Greatest Music Composers

1. John Williams

As one of the best known, awarded, and financially successful composers in US history, John Williams is as easy to recall as John Philip Sousa, Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein, illustrating why he is "America's composer" time and again. With a massive list of awards that includes over 52 Oscar ...

Greats: Jaws (1975)♫; Star Wars (1977)♫; Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)♫; Schindler's List (1993)♫; Jurassic Park (1993)♫

Give It a Shot: Superman♫

Notable Films: Close Encounters; E.T.; Fiddler on the Roof

2. Bernard Herrmann

Composer | North by Northwest

The man behind the low woodwinds that open Citizen Kane (1941), the shrieking violins of Psycho (1960), and the plaintive saxophone of Taxi Driver (1976) was one of the most original and distinctive composers ever to work in film. He started early, winning a composition prize at the age of 13 and ...

Greats: Psycho♫; Taxi Driver (1977)♫

Other Notable Film(s):

3. Maurice Jarre

Composer | Lawrence of Arabia

Unlike many musicians who started to learn music while still in their childhood, Maurice Jarre was already late in his teens when he discovered music and decided to make a career in that field. Against his father's will, he enrolled at Conservatoire de Paris where he studied percussions, ...

Greats: Lawrence of Arabia♫; Doctor Zhivago (1965)♫

Other Notable Film(s):

4. Ennio Morricone

Composer | The Hateful Eight

A classmate of director Sergio Leone with whom he would form one of the great director/composer partnerships (right up there with Eisenstein & Prokofiev, Hitchcock & Herrmann, Fellini & Rota), Ennio Morricone studied at Rome's Santa Cecilia Conservatory, where he specialized in trumpet. His first ...

Greats: A Fistful of Dollars (1964); For a Few a Dollars (1965); The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)♫; Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)♫; Days of Heaven (1978) (1978)♫; The Thing (1982) (1982); White Dog (1982) (1982); Once Upon a Time in America (1984) (1984)♫; The Untouchables (1987) (1987)♫; Cinema Paradiso (1988)♫; Bugsy (1991) (1991)♫; In the Line of Fire (1993) (1993)

Other Notable Film(s): Duck, You Sucker! (1971); Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975); 1900 (1976); The Mission (1986) (1986); Malèna (2000) (2000)

5. Quincy Jones

Producer | The Color Purple

Considered to be one of the greatest minds in music and television history, Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. was born on March 14, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois. He is the son of Sarah Frances (Wells), a bank executive, and Quincy Delight Jones, Sr., a carpenter.

Jones found his love for music while he was ...

Greats: In the Heat of the Night (1967); The Color Purple

Other Notable Film(s):

6. Elmer Bernstein

Composer | Far from Heaven

Elmer Bernstein was educated at the Walden School and New York University. He served in the US Army Air Corps in World War II, writing scores for the service radio unit. He also wrote and arranged musical numbers for Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band. A prolific and respected film music composer, ...

7. Nino Rota

Composer | The Godfather

Born in Milan in 1911 into a family of musicians, Nino Rota was first a student of Orefice and Pizzetti. Then, still a child, he moved to Rome where he completed his studies at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in 1929 with Alfredo Casella. In the meantime, he had become an 'enfant prodige', famous...

Greats: The Godfather (1972)♫; The Godfather: Pt. II (1974)♫

Other Notable Film(s):

8. Max Steiner

Composer | Casablanca

Austrian composer Max Steiner achieved legendary status as the creator of hundreds of classic American film scores. He was born Maximilian Raoul Walter Steiner in Vienna, Austria, the son of Marie Mizzi (Hasiba) and Gabor Steiner, an impresario, and the grandson of actor and theater director and ...

9. Jerry Goldsmith

Composer | L.A. Confidential

Born on February 10, 1929, Jerry Goldsmith studied piano with Jakob Gimpel and composition, theory, and counterpoint with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He also attended classes in film composition given by Miklós Rózsa at the Univeristy of Southern California. In 1950, he was employed as a clerk ...

10. Leonard Bernstein

Soundtrack | New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts

Renowned composer ("West Side Story", "Candide", "On The Town"), conductor, arranger, pianist, educator, author, TV/radio host, educated at the Boston Latin School and Harvard University (BA) with Walter Piston. Edward Burlingame Hill and A. Tillman Merritt. He studied piano with Helen Coates, ...

11. Henry Mancini

Soundtrack | Breakfast at Tiffany's

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, but brought up in Pennsylvania, where he played the flute in a local band, as a youth, before sending some arrangements to Benny Goodman. Goodman offered him a job and, after serving in WWII, he joined the rearranged Glenn Miller band. In 1952, he was given a two-week ...

Greats: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)♫

Give It a Shot: Victor/Victoria (1982)

Other Notable Film(s):

12. Randy Newman

Soundtrack | The Princess and the Frog

Randy Newman is an American film composer and singer who is well-known for composing The Princess and the Frog, Meet the Parents and various Pixar films including the Toy Story, Monsters, Inc and Cars franchises as well as A Bug's Life. He wrote iconic songs such as "Short People", "You've Got A ...

Notable Films: The Natural♫; Toy Story

13. Alfred Newman

Music_department | The King and I

Alfred Newman is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music.

From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Academy Awards and was nominated 45 times, contributing to the Newmans being the most nominated ...

14. Dave Grusin

Music_department | The Fabulous Baker Boys

Dave Grusin was born on June 26, 1934 in Littleton, Colorado, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Firm (1993) and The Graduate (1967). He was previously married to Edith Ruth Price, Sara Jane Tallman and Barbara Jo Davidson.

15. Miklós Rózsa

Composer | Ben-Hur

A child prodigy, Miklos Rózsa learned to play the violin at the age of five and read music before he was able to read words. In 1926, he began studying at the Leipzig Conservatory where he was considered a brilliant student. He obtained his doctorate in music in 1930. Moving to Paris the following ...

16. Alex North

Music_department | Spartacus

Alex North studied music at the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia, then won a scholarship to Juilliard in New York (1929) and the Moscow Conservatoire (1933), making him the first-ever American to become a member of the Union of Soviet Composers. In Europe, he worked as music director for the ...

17. Franz Waxman

Composer | Sunset Blvd.

Franz Waxman (Wachsmann) pursued his dream of a career in music despite his family's misgivings. He worked for several years as a bank teller and paid for piano, harmony and composition lessons with his salary. He later moved to Berlin, where he continued his study and progress as a musician. He ...

18. John Barry

Soundtrack | Out of Africa

John Barry was born in York, England in 1933, and was the youngest of three children. His father, Jack, owned several local cinemas and by the age of fourteen, Barry was capable of running the projection box on his own - in particular, The Rialto in York. As he was brought up in a cinematic ...

19. Hans Zimmer

Composer | Gladiator

German-born composer Hans Zimmer is recognized as one of Hollywood's most innovative musical talents. He featured in the music video for The Buggles' single "Video Killed the Radio Star", which became a worldwide hit and helped usher in a new era of global entertainment as the first music video to ...

20. Thomas Newman

Music_department | Skyfall

Thomas Newman is an American film score composer. He was born in Los Angeles. His father was notable film score composer Alfred Newman (1900-1970). The Newman family is of Russian-Jewish descent, and includes several other well-known musicians. Thomas' mother Martha Louis Montgomery (1920-2005) ...

Greats: American Beauty (1999)♫

Other Notable Film(s):

21. Danny Elfman

Music_department | The Nightmare Before Christmas

As Danny Elfman was growing up in the Los Angeles area, he was largely unaware of his talent for composing. It wasn't until the early 1970s that Danny and his older brother Richard Elfman started a musical troupe while in Paris; the group "Mystic Knights of Oingo-Boingo" was created for Richard's ...

Notable Films: Men in Black

22. Howard Shore

Music_department | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Howard Shore is a Canadian composer, born in Toronto. He was born in a Jewish family. He started studying music when 8-years-old, and played as a member of bands by the time he was 13-years-old. He was interested in a professional career in music as a teenager. He studied music at the Berklee ...

23. James Newton Howard

Music_department | King Kong

James Newton Howard attended the University of Southern California's music school, but dropped out to tour with Elton John, and eventually compose music for film and television. He started with Head Office (1985) in 1985. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards. He currently is a songwriter, ...

24. James Horner

Music_department | Titanic

James Horner began studying piano at the age of five, and trained at the Royal College of Music in London, England, before moving to California in the 1970s. After receiving a bachelor's degree in music at USC, he would go on to earn his master's degree at UCLA and teach music theory there. He ...

25. Marvin Hamlisch

Composer | The Spy Who Loved Me

Musical talent ran in Marvin Hamlisch's family - his father was an accordionist, and at seven Hamlisch was the youngest student ever accepted by Manhattan's Julliard School of Music. Hamlich furthered his education by taking night classes at Queens College and working during the day as a rehearsal ...

26. Johnny Mandel

Music_department | MASH

Inducted into the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame in 2009 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame a year later, Johnny Mandel is perhaps best known as the composer of the iconic M*A*S*H (1972) theme song, "Suicide is Painless". Born and raised in Manhattan, he was the son of a garment manufacturer and an opera ...

MASH (1970)

27. Philip Glass

Soundtrack | The Truman Show

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Glass worked in his father's radio store and discovered music listening to the offbeat Western classical records customers didn't seem to want. He studied the violin and flute, and obtained early admission to the University of Chicago. After graduating in mathematics ...

28. Vangelis

Composer | Blade Runner

Vangelis was a composer and performer who worked almost exclusively with electronic instruments. With Jean-Michel Jarre and Mike Oldfield in the 1970s, Vangelis was a pioneer in the instrumental music and a main influence in the creation of the musical genre "new age," a style related to spiritual,...

Caution: Chariots of Fire (1981)♫

29. Alan Menken

Soundtrack | Beauty and the Beast

Alan Menken is an American composer, songwriter, music conductor, director and record producer.

Menken is best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and ...

30. Bill Conti

Soundtrack | Rocky

Bill Conti was born on April 13, 1942 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Rocky (1976), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and The Karate Kid Part II (1986). He is married to Shelby Cox. They have two children.

31. Gabriel Yared

Composer | The Talented Mr. Ripley

Gabriel Yared stopped his law studies at the age of 20 to work as a professional music composer. He studied with Henri Dutilleux and Maurice Ohana. He worked as a composer, orchestrator or producer for such singers as Françoise Hardy, Charles Aznavour, Gilbert Bécaud and Mireille Mathieu. He made ...

32. David Shire

Music_department | Zodiac

David Shire was born on July 3, 1937 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He is a composer and writer, known for Zodiac (2007), Short Circuit (1986) and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). He has been married to Didi Conn since February 11, 1984. They have one child. He was previously married to Talia...

33. A.R. Rahman

Composer | Slumdog Millionaire

A two-time winner and five-time nominee of the Academy Award, A. R. Rahman is popularly known as the man who has redefined contemporary Indian music. Rahman, according to a BBC estimate, has sold more than 150 million copies of his work comprising of music from more than 100 film soundtracks and ...

Notable Films: Slumdog Millionaire

34. Herbert Stothart

Music_department | The Wizard of Oz

Of Scottish and German ancestry, Herbert Stothart was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1885. At first, he was slated for a career as a teacher of history. However, he became enamored with music while singing in a school choir, and again, later, while attending the University of Wisconsin. There, he...

35. Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Composer | The Adventures of Robin Hood

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was the son of a well-known music critic. A child prodigy, he accompanied his father in playing four-handed piano arrangements by the age of five. By the age of eleven he drew his first plaudits from enthusiastic Viennese audiences (including the emperor Franz Josef) with ...

36. Dimitri Tiomkin

Soundtrack | High Noon

Dimitri Tiomkin was a Russian Jewish composer who emigrated to America and became one of the most distinguished and best-loved music writers of Hollywood. He won a hallowed place in the pantheon of the most successful and productive composers in American film history, earning himself four Oscars ...

37. David Raksin

Soundtrack | Captain America: The First Avenger

David Raksin's father Isidore, who both conducted and owned a music store, taught his son to play piano as well as woodwind instruments at an early age. He eventually studied music with Arnold Schönberg, but became by-and-large a self-taught multi-instrumentalist (organ and percussion), as well as ...

38. John Morris

Music_department | Blazing Saddles

John Morris was born on October 18, 1926 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA. He was a composer, known for Blazing Saddles (1974), The Elephant Man (1980) and Coach (1989). He was married to Francesca Bosetti. He died on January 25, 2018 in Red Hook, New York, USA.

39. Terence Blanchard

Composer | BlacKkKlansman

A world renowned trumpeter/composer/band leader and Blue Note recording artist, Terence Blanchard is the most prolific jazz musician to ever compose for motion pictures. Blanchard was born and raised in New Orleans where he studied with the Marsalis brothers at the famed New Orleans Center for the ...

40. Jerry Fielding

Composer | The Wild Bunch

A three-time Oscar nominee, Jerry Fielding was among the boldest and most experimental of all Hollywood film composers. His music typically utilized advanced compositional procedures, producing dense, often richly dissonant orchestral textures, sometimes flavored with jazz. Fielding's film music ...

41. David Arnold

Soundtrack | Casino Royale

David Arnold was born on January 23, 1962 in Luton, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Casino Royale (2006), Independence Day (1996) and Godzilla (1998). He has been married to Ellie Pole since June 8, 1996. They have three children.

42. Michel Legrand

Composer | The Thomas Crown Affair

Michel Legrand is a three-time Academy Award-winning French composer, conductor and pianist who composed over 200 film and television scores as well as recorded over a hundred albums of jazz, popular and classical music.

He was born on February 24, 1932, in Becon-les-Bruyeres, in the Paris suburbs, ...

43. Anton Karas

Soundtrack | Brick

Anton Karas was a mere entertainer in an Heurige (Viennese Wine Bar), but Carol Reed selected him as the musical director of "The Third Man" (1949). He was invited to London and lived with Reed. Reed treated him very well, but Karas was in a slump - then suddenly Reed rushed into Karas' room, and ...

44. Arthur Bliss

Composer | Things to Come

Arthur Bliss was born on August 2, 1891 in London, England, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for Things to Come (1936), Seven Days from Now (1957) and Christopher Columbus (1949). He was married to Gertrude Hoffmann. He died on March 28, 1975 in London, England, UK.

45. Leonard Rosenman

Composer | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Leonard Rosenman was born on September 7, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer, known for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Barry Lyndon (1975) and The Lord of the Rings (1978). He was married to Judie Gregg, Lyn Furr, Kay Scott and Adele Bracker. He died on March 4...

46. Johnny Green

Music_department | West Side Story

Composer-pianist-arranger Johnny Green was born in Far Rockaway, New York. The son of musical parents, Green was accepted by Harvard at the age of 15, and entered the University in 1924. Between semesters, bandleader Guy Lombardo heard his Harvard Gold Coast Orchestra and hired him to create dance ...

47. John Addison

Music_department | A Bridge Too Far

British composer, primarily of film scores. From a military family and the son of a Royal Field Artillery colonel, John Mervyn Addison was born March 16, 1920, in Chobham, Surrey, and attended Wellington College, Berkshire, with plans for a military career. His interest and talent for music ...

48. Victor Young

Composer | Around the World in Eighty Days

Violinist and conductor Victor Young was a prolific composer and arranger, who worked on more than 300 film scores over a period of twenty years. He came from an impoverished, but musical background and was trained on the violin at the Warsaw Imperial Conservatory, later studying piano in Paris ...

49. Ernest Gold

Music_department | It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Ernest Gold was born on July 13, 1921 in Vienna, Austria. He was a composer, known for It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), Exodus (1960) and On the Beach (1959). He was married to Jeanette (Jan) Keller, Marni Nixon and Ruth Andree Golbin. He died on March 17, 1999 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

50. Friedrich Hollaender

Music_department | Sabrina

Friedrich Hollaender was the son of the composer Victor Hollaender, who composed shows in Berlin in the 1890s to 1910s. Frederick received early musical training, since 1913 he was student of opera composer Engelbert Humperdinck (who composed Hänsel und Gretel). He started as repetitor at a theater...

51. Michael Kamen

Soundtrack | Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Michael Kamen was born on April 15, 1948 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Don Juan DeMarco (1994) and X-Men (2000). He was married to Sandra Keenan. He died on November 18, 2003 in London, England, UK.

52. Mark Isham

Composer | Crash

From his days as one of the pioneering icons of electronic music to his current status as a world-renowned legendary film composer, Mark Isham continues to be one of the most prolific and provocative artists on the scene. His gift for creating unforgettable melodies and his love of fresh, ...

53. Stephen Warbeck

Composer | Shakespeare in Love

Stephen Warbeck began studying piano and composing at the age of four. His parents were keen amateur musicians who encouraged Stephen to pursue his musical talents. By his mid-teens, Stephen developed an affinity for rock 'n' roll as well as for theatre. He studied Drama and French at Bristol ...

54. George Duning

Composer | From Here to Eternity

George Duning was educated in Cincinnati, Ohio, and during his early 20s played trumpet and piano for the Kay Kyser band, later arranging most of the music for Kyser's popular "Kollege of Musical Knowledge" radio program. It was during the Kyser band's appearance in Carolina Moon (1940) that ...

55. Isaac Hayes

Actor | Escape from New York

Isaac Hayes, the second-born child of Eula and Isaac Hayes Sr., was raised by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade Sr. The child of a poor family, he grew up picking cotton in Covington, Tennessee. He dropped out of high school, but later his former high-school teachers to get his diploma, ...

Notable Films: Shaft

56. Aaron Copland

Soundtrack | He Got Game

Aaron Copland is an Academy Award-winning composer (The Heiress (1949)), author, conductor, lecturer and educator. He was educated at public schools and was a music student of his sister and later Leopold Wolfson, Victor Wittgenstein, Clarence Adler, Rubin Goldmark and Nadia Boulanger. In 1925, he ...

57. Patrick Doyle

Composer | Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Patrick Doyle is a classically trained composer.

His first film score, the acclaimed adaptation of "Henry V" with Kenneth Branagh for Renaissance films was scored in 1989. He has subsequently worked with Kenneth Branagh, a long time collaborator on numerous pictures including "Dead Again", "Much Ado...

58. Georges Delerue

Composer | Platoon

Georges Delerue was born on March 12, 1925 in Roubaix, Nord, France. He was a composer and actor, known for Platoon (1986), Twins (1988) and The Day of the Dolphin (1973). He was married to Micheline Gautron. He died on March 20, 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

59. Bronislau Kaper

Composer | Mutiny on the Bounty

Born: February 5, 1902 in Warsaw, Poland Died: April 25, 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA Kaper displayed musical talent as early as the age of seven when his family acquired a piano. His inclination to music led him to study both piano and composition, while also taking courses in law to ...

60. Francis Lai

Composer | Love Story

Francis Lai was born on April 26, 1932 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. He was a composer and actor, known for Love Story (1970), Stranger Than Fiction (2006) and Kingpin (1996). He was married to Dagmar Puetz. He died on November 7, 2018 in Paris, France.

61. Burt Bacharach

Soundtrack | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Burt Bacharach was a well known and multi award winning singer and song writer.

Over 1,000 different artists have recorded Bacharach's songs. From 1961 to 1972, most of Bacharach and David's hits were written specifically for and performed by Dionne Warwick, but earlier associations (from 1957 to ...

62. Hal David

Soundtrack | My Best Friend's Wedding

Songwriter ("Magic Moments", "Baby Elephant Walk", "What the World Needs Now is Love") and author, educated at New York University. Joining ASCAP in 1943, he collaborated musically with Burt Bacharach, Sherman Edwards, Lee Pockriss, [error], Redd Evans, Don Rodney, John Barry and Henry Mancini. His...

63. Irving Berlin

Soundtrack | Alexander's Ragtime Band

Irving Berlin was born Israel Isidor Baline on May 11, 1888 in Mogilev, Belarus, Russian Empire. Towering composer, songwriter, ("God Bless America", "Always", "Blue Skies", "White Christmas") author and publisher, he came to the United States at age 5 and was educated in New York's public schools....

64. Duke Ellington

Composer | Anatomy of a Murder

Composer ("It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing", "Sophisticated Lady", "Mood Indigo", "Solitude", "In a Mellotone", "Satin Doll"), pianist and conductor, holder of an honorary music degree from Wilberforce University and an LHD from Milton College, Duke Ellington led his own orchestra ...

65. Charles Chaplin

Writer | The Great Dictator

Considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp; the man with the ...

66. Elliot Goldenthal

Music_department | Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Elliot Goldenthal is an Academy Award-winning composer best known for his original music scores for such films as Frida (2002) and Across the Universe (2007), among his other works.

He was born on May 2, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a house-painter, and his mother was a seamstress. ...

67. Alan Silvestri

Composer | The Polar Express

In his ongoing, decades-long career as a composer, Alan Silvestri has blazed an innovative trail with his exciting and melodic scores, winning the applause of Hollywood and movie audiences the world over. With a credit list of over 100 films Silvestri has composed some of the most recognizable and ...

68. Richard Rodney Bennett

Composer | Murder on the Orient Express

Richard Rodney Bennett was an eclectic composer of serious orchestral works, jazz songs and music for stage and screen. Of the former, his most famous compositions include a First Symphony, a piano concerto and four string quartets. Among the latter are scores for operas, such as the dramatic "The ...

69. Virgil Thomson

Composer | Louisiana Story

One of the driving forces, both as critic and musician, of 20th century American music, Thomson studied music at both Harvard University and elsewhere in the Boston area before moving to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger in 1921. After spending a short time in his native land, he returned to ...

70. Georges Auric

Composer | Le salaire de la peur

At the least George Auric was a fine musician, having been a child prodigy, but he was much more in the musical world. He studied under Vincent D'Indy (a devotee of Cesar Franck and the German school of symphonic composition) and attended the Paris Conservatory (1920). By the time he was 20 he had ...

71. Laurence Rosenthal

Composer | Clash of the Titans

Composer Laurence Rosenthal was born in Detroit, Michigan. He studied piano and composition at the Eastman School of Music and later with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. His symphonic compositions have been premiered by Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philarmonic, among others. He has composed ...

72. Giorgio Moroder

Soundtrack | Top Gun

Giorgio Moroder was born on April 26, 1940 in Urtijëi, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. He is a composer and actor, known for Top Gun (1986), Over the Top (1987) and Flashdance (1983).

73. Roy Webb

Composer | Notorious

Trained in classical music at Columbia University, Webb worked on Broadway by the time he was in his mid-20's, not only composing incidental music, but co-writing original plays with his older brother, the director Kenneth S. Webb. By 1923, he worked as conductor/arranger on hit shows like "Music ...

74. David Newman

Music_department | West Side Story

In his 25 year career, David Newman has scored over 100 films, ranging from War of the Roses, Matilda, Bowfinger and Heathers, to the more recent The Spirit, Serenity, and Alvin and the Chipmonks: The Squeakuel. Newman's music has brought to life the critically acclaimed dramas Brokedown Palace and...

75. Hans J. Salter

Soundtrack | Happy Death Day 2 U

Hans J. Salter was born on January 14, 1896 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a composer, known for Happy Death Day 2U (2019), Hubie Halloween (2020) and Detroit Rock City (1999). He was married to Gutzman. He died on July 23, 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

76. Malcolm Arnold

Composer | The Bridge on the River Kwai

Born in Northampton on 21st October 1921, Malcolm Arnold studied composition with Gordon Jacob and trumpet with Ernest Hall at the Royal College of Music. In 1941 he joined the trumpet section of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming principal by 1943. After two years of war service and one ...

77. George Fenton

Composer | Groundhog Day

George Fenton was born on October 19, 1949 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Groundhog Day (1993), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998) and The Bounty Hunter (2010).

78. Carter Burwell

Composer | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Carter Burwell was born on November 18, 1954 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Carol (2015) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). He has been married to Christine Sciulli since 1999.

79. Marc Shaiman

Soundtrack | Smash

A great talent who started his career in Saturday Night Live (1975), where he worked with colleagues like Rob Reiner or Billy Crystal. He worked for some great stage values as Eric Clapton, Rosemary Clooney, Harry Connick Jr., Billy Crystal, Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Holliday, Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis...

80. Rachel Portman

Composer | Never Let Me Go

Rachel Portman, Composer

British composer Rachel Portman became the first female composer to win an Academy Award, which she received for the score of Emma. She was also the first female composer to win a Primetime Emmy Award, which she received for the film, Bessie. She has received two further ...

81. Lalo Schifrin

Music_department | Rush Hour

Immensely talented, Argentinian born pianist, conductor and composer who has written over 100 scores for both television & the cinema including the memorable themes to Mission: Impossible (1966), Mannix (1967), Starsky and Hutch (1975), Cool Hand Luke (1967), and Bullitt (1968). Schifrin has ...

82. Louis Barron

Music_department | Forbidden Planet

Louis Barron was born on April 23, 1920 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a composer, known for Forbidden Planet (1956), El monstruo de los volcanes (1963) and Trailer Nation (2018). He was married to Bebe Barron. He died on November 1, 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

83. Bebe Barron

Music_department | Forbidden Planet

Bebe Barron was born on June 16, 1926 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was a composer, known for Forbidden Planet (1956), El monstruo de los volcanes (1963) and Trailer Nation (2018). She was married to Leonard Neubauer and Louis Barron. She died on April 20, 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

84. André Previn

Music_department | My Fair Lady

German-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor André George Previn (born Andreas Ludwig Priwin, in Berlin) was for eight decades a hugely influential and prolific figure in jazz, as well as classical and film music. Being Jewish, Previn's family was forced to leave Hitler's Germany in ...

85. Jerome Moross

Composer | The Big Country

Brooklyn-born composer and orchestrator, who graduated from New York University at the age of eighteen. A child prodigy, he was already an accomplished pianist at the age of five and began composing music three years later. His first serious work ('Paeans') was performed in public when he was ...

86. Basil Poledouris

Composer | RoboCop

Basil Poledouris was born on August 21, 1945 in Kansas City. He started taking piano lessons when he was 7 years old. Eventually, he went on to become a student at USC, where he studied the arts of directing, cinematography, editing, sound and, of course, music. It was also at USC he met John Milius...

87. Hugo Friedhofer

Composer | The Best Years of Our Lives

Hugo Friedhofer -- how many times have you seen that name in the credits of 1930s and '40s movies for "orchestration" or "musical arranger" and thought -- Gee, what a busy guy! He was, and, ironically, much of that work went uncredited. He is not usually mentioned with the great film composers of ...

88. John Corigliano

Composer | Le violon rouge

John Corigliano was born on February 16, 1938 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer, known for The Red Violin (1998), Altered States (1980) and Revolution (1985).

89. Frank Churchill

Composer | Dumbo

Academy Award-winning composer and songwriter ("Whistle While You Work", "Some Day My Prince Will Come"), and pianist, educated at the University of California. He was a pianist in film theatres, and then came to Hollywood under contract to Walt Disney. Joining ASCAP in 1938, his chief musical ...

90. Oliver Wallace

Composer | Dumbo

Oliver Wallace was born on August 6, 1887 in London, England, UK. He was a composer and actor, known for Dumbo (1941), Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Cinderella (1950). He was married to Claire Burch Wallace. He died on September 15, 1963 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

91. Edward H. Plumb

Composer | Bambi

Edward H. Plumb was born on June 6, 1907 in Streator, Illinois, USA. He was a composer, known for Bambi (1942), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Dumbo (1941). He died on April 18, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

92. Gil Mellé

Composer | The Andromeda Strain

A recording artist, song writer, jazz musician and composer, Gil Melle launched his career in the sixties. He first displayed his talent for art work and was also a regular jazz performer in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1969, Gil Melle displayed his musical ...

93. Carmine Coppola

Composer | Apocalypse Now

Composer, conductor, arranger and flautist, educated at the Manhattan School of Music (BA, MA) and Juilliard (on scholarship) (MM). He was first flautist for Radio City Music Hall from 1934 to 1936, the Detroit Symphony from 1936 to 1941, the NBC Toscanini Orchestra from 1942 to 1948 and staff ...

94. Gustavo Santaolalla

Music_department | Brokeback Mountain

Argentine musician and leader of the now defunct bands "Arco Iris" and "Soluna", Gustavo Santaolalla was one of the references of his country's national music by the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s. During the 70s he relocated to the United States, where he formed the band Wet Picnic, ...

95. Adolph Deutsch

Music_department | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

London-born piano child prodigy Adolph Deutsch trained at the Royal Academy of Music from the age of eight and composed his first piece, a waltz for piano, entitled "La Charmeuse", two years later. He moved to the U.S. in 1910 and got his first job working for a publishing house, during which time ...

96. Ray Heindorf

Music_department | The Music Man

Raymond John Heindorf was born August 25, 1908. in Haverstraw, New York. He grew up in Mechanicville, New York, where he moved to when he was about 10 years old. In 1926 he graduated from Mechanicville High School. He was interested in cars and machinery; he loved to play pool with his father, the ...

97. Roger Edens

Soundtrack | On the Town

Roger Edens was born on November 9, 1905 in Hillsboro, Texas, USA. He was a producer and composer, known for On the Town (1949), Strike Up the Band (1940) and Funny Face (1957). He died on July 13, 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

98. Ken Darby

Music_department | The King and I

Composer ("How the West Was Won"), songwriter ("Make Mine Music"), choral director, conductor, arranger, singer and author, educated at Christian College and a student of Tibor Serly, Ernst Toch, Herman Hand, and Victor Young.

He originated The King's Men male vocal quartet in 1929 and appeared on ...

99. Morris Stoloff

Music_department | From Here to Eternity

Morris Stoloff was born on August 1, 1898 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for From Here to Eternity (1953), In a Lonely Place (1950) and Gilda (1946). He died on April 16, 1980 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.

100. Saul Chaplin

Music_department | West Side Story

Composer, songwriter ("Bei Mir Bist Du Schon," "Until the Real Thing Comes Along," "Anniversary Song"), pianist, conductor, arranger, author and producer, educated at the NYU School of Commerce. As a young man, he joined an orchestra as pianist, and Sammy Cahn was in that orchestra as a violinist. ...