MOVIE MUSIC UK

Composer Marvin Hamlisch died on August 6, 2012, at his home in Los Angeles, California, after a brief illness. He was 68.

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch was born in June 1944 in New York City to Austrian Jewish parents. He was a child prodigy who entered Juilliard at age seven, and then attended Queens College, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967.

A rare winner of the EGOT – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards – Hamlisch was one of the most decorated and versatile musicians of his generation. His work ranged from heartfelt ballads to rousing film scores, from Broadway showstoppers to pop hits, all marked by his melodic gift and deep emotional accessibility. He began his career as a rehearsal pianist for Barbra Streisand early in his career, later becoming her musical director and collaborator. His songs became hits for numerous artists, and his work as a conductor with major orchestras further expanded his artistic reach; his popular songs include “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” and “California Nights” for Lesley Gore, and “The Travelin’ Life” for Liza Minnelli.

His first film score was for 1968’s The Swimmer. He also wrote music for several early Woody Allen films, including Take the Money and Run (1969) and Bananas (1971). Hamlisch’s film work brought him three Academy Awards, all in 1974: two for The Way We Were (Best Original Score and Best Song, shared with lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman), and one for his adaptation of Scott Joplin’s ragtime music for The Sting. Other notable film and TV scores in his career include Kotch in 1971, Save the Tiger in 1973, the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977, Ice Castles in 1978, Ordinary People in 1980, Sophies Choice in 1982, Shirley Valentine in 1989, and The Mirror Has Two Faces in 1996.

On Broadway, Hamlisch achieved lasting fame with A Chorus Line (1975), one of the most successful musicals of all time. Its score, written in collaboration with lyricist Edward Kleban, won him both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a rare feat for a composer, and its 1985 big-screen adaptation was also a commercial success. His other Broadway successes include They’re Playing Our Song in 1978, The Goodbye Girl in 1993, and Sweet Smell of Success in 2002.

Hamlisch held the position of Principal Pops Conductor for numerous orchestras, and he was the musical director and arranger of Barbra Streisand’s 1994 concert tour, as well as of the television special, Barbra Streisand: The Concert, for which he received two of his Emmys.

In the 1970s Hamlisch was in a relationship with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, who inspired him to write the musical They’re Playing Our Song. His other relationships included actress Emma Samms and television personality Cyndy Garvey; he was married to former Ohio news anchor Terre Blair at the time of his death.