Jack Nitzsche Jack Nitzsche

Born: 22 April 1937, Chicago, Illinois.
Died: 25 August 2000.

Biography:
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was born in Chicago, but grew up on a farm near Newaygo, Michigan. The son of German immigrants, he studied piano, clarinet and saxophone and worked at a steel foundry, playing saxophone in a band while learning orchestration through a correspondence course. He hoped to become a jazz saxophonist and moved to Los Angeles in 1955, but dropped out of music school. A friendship with up-and-coming artist Sonny Bono led to him being hired by Phil Spector of Capitol Records. He played on and arranged the bulk of Phil Spector's "wall of sound" hits in the '60s, and enjoyed fruitful collaborations with artists including The Rolling Stones, The Ronettes, The Crystals, Neil Young, Ike and Tina Turner, Buffalo Springfield, Randy Newman, Marianne Faithfull, the Neville Brothers, Jackie DeShannon and the Monkees, either as a session keyboardist or an arranger. Under his own name he recorded an instrumental hit, "The Lonely Surfer," in 1963, and released an album of orchestral pieces, "St. Giles Cripplegate", in 1973. His knowledge of the music of the Stones led to him being asked to score the 1970 Mick Jagger film "Performance", regarded as a landmark for the use of rock in film soundtracks. His score for "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982) was nominated for an Oscar and he won an Oscar for the Best Song with "Up Where We Belong", which he co-wrote with Buffy Sainte-Marie (who was briefly married to him) and Will Jennings. The song was a major hit for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, and Nitzsche also worked on several albums for Cocker. Nitzsche worked prolifically in film, scoring such successes as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975), "Blue Collar" (1978), "Starman" (1984), "The Jewel of the Nile" (1985), "91/2 Weeks" (1986), "Stand By Me" (1986), "Mermaids" (1990), "Revenge" (1990) and "The Crossing Guard" (1995). He also wrote and recorded a full symphonic score for "The Exorcist" (1973) as a last minute replacement for Lalo Schifrin, but found his own score virtually cut out of the movie by director William Friedkin. Nitzsche struggled with drug problems throughout his career, and in 1979 he was fined and sentenced to three years probation for an assault on his former girlfriend, actress Carrie Snodgress. In the mid-1990s, Nitzsche was seen in an episode of the reality show "Cops," being arrested in Hollywood after brandishing a gun at some youths who had stolen his hat. He died, at the age of 63, on 25 August 2000, of a heart attack, having been incapacitated several months previously by a stroke.

Reviews:
The Exorcist and Starman

Filmography:
The Crossing Guard (1995), Blue Sky (1994), The Indian Runner (1991), Revenge (1990), The Hot Spot (1990), The Last of the Finest (1990), Mermaids (1990), Next of Kin (1989), The Seventh Sign (1988), Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986), Stand by Me (1986), Streets of Gold (1986), The Whoopee Boys (1986), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Stripper (1985), The Razor's Edge (1984), Starman (1984), Windy City (1984), Breathless (1983), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Cannery Row (1982), Personal Best (1982), Cutter's Way (1981), Cruising (1980), Heart Beat (1980), Hardcore (1979), When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1979), Blue Collar (1978), Heroes (1977), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The Exorcist (1973), Greaser's Palace (1972), Sticks and Stones (1972), Performance (1970), Village of the Giants (1965).

Highest Grossing Films (adjusted for inflation):
The Exorcist ($821.6m), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ($341.4m), An Officer and a Gentleman ($312.6m), The Jewel of the Nile ($151.5m), Stand By Me ($99.8m), Heroes ($92.4m), Starman ($60.6m), Mermaids ($59.3m), Cruising ($52.1m), Breathless ($44.7m)

Awards:
1983 Academy Awards - Winner, Best Original Song - "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman
1983 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - An Officer and a Gentleman
1976 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983 Golden Globes - Winner, Best Original Song - "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer and a Gentleman
1985 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Starman
1983 BAFTA Awards – Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – An Officer and a Gentleman
1983 BAFTA Awards – Nominee, Best Original Song – “Up Where We Belong” from An Officer and a Gentleman
1976 BAFTA Awards – Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Blue Collar The Exorcist The Hot Spot Mermaids Nine 1/2 Weeks An Officer and a Gentleman One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Performance The Razor's Edge Revenge The Seventh Sign Stand by Me Starman


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