Shirley Walker
Born: 10 April 1945, Napa, California.
Died: 20 November 2006.
Biography:
Shirley Walker was one of the pioneers of women's film composing in Hollywood. She attended San Francisco State College on a piano scholarship, and graduated from Berkeley. She performed with various hotel, jazz & art bands in and around San Francisco during the 1960s, before becoming a member of both the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the Oakland Symphony Orchestra. After spending a few years writing jingles and composing music for industrial films she got her break in film music in 1979, working as a synthesizer player for Carmine Coppola on "Apocalypse Now". She wrote her first score, "The End of August" in 1982, and in 1992 became the first female composer to earn a solo score credit on a major Hollywood motion picture, for John Carpenter's “Memoirs of an Invisible Man”. Walker’s other credits included films such as "Escape from L.A" (1996), "Turbulence" (1997) and "Final Destination" (2000) and “Final Destination 2” (2003); during her time in Hollywood, she was also highly regarded as a composer and orchestrator, working with composers such as Danny Elfman, John Carpenter, Hans Zimmer and Brad Fiedel. Arguably her most popular work was the feature-length animated movie "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" in 1993; the popularity of this score led to Walker’s involvement with the television series Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Superman: The Animated Series, where she was the leader of a team of composers that included Michael McCuiston, Lolita Ritmanis and Kristopher Carter. In addition to her composing work, Shirley was been a tireless worker in the field of film music performing rights and composer politics, having been a member of the American Federation of Musicians, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the American Society of Composers Authors & Publishers, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Society of Composers & Lyricists, the Recording Musicians Association, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Walker died on November 30, 2006 at Washoe Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, eight months after the death of her husband, actor Don Walker, due to complications from a stroke that she had experienced two weeks before. At the time of her death, Walker had scored more major-studio motion pictures than any other American woman.
Reviews:
Final Destination
Filmography:
Final Destination 3 (2006), Ritual (2005), Final Destination 2 (2003), Willard (2003), Disappearance (2002), Final Destination (2000), The Others (2000), Pam Coronado: Intuitive Investigator (2000), Mystery Men (1999), Baby Monitor: Sound of Fear (1998), Batman Beyond (1999), The Batman/Superman Movie (1998), The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon (1998), The Love Bug (1997), Asteroid (1997), Turbulence (1997), Superman: The Animated Series (1996), Escape from L.A. (1996), It Came from Outer Space II (1996), Space: Above and Beyond (1995), The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space (1995), The Haunting of Seacliff Inn (1994), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), Majority Rule (1992), Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Born to Ride (1991), The Flash (1990), Strike It Rich (1990), The Dungeonmaster (1985), Ghoulies (1985), Violated (1984), Touched (1983), The End of August (1982).
Highest Grossing Films (adjusted for inflation):
Final Destination ($70.1m), Final Destination 3 ($58.9m), Final Destination 2 ($55.1m), Mystery Men ($41.8m), Escape from L.A. ($40.8m), Memoirs of an Invisible Man ($24.6m), Turbulence ($17.8m), Black Christmas ($17.5m), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm ($9.6m), Willard ($8.1m)
Awards:
1996 Emmy Awards – Nominee, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series – Space: Above and Beyond
Links:
Shirley Walker: Sound on Film
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