Randy Newman Randy Newman

Born: 28 November 1943, Los Angeles, California.

Biography:
The son of the only Newman brother NOT to be a composer (his father was a dentist), Randy Newman is arguably the most famous of the Newman musical family, but more for his song writing skills than his film music. Born in Los Angeles but raised in New Orleans, Randy was a talented pianist from an early age, and always seemed destined for a career in music, but during his formative years purposefully stayed away from Hollywood and concentrated on being a recording artist in his own right. With his regular collaborator Lenny Waronker, Newman recorded and released many popular hit records, including "I Love L.A.", "Short People", "Political Science", "Marie", "I Think It's Going To Rain Today", "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and the controversial "Rednecks". His solo albums ("Randy Newman", "Sail Away", "Good Old Boys", "Little Criminals", "Born Again", "Trouble In Paradise", "Land of Dreams", "Faust", "Bad Love" and "Harps and Angels"), have all received critical acclaim for the way in which his sardonic, witty lyrics and totally unique vocal delivery allowed his songs to be entertaining, musically excellent, but yet remain politically and socially aware. He is generally considered to be among the greatest living American songwriters, with a legion of dedicated followers. After contributing music to the 1971 movie "Cold Turkey", Newman formally entered the film music fray in 1981 with the score for Milos Forman's "Ragtime", for which he received the first of his 16 Oscar nominations. Since then, Newman's film music output has been small but of consistently high quality, and has included works such as "The Natural" (1984), "Parenthood" (1989), "Awakenings" (1990), "Maverick" (1994), "Toy Story" (1995), "Michael" (1996), "A Bug's Life" (1998), "Toy Story 2" (1999), "Meet the Parents" (2000) and "Monsters Inc." (2001), most of which were Oscar nominated for either the score or one of his brilliant songs. He finally won his first Oscar, in 2001, for the song 'If I Didn't Have You' from "Monsters, Inc." Ever the innovator, Newman's was involved with the South Coast Repertory Theater's production of "The Education of Randy Newman", a musical stage play based on Newman's life set to his songs. The play, which stars Scott Waara as Newman and is directed by Myron Johnson, premiered in Costa Mesa, Los Angeles on 2 June 2000.

Reviews:
Air Force One (Rejected Score), Awakenings, A Bug's Life, Maverick, Meet the Parents, Parenthood, Pleasantville, The Princess and the Frog, Seabiscuit and Toy Story 2

Filmography:
The Princess and the Frog (2009), Leatherheads (2008), Monk (2007), Cars (2006), Meet the Fockers (2004), Seabiscuit (2003), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Meet the Parents (2000), Bad Love (1999 studio album), Toy Story 2 (1999), A Bug's Life (1998), Pleasantville (1998), Cats Don't Dance (1997), Michael (1996), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Faust (1995 musical), Toy Story (1995), Maverick (1994), The Paper (1994), Avalon (1990), Awakenings (1990), Cop Rock (1990), The Marshall Chronicles (1990), Parenthood (1989), Land of Dreams (1988 studio album), ¡Three Amigos! (1986), The Natural (1984), Trouble In Paradise (1983 studio album), Ragtime (1981), Born Again (1979 studio album), Little Criminals (1977 studio album), Good Old Boys (1974 studio album), Sail Away (1972 studio album), Cold Turkey (1971), Performance (1970), Twelve Songs (1970 studio album), Randy Newman (1968 studio album).

Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2008 (adjusted for inflation):
Toy Story 2 ($348.5m), Monsters, Inc. ($325.5m), Meet the Fockers ($323.7m), Toy Story ($317.5m), Cars ($279.3m), A Bug’s Life ($249.9m), Meet the Parents ($222.1m), Parenthood ($181.4m), Maverick ($175.1m), Michael ($155.3m)

Awards:
2001 Academy Awards - Winner, Best Original Song - "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc.
2009 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song – “Almost There” for The Princess and the Frog
2009 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song – “Down in New Orleans” for The Princess and the Frog
2007 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song – “Our Town” from Cars
2001 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Monsters, Inc.
2000 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song - "A Fool in Love" from Meet the Parents
1999 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song - "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2
1998 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score - Pleasantville
1998 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score - A Bug's Life
1998 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song - "That'll Do" from Babe: Pig in the City
1996 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score - James and the Giant Peach
1995 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score - Toy Story
1995 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song - "You Got A Friend" from Toy Story
1994 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song - "Make Up Your Mind" from The Paper
1990 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Avalon
1989 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song - "I Love To See You Smile" from Parenthood
1984 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - The Natural
1981 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Ragtime
1981 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song - "One More Hour" from Ragtime
1999 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Song - "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2
1998 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - A Bug's Life
1990 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Avalon
1989 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Song - "I Love To See You Smile" from Parenthood
1981 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Song - "One More Hour" from Ragtime
1982 BAFTA Awards – Nominee, Best Original Song – “One More Hour” from Ragtime
2007 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “Our Town” from Cars
2002 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “If I Didn’t Have You” from Monsters, Inc.
2000 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2
1999 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – A Bug’s Life
2003 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Seabiscuit
2002 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Monsters, Inc.
2000 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Toy Story 2
1999 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “The Time of Your Life” from A Bug’s Life
1991 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Awakenings
1991 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Avalon
1989 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “I Love To See You Smile” from Parenthood
1983 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Ragtime
2004 Emmy Awards – Winner, Outstanding Main Title Music – Monk
1991 Emmy Awards – Winner, Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics – Cop Rock

Links:
The Randy Newman Home Page by Jim Coan

Avalon Awakenings Bad Love (Studio Album) Born Again (Studio Album) A Bug's Life Cars Cats Don't Dance Faust Good Old Boys (Studio Album) Harps and Angels (Studio Album) James and the Giant Peach Land of Dreams (Studio Album) Leatherheads Little Criminals (Studio Album) Maverick Meet the Fockers Meet the Parents Michael Monsters, Inc. The Natural The Paper Parenthood Performance Pleasantville The Princess and the Frog Ragtime Randy Newman (Studio Album) Sail Away (Studio Album) Seabiscuit Three Amigos Toy Story Toy Story 2 Trouble in Paradise (Studio Album) Twelve Songs (Studio Album)


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