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In the 1980s, he had success with the scores for ''[[Ordinary People]]'' (1980) and ''[[Sophie's Choice (film)|Sophie's Choice]]'' (1982). He also received an Academy Award nomination in 1986 for the film version of ''[[A Chorus Line]]''.<ref name="nyt"/> His last projects included ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]'' and what would be his last effort, ''[[The Informant!|The Informant]]!'' (2009) starring [[Matt Damon]], and directed by [[Steven Soderbergh]].<ref name="nyt"/>
In the 1980s, he had success with the scores for ''[[Ordinary People]]'' (1980) and ''[[Sophie's Choice (film)|Sophie's Choice]]'' (1982). He also received an Academy Award nomination in 1986 for the film version of ''[[A Chorus Line]]''.<ref name="nyt"/> His last projects included ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]'' and what would be his last effort, ''[[The Informant!|The Informant]]!'' (2009) starring [[Matt Damon]], and directed by [[Steven Soderbergh]].<ref name="nyt"/>

In 2003, Hamlisch appeared in a cameo role (portraying himself) in the film ''[[How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days]]''.


===Stage===
===Stage===

Revision as of 05:00, 9 August 2012

Marvin Hamlisch
Hamlisch conducting
Hamlisch conducting
Background information
Birth nameMarvin Frederick Hamlisch
Born(1944-06-02)June 2, 1944
New York, New York
DiedAugust 7, 2012(2012-08-07) (aged 68)
Los Angeles, California
Genres
Occupations
InstrumentPiano
Years active1965–2012

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012)[1] was an American composer and conductor. He was one of only eleven EGOTs – those who have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. He was also one of only two people to have won those four prizes and also a Pulitzer Prize (the other was Richard Rodgers). Hamlisch also won two Golden Globes.

Biography

Early life

Hamlisch was born in Manhattan to Viennese Jewish parents, Lilly (née Schachter) and Max Hamlisch.[2] His father was an accordionist and bandleader. Hamlisch was a child prodigy, and, by age five, he began mimicking the piano music he heard on the radio. A few months before he turned seven, in 1951, he was accepted into what is now the Juilliard School Pre-College Division.[3] His first job was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. Shortly after that, he was hired by producer Sam Spiegel to play piano at Spiegel's parties. This connection led to his first film score, The Swimmer.[3] His favorite musicals growing up were My Fair Lady, Gypsy, West Side Story, and Bye Bye Birdie.[4]

Hamlisch attended Queens College. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967.[3]

Film and composer

Although Liza Minnelli's debut album included a song he wrote in his teens, his first hit did not come until he was 21 years old. This song, "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows", co-written with Howard Liebling, was recorded by Lesley Gore and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1965.[5] His first film score was for The Swimmer, after the film's producer Sam Spiegel hired Hamlisch based on a piano performance Hamlisch did at a party.[5] Later he wrote music for several early Woody Allen films such as Take the Money and Run and Bananas. In addition, Hamlisch co-wrote the song "California Nights" (also with Liebling), which was recorded by Lesley Gore for her 1967 hit album of the same name. The Bob Crewe-produced single peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100 in March 1967, two months after Gore had performed the song on the Batman TV series, in which she guest-starred as an accomplice to Julie Newmar's Catwoman.

Among his better known works during the 1970s were adaptations of Scott Joplin's ragtime music for the motion picture The Sting, including its theme song, "The Entertainer". It hit #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and #3 on the Hot 100, selling nearly 2 million copies in the US alone. He had great success with The Way We Were in 1974, winning two of his three 1974 Academy Awards. He also won four Grammy Awards in 1974, two for "The Way We Were." He co-wrote "Nobody Does It Better" for the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me with his then-girlfriend Carole Bayer Sager which was later nominated for an Oscar.[5] Hamlisch also wrote the orchestral/disco score for the film, which was re-recorded for the album. He also wrote the original theme song for Good Morning America. He got to work with his favorite singer, Johnny Mathis, in live performance on occasions and Mathis also recorded many of his classic song compositions in the studio.

In the 1980s, he had success with the scores for Ordinary People (1980) and Sophie's Choice (1982). He also received an Academy Award nomination in 1986 for the film version of A Chorus Line.[5] His last projects included Three Men and a Baby and what would be his last effort, The Informant! (2009) starring Matt Damon, and directed by Steven Soderbergh.[5]

Stage

Hamlisch composed the score for the 1975 Broadway musical A Chorus Line, for which he won both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize; and They're Playing Our Song, loosely based on his relationship with Carole Bayer Sager. His other stage work has been met with mixed reception.[3]

At the beginning of the 1980s, his romantic relationship with Bayer Sager ended, but their songwriting relationship continued. The 1983 musical Jean Seberg, on the tragic life of the actress, failed in its London production at the UK's National Theatre and never played in the US.[6] In 1986, Smile was a mixed success and had a short run on Broadway.[5] The musical version of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl (1993) closed after only 188 performances, although he received a Drama Desk nomination, for Outstanding Music.[7]

Conductor

Hamlisch was Musical Director and arranger of Barbra Streisand’s 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England as well as of the television special, "Barbra Streisand: The Concert", for which he received two of his Emmys. He also conducted several tours of Linda Ronstadt during this period, most notably on her successful 1996 Dedicated To The One I Love tour of arenas and stadiums.

Hamlisch held the position of Principal Pops Conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra,[8] the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra,[9] the San Diego Symphony,[10] the Seattle Symphony,[11] the Dallas Symphony Orchestra,[12] Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, [13] The National Symphony Orchestra Pops,[14] and The Pasadena Symphony and Pops.[15]

Honors and awards

Hamlisch was one of only eleven people to win all four major US performing awards: Emmy Award, Grammy Award, the Oscar and Tony Award.[16] This collection of all four is referred to as an "EGOT". Hamlisch and Richard Rodgers are the only two people to have won this series of awards and a Pulitzer Prize.[16][17]

He received ten Golden Globe Award nominations, winning twice for Best Original Song, with Life Is What You Make It in 1972 and The Way We Were in 1974.[18] He also received six Emmy Award nominations, winning four times, twice for music direction of Barbra Streisand specials, in 1995 and 2001.[19]

He shared the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976 with Michael Bennett, James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante, and Edward Kleban for his musical contribution to the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line.[5]

Hamlisch received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Soundtrack Awards, in Ghent, Belgium, in 2009. The World Soundtrack Awards are held annually at the end of the Ghent Film Festival, which honors Belgian and international films, with a focus on film music.

He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2008.[20]

In 2008, he appeared as a judge in the Canadian reality series "Triple Sensation" which aired on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). The show was aimed to provide a training bursary to a talented youth who could be a leader in song, dance, and acting.

Personal life

In May 1989, Hamlisch married Terre Blair, a Columbus, Ohio, native and weather/news anchor from the ABC affiliate WTVN - Channel 6 in that city.[21][22][23] He had a prior relationship with Carole Bayer Sager, which was the inspiration for the musical They're Playing Our Song.[24]

Death

Marvin Hamlisch died on August 6, 2012, in Los Angeles, California, at age 68, following a brief illness.[25][26] The Associated Press described him as having written "some of the best-loved and most enduring songs and scores in movie history."[27] Streisand released a statement praising Hamlisch, stating that "his brilliantly quick mind, his generosity and delicious sense of humor that made him a delight to be around".[5] Aretha Franklin called him "classic and one of a kind" and one of the "all-time great" arrangers and producers.[28] The head of the Pasadena Symphony and POPS commented that Hamlisch had "left a very specific ... original mark on American music and added to the great American songbook with works he himself composed".[29]

Work

Symphony

Marvin Hamlisch at the piano, 2006

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra performed a rare Hamlisch classical symphonic suite titled Anatomy of Peace (Symphonic Suite in one Movement For Full Orchestra/Chorus/Child Vocal Soloist) on November 19, 1991.[30] It was also performed in Paris in 1994 to commemorate D-Day.[31] The work was recorded by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1992.[32] Anatomy of Peace was a book by Emery Reves which expressed the world federalist sentiments shared by Albert Einstein and many others in the late 1940s, in the period immediately following World War II.

Theatre

Film

Hamlisch also composed "Theme Song for Peaboy" for Late Night with David Letterman.

Academy Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ Marvin Hamlisch, Composed 'The Way We Were,' Dies at 68
  2. ^ "Marvin Hamlisch Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d (no author).Marvin Hamlisch biography TurnerClassicMovies.com, accessed April 2, 2009.
  4. ^ Cerasaro. Pat."InDepth Interview Marvin Hamlisch" Broadwayworld.com, July 22, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rob Hoerburger (August 8, 2012). "Sensationally Decorated Maestro of Film and Stage". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  6. ^ (no author)."Hamlisch biography.Broadway:The American Musical" PBS.com, accessed August 18, 2011.
  7. ^ (no author)." The Goodbye Girl listing" Internet Broadway Database, accessed August 18, 2011.
  8. ^ (no author)."Hamlisch Biography Pittsburgh Symphony, accessed April 2, 2009.
  9. ^ (no author)."Hamlisch Listing" Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, accessed August 18, 2011.
  10. ^ "Musicians and Conductors Listing" San Diego Symphony, accessed August 18, 2011.
  11. ^ "Hamlisch Listing" Seattle Symphony, accessed August 18, 2011.
  12. ^ "Conductors" Dallas Symphony Orchestra, accessed August 18, 2011.
  13. ^ "Composer Marvin Hamlisch dies at 68" Buffalo News, accessed August 7, 2012.
  14. ^ "Marvin Hamlish Bio". August 8, 2012.
  15. ^ Ng, David (August 27, 2010). "Marvin Hamlisch named conductor of the Pasadena Pops". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  16. ^ a b List of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award
  17. ^ "Tony Legacy, They're the Top" tonyawards.com, accessed February 5, 2010.
  18. ^ "Marvin Hamlisch Golden Globes Awards", goldenglobes.org, accessed August 7, 2009.
  19. ^ "Hamlisch Award Listing" InternetMovieDatabase.com, accessed April 2, 2009.
  20. ^ (no author).limusichalloffame.org "The Long Island Music Hall Of Fame Second Induction Award Gala On October 30 At The Garden City Hotel" limusichalloffame.org, 2008, accessed August 18, 2011.
  21. ^ (no author)."Marvin Hamlisch to Marry Ms. Blair, Producer, in May" The New York Times, March 19, 1989.
  22. ^ "People Are Talking About" Jet (books.google.com), June 19, 1989
  23. ^ Laufenberg, Norbert B."Hamlisch, Marvin" p. 285 Entertainment Celebrities, Trafford Publishing, 2005 (books.google.com).
  24. ^ Klein, Alvin."A New Approach for Marvin Hamlisch" The New York Times, August 22, 1993.
  25. ^ "Composer Marvin Hamlisch dies at 68 in Los Angeles". Wall St. Journal. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  26. ^ "Marvin Hamlisch, Famed Composer and Conductor, Dead at 68 Read more at http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/tv-film/marvin-hamlisch-famed-composer-and-conductor-1007764352.story#xCpbHgMhYzDgRzyx.99". billboard.biz. Retrieved August 7, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  27. ^ "Marvin Hamlisch left his signature on decades of films". Boston Herald. Associated Press. August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  28. ^ Marvin Hamlisch, composer for Broadway and the screen, dies aged 68 Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 7 August 2012 11.25 EDT
  29. ^ Woo, Elaine (August 8, 2012). "Marvin Hamlisch dies at 68; award-winning composer of popular music". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  30. ^ Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle" The New York Times, November 19, 1991.
  31. ^ Croan, Robert."Hamlisch Symphony" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 30, 1994, p. 19.
  32. ^ "Dallas Symphony Orchestra Discography" dallassymphony.com, p. 4, accessed February 4, 2010.

Further reading

  • Hamlisch, Marvin (1992). The Way I Was. Scribner; 1st edition ISBN 0-684-19327-2
  • Mandelbaum, Ken (1990). A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett. St Martins Press ISBN 0-312-04280-9
  • Viagas, Robert (1990). On the Line - The Creation of A Chorus Line. Limelight Editions; 2nd edition ISBN 0-87910-336-1
  • Kelly, Kevin (1990). One Singular Sensation: The Michael Bennett Story. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-26125-X.
  • Stevens, Gary (2000). The Longest Line: Broadway's Most Singular Sensation: A Chorus Line. Applause Books ISBN 1-55783-221-8
  • Flinn, Denny Martin (1989). What They Did for Love: The Untold Story Behind the Making of "A Chorus Line."' Bantam ISBN 0-553-34593-1

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