Michael Kamen, 1948-2003
Michael Kamen, the Oscar-nominated composer and conductor, has died of a heart attack, brought on by complications of multiple sclerosis, at his home in London, on 18 November 2003. He was 55.
Born on 15 April 1948 in Queens, New York, Kamen studied at the famous Julliard School of Music, where he was an accomplished composer, horn and oboe player. As a founder member of the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, Kamen enjoyed a great deal of success during the 1970s as an arranger, producer and musician. Working with a wide array of artists including Queen and Kate Bush. He served as musical director for David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs" tour, and was instrumental in the success of Pink Floyd's album "The Wall".
Despite having dabbled in film music since 1976, Kamen's first true success in the industry came in 1983, when he wrote the score for the classic science fiction parable "Brazil". His extensive credits since then included movies such as the "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon" series of films, "Highlander" (1986), "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991), "The Three Musketeers" (1993), "Don Juan De Marco" (1995), "Mr. Holland's Opus" (1995), "101 Dalmatians" (1996), "What Dreams May Come" (1998), "X-Men" (2000), the acclaimed TV series "Band of Brothers" (2001), and the Kevin Costner western "Open Range" (2003). He was scheduled to score two new movies in 2004: the romantic comedy "First Daughter", starring Katie Holmes and Michael Keaton, the German animation "Back to Gaya". The Meg Ryan comedy "Against the Ropes", which Kamen had already written and recorded prior to his death, will be released in cinemas in February 2004, and will be remembered as his final score.
Among his regular collaborators were directors Richard Donner, Stephen Herek, Terry Gilliam, John McTiernan and Pat O'Connor; producer Joel Silver; former protégé Edward Shearmur, and long-time engineer, Stephen McLaughlin.
Kamen was a two-time Oscar nominee, for the songs from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "Don Juan De Marco". He won a BAFTA Award in 1986 for his score for "Edge of Darkness" with Eric Clapton, won a Grammy in 1992 for notably "Everything I Do I Do For You", was nominated for four Golden Globes, for the songs and score for from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "Don Juan De Marco", and was nominated for an Emmy for his television score for "From the Earth to the Moon".
As well as film scores, Kamen wrote a number of hit songs, notably "Everything I Do I Do For You", "All For One" and "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman" for Bryan Adams. He also wrote several acclaimed classical works - a guitar concerto for Eric Clapton, a saxophone concert for David Sanborn, a symphony entitled "S&M" which combined the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and rock band Metallica, and a piece for the National Symphony in Washington entitled "The Old Moon in the New Moon's Arms", written to commemorate the turn of the millennium. His score for the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus" led to the creation of the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, a non-profit making organisation which seeks to revitalise under-funded school music programmes in the United States.
As recently as the summer of 2002, Kamen led the orchestra during Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace in London, and was scheduled to score the Forest Whitaker-directed comedy "First Daughter" in early 2004 . In 2003, Kamen revealed that he was suffering from multiple sclerosis, and that he was planning to be involved in a new charity set up to combat the disease. However, this new venture is sadly destined never to come to fruition. Kamen leaves a wife, Sandra, and two daughters, Sasha and Zoe. As he often said, it was "all for them".
On a personal note, I would like to add that, on the several occasions I met him, I found him to be an immensely warm, friendly, generous and funny man, who was always willing to talk with a refreshing openness and honesty about his life and his work. James Southall and I visited his home in 1998, and we were immediately put at ease with his tales of shopping for George Harrison on Edgware Road and impromptu harpsichord playing. I was invited to the premiere of his Millennium Symphony in 2000, and again found him to be welcoming and approachable. I was honoured to have him attend Soundtracking 2001, a film music conference I organised in Sheffield, and he prove to be an interesting and entertaining speaker. I loved his scores for "Mr. Holland's Opus", "What Dreams May Come", "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "Don Juan De Marco". He will be greatly, greatly missed.
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