two collaborated and produced the song "DeNiro" in 1992, which became a massive dance floor hit, sampling Ennio Morricone's theme to "Once Upon A Time In America". The success from the song allowed Holmes to sign a record contract, and he released his first solo album, "This Film's Crap, Let's Slash the Seats" in 1995. His lifelong interest in the combination of music and film (as well as significant public awareness of his music through it being featured on other soundtracks and in trailers) led to him scoring his first movie in, “Supply and Demand”, in 1997. Since then Holmes built up a small but impressive resume of titles which includes international box office successes such as “Out of Sight” (1998), “Oceans’ Eleven” (2001), “Analyze That” (2002) and “Ocean’s Twelve” (2004), and he now balances his time between film work, freelance DJ'ing across Europe, and working on his own solo projects.
Highlight Scores: Resurrection Man, Out of Sight, Buffalo Soldiers, Ocean's Eleven, Analyse That, Code 46, Stander, Ocean's Twelve.
Links: Gritty Shaker: The David Holmes Fan Page by Jonathan Ashley
Nellee Hooper
Born: Bristol, England.
Background: One of the UK's most successful and influential record producers and re-mixers, Nellee Hooper was the man behind some of the most inventive dance-oriented pop music acts in the 1980s and 90s. Began his career as a DJ, and as a member of the popular dance music group Wild Bunch, which would later develop into the ultra-successful Massive Attack. Was instrumental in the success of the group Soul II Soul, and their #1 hit singles "Keep on Movin'," and "Back to Life", and subsequently went on to collaborate with the likes of Madonna, Tracy Chapman, Björk, Janet Jackson, No Doubt and Sade, the net result of which was him being named Producer of the Year at the 1995 Brit Awards (British Grammys). Began dabbling in film around the same time, usually as a music supervisor, and won a BAFTA Award in 1997 for his work on "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet", which he worked on in collaboration with composers Craig Armstrong and Marius De Vreis.
Highlight Scores: William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.
Awards: BAFTA Award for "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet" (1997).
Nicholas Hooper
Born: .
Background: Talented young English composer whose work on period films for the BBC is beginning to reap dividends and bring his music to the wider world. Prior to making his "proper" film music debut in 1998, Hooper was a prolific composer of music for documentaries, specialising particularly in nature programmes for television shows such as the "The Natural World", "Wildlife on One", "Survival", "Fragile Earth" and the award-winning BBC productions "Land of the Tiger" and "Andes to Amazon". He first came to international prominence in 1998 through his score for the star-studded British costume drama “The Tichborne Claimant”, directed by his long-time collaborator, director David Yates. Since then Hooper has scored a number f acclaimed productions, receiving BAFTA nominations for his work “The Way We Live Now” (2001), “State of Play” (2003) and “The Young Visiters” (2003). In addition to his film work, Hooper has also written music for a number of dance and ballet productions, as well as pieces for the London theatre.
Highlight Scores: The Tichborne Claimant, The Way We Live Now (TV), The Secret, The Heart of Me, State of Play, The Young Visiters, Messiah III: The Promise, My Family and Other Animals, The Girl in the Café.
Awards: BAFTA TV Award for “The Young Visiters”; nominations for "The Way We Live Now" and “State of Play”.
Kenyon Hopkins
Born: 15 January 1912, Coffeyville, Kansas. Died: 7 April 1983.
Background: Prolific American composer from Kansas, whose ‘golden period’ lasted from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Hopkins attended Oberlin College and Temple University in Philadelphia, studying composition and music theory. First came to prominence in 1957, through his score for director Sidney Lumet’s classic crime drama “12 Angry Men”. He went on to score a number of popular and acclaimed films in the 1960s, notably Elia Kazan’s “Wild River” (1960), the Elvis Presley drama “Wild in the Country” (1961), the acclaimed Paul Newman pool-shooting drama “The Hustler” (1961), Sydney Pollack’s “This Property Is Condemned” (1966), and the Robert Redford vehicle “Downhill Racer” (1969). He served as musical director for CBS in 1963, and, later, as director of music for Paramount television, and oversaw the production of music for popular series such as “Mannix”, “Mission Impossible”, “The Young Lawyers”, “Barefoot in the Park”, “The FBI Story”, “The Reporter”, “The Twentieth Century” and “The DuPont Show of the Week”. His only award nomination came in 1963 when he was nominated for an Emmy for his score for the George C. Scott social worker drama “East Side/West Side”. In addition to his film work Hopkins also released a number of albums with the Creed Taylor Orchestra in the 1960s, collaborated with jazz greats such as Doc Severinsen and Hank Jones, and also wrote modern classical music, including two symphonies and chamber pieces. Hopkins retired from music in 1974 and moved to New Jersey, where he died in 1983, aged 71.
Highlight Scores: Baby Doll, 12 Angry Men, Wild River, Wild in the Country, The Hustler, Lilith, This Property Is Condemned, Mister Buddwing, Downhill Racer.
Trevor Horn
Born: 15 July 1949, Durham, England.
Background: Pop music producer, musician, and occasional film composer, best known in the film music world through his collaborations with Hans Zimmer. After playing double bass in big bands and producing little-known artists, Horn had a breakthrough hit in 1979 when he formed the band Buggles with his friends Geoff Downes, Bruce Woolley and Hans Zimmer, and released "Video Killed the Radio Star" – the first ever video shown on MTV, when the ground-breaking music channel debuted on August 1, 1981. In 1980 Horn and Downes were invited to join the rock group Yes; Horn became the lead vocalist, replacing Jon Anderson, and he recorded one album with the band, ‘Drama’, on which he also plays bass. However, Horn left Yes after just seven months to concentrate on his production work. Since then Horn has worked with a variety of pop music acts, notably Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC, Grace Jones, Seal, Dollar, Tina Turner, Lisa Stansfield, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Mike Oldfield, Marc Almond, Charlotte Church, t.A.T.u and Belle & Sebastian. He has also performed as part of the concept band The Art of Noise alongside film composer Anne Dudley, was instrumental in producing the enormous hit, Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas for hunger relief. In the film music world, Horn’s influence has been limited to a few projects, working with Hans Zimmer on “Toys” in 1992 and Harry Gregson-Williams on “Veronica Guerin” in 2003. He has scored just one film on his own, the popular and successful “Coyote Ugly” in 2002.
Highlight Scores: Coyote Ugly.
Links: Official Site
Richard Horowitz
Born:
Background: Slightly avant-garde American composer who specialises in middle-eastern, Asian and African music. Spent much of the 1960s and 70s traveling, working in France and Morocco, before moving to London, where he recorded the first of his several acclaimed world music fusion albums with vocalist Sussan Deyhim. He scored his first film, “The Sheltering Sky” for Bernardo Bertolucci, in 1990, in collaboration with composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and has since gone on to work with directors such as Oliver Stone (“Any Given Sunday”), and Tony Bui (“Three Seasons”). Among his non-film works are collaborations with eclectic artists such as Jon Hassell, Michael Brook, David Byrne, Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Suzanne Vega, as well as an array of commissions from organisations as diverse as the Hong Kong City Contemporary Dance company, and the Moroccan Royal Cabinate in London. Somewhat bizarrely, he is credited with an appearance in the film Red Lipstick (2000) as “man who gets his ass autographed” – although this could very well be an IMDB anomaly!
Highlight Scores: The Sheltering Sky, The Tower (TV), Broken Trust, Three Seasons, Any Given Sunday, Cowboy Up, David & Layla.
Awards: Golden Globe for "The Sheltering Sky" (1991).
Alan Howarth
Born: 1953, New Jersey.
Background: Born in New Jersey, but raised in Ohio, Howarth played the piano and accordion as a child and always had a fascination with the world of sound. Spent most of the 1970s as a travelling synthesiser player for artists such as Weather Report, until he was hired to work as a sound designer for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in 1979. Since then, Howarth has balanced an unusual dual career as both a sound designer and composer for film. Among his sound design credits are classic films such as "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Poltergeist", "Total Recall", "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "Stargate". Musically, Howarth has enjoyed a long-standing association with director John Carpenter, having scored the majority of the "Halloween" sequels, and worked with him on virtually all his major credits.
Highlight Scores: Halloween II, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Christine, Big Trouble in Little China, Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers, They Live, Halloween V, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Backstabbed, The Dentist.
David A. Hughes
Born: 25 April 1960, Liverpool, England.
Background: Began his career as a pop musician and recording engineer, working with successful 80s bands such as Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark (OMD), Thomas Lang and Dalek I. Began dabbling in film music in the early 80s, scoring the cult low-budget horror classic “C.H.U.D.” under the pseudonym Cooper Hughes, and began scoring movies more regularly in the early 1990s, often in collaboration with fellow composer John Murphy. Hughes and Murphy scored several successful British movies together, enjoying platinum album sales for the accompanying soundtrack for "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" in 1998. Following a brief but relatively unsuccessful stint in the Hollywood studio system, Hughes and Murphy went their separate ways, with Hughes returning to England to open a large digital recording facility in Liverpool, in addition to scoring occasional feature films and TV projects for the BBC.
Highlight Scores: C.H.U.D., Leon the Pig Farmer, Beyond Bedlam, Proteus, Solitaire for 2, Clockwork Mice, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Stiff Upper Lips, The Bachelor, Chain of Fools, New Best Friend, The Long Weekend.
Søren Hyldgaard
Born: 6 August 1962, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Background: Real name Søren Larsen. One of Denmark's leading composers of film and TV music who, despite a childhood fascination with old Hollywood movies and their scores, began life as a journalist for Danish National Radio. Eventually, his love of music took over, and while still working for DNR he ‘moonlighted’, writing for theatre productions and musicals in Copenhagen. He eventually made his film debut in 1997 and, despite being completely self-taught, quickly became one of the most sought-after composers in Scandinavia. His most high-profile projects include the romantic drama “Den Eneste Ene” in 1999 and the animated comedy “Help! I’m A Fish” in 2000, while his non film works include the classical pieces 'Hans Christian Andersen Suite', 'Marche Americana' and `Rapsodia Borealis', and a concerto for trombone and orchestra.
Highlight Scores: Eye of the Eagle, Mørkets Øy, Angel of the Night, Tommy and the Wildcat, Den Eneste Ene, Help! I'm A Fish, Midsommer, Dogville Confessions, Jester Till.
Links: Official Site
Dick Hyman
Born: 8 March 1927, New York, New York.
Background: Jazz composer and arranger whose most famous work in film has been on the films of Woody Allen. First came to prominence in the 1950s, arranging for Arthur Godfrey, before emerging as a solo performer in his own right, being especially noted for his early experiments with Moog synthesisers. Has released over 100 albums of jazz and ragtime music, as well as a number of acclaimed classical pieces, including his Piano Concerto, a Ragtime Fantasy, and "From Chama to Cumbres by Steam", a work for orchestra, jazz combo, and prerecorded railroad sounds. Began scoring films in 1976, and collaborated with Allen (whom he met through their mutual membership of the New York jazz scene) for the first time on "Annie Hall" (1977) - they have since collaborated on over 20 films, often with Hyman's arranging/orchestrating work remaining un-credited.
Highlight Scores: Annie Hall, Scott Joplin, Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters, Radio Days, Moonstruck, Crimes and Misdemeanours, Shadows and Fog, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Bullets Over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite, Everyone Says I Love You, Sweet and Lowdown, Anything Else, Melinda and Melinda.
Awards: BAFTA nomination for "Moonstruck" (1987).
Links: Official Site


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