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Marvin Hamlisch

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Marvin Hamlisch
Hamlisch conducting
Hamlisch conducting
Background information
Birth nameMarvin Frederick Hamlisch
Born(1944-06-02)June 2, 1944
New York City, New York
DiedAugust 6, 2012(2012-08-06) (aged 68)
Los Angeles, California
GenresMusical theatre, film, pops
Occupation(s)Composer, conductor
InstrumentPiano
Years active1965–2012

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012)[1] was an American composer. He was one of only eleven people to 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 New York City 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 on 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

Hamlisch was the composer of many motion picture scores, including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of Scott Joplin’s music for The Sting, for which he received a third Oscar. His prolific output of scores for films include original compositions and/or musical adaptations for Sophie's Choice, Ordinary People, The Swimmer, Three Men And A Baby, Ice Castles, Take The Money And Run, Bananas, Save The Tiger and his latest effort The Informant! (2009) starring Matt Damon, and directed by Steven Soderbergh.

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", was sung by Lesley Gore. His first film score was for The Swimmer, although he had done some music for films as early as 1965. Later he wrote music for several early Woody Allen films, such as Take the Money and Run. In addition, Hamlisch co-wrote the song "California Nights" with Howard 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 Billboard's 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. (John Barry was unable to work in the United Kingdom due to tax reasons.) Hamlisch also wrote the orchestral/disco score for the film, which was re-recorded for the album. The song went on to be nominated for an Oscar in 1977. 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 recorded many of his classic song compositions.

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.

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

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.[5] In 1986, Smile was a mixed success, but he did gain some note for the song Disneyland. 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.[6]

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 1996 Dedicated To The One I Love tour.

Hamlisch held the position of Principal Pops Conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra,[7] the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra,[8] the San Diego Symphony,[9] the Seattle Symphony,[10] the Dallas Symphony Orchestra,[11] Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra[12] and The Pasadena Symphony and Pops.[13]

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.[14] 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.[14][15]

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.[16]

He received six Emmy Award nominations, winning four times, twice for music direction of Barbra Streisand specials, in 1995 and 2001.[17]

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.

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.[18]

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.[19][20][21] He had a prior relationship with Carole Bayer Sager, which was the inspiration for the musical They're Playing Our Song.[22]

Death

Marvin Hamlisch died on August 6, 2012, in Los Angeles, California, at age 68, following a brief illness.[23][24]

Work

Symphony

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.[25] It was also performed in Paris in 1994 to commemorate D-Day.[26] The work was recorded by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1992.[27]

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.

Hamlisch explains: Emery Reves’s call for one law for us all could be defined by a simple, clear, plaintive theme, and the orchestra would represent all the nations of the world and their different rules of law. The suite begins with the nations of the world in loud, cacophonous uproar. Suddenly, a solo flute introduces the One Law theme, beckoning to us all; one law bringing us all together. But each section of the orchestra (our world) initially resists the call, since old habits are hard to break. The brass and the woodwinds are first to display their dislike of this new idea. But the flute acts as a magnet and slowly its pull (its logic) is felt, first by the woodwinds. When the theme returns, it is not alone. The strings, a big part of our world, must now be convinced, and finally they are. Our theme is now given words, first introduced by a solo child, and then sung again by a children’s chorus. Slowly the irresistibility of the idea begins to weave a spell on the orchestra and the penultimate section of the piece is a contemplative one, as the world thinks about what the new world order would be. Finally, Reves’s dream is musically realized, as the entire orchestra accepts the One Law concept.[28][citation needed]

Theatre

Film

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

Academy Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/marvin-hamlisch-oscar-winning-composer-dies-68-50971
  2. ^ "Marvin Hamlisch Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  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. ^ (no author)."Hamlisch biography.Broadway:The American Musical" PBS.com, accessed August 18, 2011.
  6. ^ (no author)." The Goodbye Girl listing" Internet Broadway Database, accessed August 18, 2011.
  7. ^ (no author)."Hamlisch Biography Pittsburgh Symphony, accessed April 2, 2009.
  8. ^ (no author)."Hamlisch Listing" Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, accessed August 18, 2011.
  9. ^ "Musicians and Conductors Listing" San Diego Symphony, accessed August 18, 2011.
  10. ^ "Hamlisch Listing" Seattle Symphony, accessed August 18, 2011.
  11. ^ "Conductors" Dallas Symphony Orchestra, accessed August 18, 2011.
  12. ^ "Composer Marvin Hamlisch dies at 68" Buffalo News, accessed August 7, 2012.
  13. ^ Ng, David (August 27, 2010). "Marvin Hamlisch named conductor of the Pasadena Pops". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  14. ^ a b List of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award
  15. ^ "Tony Legacy, They're the Top" tonyawards.com, accessed February 5, 2010.
  16. ^ "Marvin Hamlisch Golden Globes Awards", goldenglobes.org, accessed August 7, 2009.
  17. ^ "Hamlisch Award Listing" InternetMovieDatabase.com, accessed April 2, 2009.
  18. ^ (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.
  19. ^ (no author)."Marvin Hamlisch to Marry Ms. Blair, Producer, in May" The New York Times, March 19, 1989.
  20. ^ "People Are Talking About" Jet (books.google.com), June 19, 1989
  21. ^ Laufenberg, Norbert B."Hamlisch, Marvin" p. 285 Entertainment Celebrities, Trafford Publishing, 2005 (books.google.com).
  22. ^ Klein, Alvin."A New Approach for Marvin Hamlisch" The New York Times, August 22, 1993.
  23. ^ "Composer Marvin Hamlisch dies at 68 in Los Angeles". Wall St. Journal. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  24. ^ "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)
  25. ^ Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle" The New York Times, November 19, 1991.
  26. ^ Croan, Robert."Hamlisch Symphony" Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 30, 1994, p. 19.
  27. ^ "Dallas Symphony Orchestra Discography" dallassymphony.com, p. 4, accessed February 4, 2010.
  28. ^ Hamlisch, Marvin: The Way I Was.

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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