Marvin Hamlisch – Film Composer Dead at 68

He was something of a pop culture figure in the ’70s, appearing on talk shows and such. Marvin Hamlisch won virtually every major award: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony, and three Golden Globes. He made movie history in 1974 when he became the first individual ever to win three Academy Awards in one night in all three music categories (for THE WAY WE WERE and THE STING). He apparently collapsed in his home yesterday after a brief illness and is dead at 68. We’ll update here with details as they come in.

From THE LOS ANGELES TIMES:

Celebrated composer Marvin Hamlisch, best known for the Tony Award-winning “A Chorus Line” and the movie classic “The Sting,” has died in Los Angeles. He was 68.

Family spokesman Jason Lee said Hamlisch died Monday after a brief illness, but he did not provide additional details, according to the Associated Press.

Hamlisch was a prolific composer. His work included the Oscar-winning score and song for “The Way We Were,” as well as “Sophie’s Choice,” “Ordinary People,” “Ice Castles” and, most recently, “The Informant.”.

Hamlisch, the winner of three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys and the Tony -– as well as a Pulitzer Prize -– came the Pasadena Pops as principal conductor last year.

Despite his credentials, he started with a two-season, six-concert contract, joking, “because if it doesn’t work, why should they be stuck with me for five years?”

“I like everybody here,” he told The Times in August 2011. “I think they are really trying, and I’ve found this to be refreshing. I felt like they can only afford so much, and [I decided], you know what, I should be part of this, because it could be a great success story. You don’t know, so you give it a shot.”

After his first conducting effort, Paul Jan Zdunek, chief executive of the Pasadena Symphony and Pops organization, gave Hamlisch high marks: “You wind Marvin up, you send him out, and he knocks it out of the park.”……………….

Read the rest HERE

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/08/marvin-hamlisch-dies.html