Best Original (and Adapted) Score Winners by Precursor Awards

1. Max Steiner

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 ...

1935- The Gay Divorcee, 1939- Jezebel (Scoring), 1940- Gone with the Wind (Original), 1944- Casablanca (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture), 1946- Rhapsody in Blue (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1948- Life With Father (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

2. Nat W. Finston

Music_department | The Big Wheel

Composer, conductor, author, violinist and producer, and chairman of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1938-1944, and a board member 1941-1944), educated at the City College of New York. He was a violinist and later concertmaster of the Russian Symphony, and assistant concertmaster ...

1936- Mutiny on the Bounty

3. Leo F. Forbstein

Music_department | The Adventures of Robin Hood

Leo Forbstein began as a violin player at the age of 4. While conducting at the Royal Theater in St. Joseph, Mo., he pioneered and introduced the synchronization of the orchestra with the silent action on the movie screen.

He moved to Hollywood in the mid 1920s where he directed a symphony orchestra...

1936- Captain Blood, 1937- The Charge of the Light Brigade

4. 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.

1938- Lost Horizon, 1947- The Jolson Story (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1954- From Here to Eternity (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

5. 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 ...

1938- The Prisoner of Zenda, 1957- The King and I (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1968- Camelot (Adapted)

6. 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 ...

1939- The Adventures of Robin Hood (Original), 1941- The Sea Hawk (Score)

7. 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 ...

1940- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Scoring), 1953- High Noon (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture), 1957- Giant (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture), 1961- The Alamo (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

8. Meredith Willson

Soundtrack | The Music Man

Meredith Willson--musician, playwright, and composer--was best known for the book, words, and music for The Music Man (1962). He wrote two other musical plays, including The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). Many of his songs are standards, including "You and I", "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You"...

1941- The Great Dictator (Original)

9. 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 ...

1942- Citizen Kane (Scoring of a Dramatic Picture), 1977- Taxi Driver (Original)

10. Heinz Roemheld

Composer | The Lady from Shanghai

Heinz Roemheld was born on May 1, 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was a composer, known for The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Melinda and Melinda (2004) and A Bronx Tale (1993). He was married to Emeline Defnet. He died on February 11, 1985 in Huntington Beach, California, USA.

1942-The Strawberry Blonde (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1943- Yankee Doodle Dandy (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

11. Werner R. Heymann

Composer | To Be or Not to Be

Werner Richard Heymann was active as a classical composer in Berlin from 1912. By the end of the decade, he also wrote songs for cabaret and served as musical director for Max Reinhardt from 1918 to 1919. In films with Ufa from 1923, he initially worked as assistant to the head of the music ...

1943- To Be or Not to Be (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

12. 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 ...

1943- Yankee Doodle Dandy (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1946- Rhapsody in Blue (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1955- A Star Is Born (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1963- The Music Man (Adapted)

13. Robert Emmett Dolan

Producer | White Christmas

Composer, songwriter ("A Home in the Meadow"), film executive and conductor, educated at Loyola College (on scholarship) and a piano student of his mother, and later, Letonal, Mortimer Wilson, Joseph Schillinger, and Ernst Toch. He became music director for MGM in 1941, and also was the music ...

1944- Star Spangled Rhythm (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

14. 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 ...

1945- Double Indemnity (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture), 1946- The Lost Weekend (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

15. George Stoll

Music_department | Meet Me in St. Louis

George Stoll was born on May 7, 1902 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Anchors Aweigh (1945). He died on January 18, 1985 in Monterey, California, USA.

1945- Meet Me in St. Louis (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

16. 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 ...

1947- The Best Years of Our Lives (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

17. Daniele Amfitheatrof

Soundtrack | Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

A well-respected conductor and composer, who arrived in the US in 1937 and became a citizen in 1944. His education included studies with Wladimir Tscherbachev, Otto Respighi, and Jaroslav Krichka in the Conservatory and Pontifical Academy of Sacred Music of Vatican in Rome. He was assistant ...

1948- Song of the South (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

18. Paul J. Smith

Composer | Pinocchio

Paul J. Smith was the son of Joseph J. and Anna M. Smith of Caldwell, Idaho. Joseph J. Smith was the band director at the College of Idaho for many years and was penned by Idaho's former governor Robert Smylie as "The Father of Music" in the Boise Valley, as he taught all musical instruments.

My ...

1948- Song of the South (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1951- Cinderella (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

19. Charles Wolcott

Music_department | Bambi

Charles Wolcott was born on September 29, 1906 in Flint, Michigan, USA. He was a composer, known for Bambi (1942), Song of the South (1946) and The Three Caballeros (1944). He died on January 26, 1987 in Haifa, Israel.

1948- Song of the South (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

20. Brian Easdale

Composer | The Red Shoes

Brian studied under Gordon Jacob and Armstrong Gibbs at the RCM (Royal College of Music). He wrote his first opera (Rapunzel) at the age of 17 and at age 20 had the honor of having a Dead March processional he had written performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir 'Malcolm Sargent'. Brian...

1949- The Red Shoes (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

21. 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 ...

1949- Easter Parade (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1970- They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

22. 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.

1949- Easter Parade (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1950- On the Town (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

23. 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 ...

1950- The Heiress (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

24. Lennie Hayton

Music_department | Singin' in the Rain

Composer, MGM music director (1940-1953), conductor, arranger and pianist in the jazz groups of 'Frankie Trumbauer', Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, Joe Venuti and others. He was also with the Paul Whiteman orchestra. He also was music director for Lena Horne, his wife. Joining ASCAP in 1953, his ...

1950- On the Town (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1953- Singin' in the Rain (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

25. 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 ...

1951- Sunset Blvd. (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

26. 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.

1951- Cinderella (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1952- Alice in Wonderland (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

27. 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 ...

1952- A Streetcar Named Desire (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

28. 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 ...

1954- The Band Wagon (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

29. 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, ...

1955- On the Waterfront (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

30. 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, ...

1956- The Man with the Golden Arm (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture), 1963- To Kill a Mockingbird (Original), 1967- Hawaii (Original), 1984- Trading Places (Adapted Score and Original Song Score), 2003- Far From Heaven

31. Jay Blackton

Music_department | Oklahoma!

Composer, conductor, pianist and arranger who gave his first piano concerto at the Brooklyn Academy of Music at age 12. He conducted the New York Opera Comique, the Federal Grand Opera Project and the Federal Gilbert and Sullivan Project, the St. Louis Municipal Opera, and the Delaware Philharmonic...

1956- Guys and Dolls (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

32. Cyril J. Mockridge

Music_department | Guys and Dolls

Cyril J. Mockridge was born on August 6, 1896 in London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Guys and Dolls (1955), My Darling Clementine (1946) and Miracle on 34th Street (1947). He was married to Betty J Mockridge. He died on January 18, 1979 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

1956- Guys and Dolls (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

33. 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 ...

1957- The King and I (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1960- Porgy and Bess (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1968- Camelot (Adapted)

34. 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 ...

1959- The Bridge on the River Kwai

35. 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.

1960- On the Beach (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture)

36. 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 ...

1960- Porgy and Bess (Scoring of a Musical Picture), 1965- My Fair Lady (Adapted)

37. Nelson Riddle

Music_department | The Great Gatsby

Versatile American arranger/conductor who started as a trombonist with several big bands, including Tommy Dorsey. In a long, distinguished career, he not only scored numerous films and television shows, but made many now-legendary recordings in collaboration with such people as Rosemary Clooney, ...

1961- Can-Can (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

38. 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 ...

1962- Breakfast at Tiffany's (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture), 1983- Victor Victoria (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

39. George Bruns

Music_department | Sleeping Beauty

Born in Oregon in 1914, George Bruns was the son of a sawmill worker. He took music lessons as a child, becoming proficient on the piano, tuba and trombone. He attended Oregon State Agricultural College, and in order to pay tuition he played in the ROTC band. Deciding on a musical career, he left ...

1962- Babes in Toyland (Scoring of a Musical Picture)

40. 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 ...

1964- Tom Jones (Original)

41. 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, ...

1964- Sundays and Cybele (Adapted), 1966- Doctor Zhivago (Original), 1985- A Passage to India (Original)

42. Richard M. Sherman

Music_department | Mary Poppins

Richard Morton Sherman was born in the spring of 1928 in New York City to Rosa and Al Sherman. Together with his older brother, Robert B. Sherman, the Sherman brothers would follow in their songwriting father's footsteps to form one of the most prolific, lauded and long lasting songwriting ...

1965- Mary Poppins (Original), 1978- The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

43. Robert B. Sherman

Soundtrack | The Jungle Book

Robert B. Sherman was born just before Christmas in 1925 in New York City. Parents, Rosa & Al Sherman didn't know how they would pay the doctor and delivery costs. Fortunately, upon their arrival home from the hospital, Al discovered a large royalty check in the mail. Ironically, it was Al's song, ...

1965- Mary Poppins (Original), 1978- The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

44. Irwin Kostal

Music_department | West Side Story

Irwin Kostal was born on October 1, 1911 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a composer, known for West Side Story (1961), Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965). He died on November 23, 1994 in Studio City, California, USA.

1966- The Sound of Music (Adapted)

45. Luis Bacalov

Composer | Il postino

Luis Bacalov was born on August 30, 1933 in San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a composer and writer, known for The Postman (1994), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Django Unchained (2012). He died on November 15, 2017 in Rome, Italy.

1967- The Bible According to St. Matthew (Adapted), 1996- Il Postino (Original Dramatic Score)

46. 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 ...

1968- Cool Hand Luke (Original)

47. 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 ...

1969- The Lion in Winter (Original), 1986- Out of Africa, 1991- Dances With Wolves

48. 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, ...

1969- The Young Girls of Rochefort (Score of a Musical Picture)

49. Jacques Demy

Soundtrack | Les parapluies de Cherbourg

Jacques Demy was born on June 5, 1931 in Pontchâteau, Loire-Atlantique, France. He was a director and writer, known for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) and A Room in Town (1982). He was married to Agnès Varda. He died on October 27, 1990 in Paris, France.

1969- The Young Girls of Rochefort (Score of a Musical Picture)

50. 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 ...

1970- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Original)

51. Albert Woodbury

Music_department | The Golden Child

Albert Woodbury was born on July 1, 1909 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a composer, known for The Golden Child (1986), The Black Hole (1979) and My Fair Lady (1964). He died on May 26, 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

1970- They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Score of a Musical Picture)

52. 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 ...

1971- Patton (Original), 1999- Mulan (Original Musical or Comedy Score)

53. Paul McCartney

Soundtrack | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sir Paul McCartney is a key figure in contemporary culture as a singer, composer, poet, writer, artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, and holder of more than 3 thousand copyrights. He is in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for most records sold, most #1s (shared), most covered song, "Yesterday," ...

1971- Let It Be (Original Song Score)

54. John Lennon

Actor | A Hard Day's Night

John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia Lennon (née Stanley) and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. He was raised by his mother's older sister Mimi Smith. In the mid-1950s, he formed his first band, The Quarrymen (after Quarry Bank High School, ...

1971- Let It Be (Original Song Score)

55. George Harrison

Actor | A Hard Day's Night

A master musician, a film producer and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and occasionally lead vocalist of The Beatles, George Harrison was born February 25, 1943, in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He was also the youngest of four children, born to Harold Harrison and Louise Harrison.

Like ...

1971- Let It Be (Original Song Score)

56. Ringo Starr

Actor | A Hard Day's Night

Ringo Starr is a British musician, actor, director, writer, and artist best known as the drummer of The Beatles who also coined the title 'A Hard day's Night' for The Beatles' first movie.

He was born Richard Starkey on July 7, 1940, in a small two-storey house in the working class area of Liverpool...

1971- Let It Be (Original Song Score)

57. 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, ...

1972- Shaft (Original Dramatic Score)

58. John Williams

Composer | Jurassic Park

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 ...

1972- Fiddler on the Roof (Best Scoring Adaptation and Original Song Score), 1976- Jaws (Original Dramatic Score), 1978- Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (Original), 1981- Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back, 1982- Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1983- E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Original), 1984- Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the Jedi (Original), 1994- Schindler's List, 1999- Saving Private Ryan (Original Dramatic Score)

59. 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...

1973- The Godfather (Original)

60. Ralph Burns

Music_department | All That Jazz

Songwriter ("Early Autumn", "Bijou"), bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist, educated at the New England Conservatory. He studied piano with Marion Deviney. He was a pianist and arranger for the Charlie Barnet orchestra, and later with Woody Herman for seven years. He arranged for ...

1973- Cabaret (Adapted Score and Original Song Score), 1980- All That Jazz (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

61. 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 ...

1974- The Way We Were (Original Dramatic Score), 1974- The Sting (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

62. 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 ...

1975- Murder on the Orient Express (Original Dramatic Score)

63. Alan Jay Lerner

Writer | An American in Paris

Playwright/lyricist Alan Jay Lerner was born into a wealthy New York City retailing family. His professional association with Frederick Loewe started in 1942 when they teamed up to write "Life of the Party". Their first Broadway success was the 1947 musical fantasy "Brigadoon." Lerner adapted work ...

1975- The Little Prince (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

64. Frederick Loewe

Music_department | Camelot

Frederick Loewe's parents were Austrian; he studied music with Ferruccio Busoni, Eugene D'Albert and N. Reznicek and he was awarded the Hollander Medal in Berlin. He came to the US in 1924 and joined ASCAP in 1941; in 1942, he gave a piano recital at Carnegie Hall. His chief musical collaborator ...

1975- The Little Prince (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

65. Angela Morley

Music_department | Peeping Tom

Angela Morley was born on March 10, 1924 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was a composer, known for Peeping Tom (1960), Watership Down (1978) and The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976). She was married to Christine Parker and Beryl Stott. She died on January 14, 2009 in ...

1975- The Little Prince (Adapted Score and Original Song Score), 1978- The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

66. Douglas Gamley

Music_department | Tron

Douglas Gamley was born on September 24, 1924 in Melbourne, Australia. He was a composer, known for Tron (1982), The Little Prince (1974) and Night After Night After Night (1969). He died on February 5, 1998 in Highgate, London, UK.

1975- The Little Prince (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

67. 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...

1976- Barry Lyndon (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

68. Roger Kellaway

Soundtrack | The Core

Roger Kellaway is an Emmy Award winning film composer, though his talents for the Hollywood screen only rank up to ten motion pictures, Kellaway has done a lot for music in the motion picture history. Kellaway, who is also a jazz and pop rock guitarist, first did the score for television's All in ...

1977- A Star Is Born (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

69. 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).

1979- Midnight Express (Original)

70. Joe Renzetti

Composer | Eating Miss Campbell

Joe Renzetti a native of Philadelphia, PA., Interested in film composing, left for Hollywood and landed a gig doing the music for a new rock n' roll biopic, "The Buddy Holly Story."

There he taught the actors portraying Holly the Crickets to sing and play their instruments. They were then filmed ...

1979- The Buddy Holly Story (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

71. 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.

1980- A Little Romance (Original)

72. Leslie Bricusse

Soundtrack | Doctor Dolittle

Leslie Bricusse was born on January 29, 1931 in Southfields, London, England, UK. He was a writer and composer, known for Doctor Dolittle (1967), Scrooge (1970) and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He was married to Yvonne Romain. He died on October 19, 2021 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, ...

1983- Victor Victoria (Adapted Score and Original Song Score)

73. Prince

Soundtrack | Under the Cherry Moon

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer and social worker, and John L. Nelson, a lyricist and pianist. His father's stage name was "Prince Rogers". His parents were both from African-American families from Louisiana. They separated during his youth, ...

1985- Purple Rain (Original Song Score)

74. 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 ...

1987- The Mission, 1988- The Untouchables, 2016- The Hateful Eight

75. Herbie Hancock

Soundtrack | 'Round Midnight

Herbie Hancock is an American actor that was born. Herbert Jeffery Hancock, on April 12, 1940, Chicago, IL. He is best known as a piano player, jazz star, and a composer. He has won many Grammy Awards and has performed with many famous musicians beginning with Miles Davis in the 1960s. He achieved ...

1987- 'Round Midnight

76. 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 ...

1989- Rain Man, 1995- The Lion King, 1998- As Good As It Gets (Original Musical or Comedy Score), 2022- Dune

77. 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 ...

1990- The Little Mermaid, 1992- Beauty and the Beast, 1993- Aladdin, 1997- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Original Musical or Comedy Score)

78. 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 ...

1996- Toy Story (Original Musical or Comedy Score)

79. 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 ...

1997- The English Patient (Original Dramatic Score)

80. Stephen Schwartz

Soundtrack | The Prince of Egypt

Stephen Schwartz was born on March 6, 1948 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer and writer, known for The Prince of Egypt (1998), Pocahontas (1995) and Enchanted (2007). He has been married to Carole Piasecki since July 6, 1969. They have two children.

1997- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Original Musical or Comedy Score)

81. 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 ...

1998- Titanic (Original Dramatic Score)

82. Matthew Wilder

Soundtrack | Mulan

Matthew Wilder was born on January 24, 1953 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer and producer, known for Mulan (1998), Mulan (2020) and The Transporter (2002).

1999- Mulan (Original Musical or Comedy Score)

83. David Zippel

Soundtrack | Hercules

David Zippel is a lyricist and director. His lyrics have won him the Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, two Grammy Award nominations, and three Golden Globe Award nominations. His songs appear on over twenty-five million CDs around the world, and have been recorded by many great singers ...

1999- Mulan (Original Musical or Comedy Score)

84. 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) ...

2000- American Beauty

85. Dun Tan

Composer | Wo hu cang long

Dun Tan was born on August 18, 1957 in Si Mao, Hunan Province, China. He is a composer and producer, known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Hero (2002) and Fallen (1998).

2001- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

86. 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 ...

2002- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2004- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

87. Jan A.P. Kaczmarek

Composer | Finding Neverland

Jan A. P. Kaczmarek is a composer with a tremendous international reputation that continues to grow. As a successful recording artist and touring musician, Jan turned to composing film scores as his primary occupation. Jan's first success in the United States came in theater. After composing ...

2005- Finding Neverland

88. 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, ...

2006- Brokeback Mountain, 2007- Babel

89. Dario Marianelli

Composer | Atonement

Dario Marianelli was born in Pisa and studied piano and composition in Florence and London. After a year as a postgraduate composer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he spent 3 years at the National Film and Television School, from which he graduated in 1997. Dario's film scores include '...

2008- Atonement

90. 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 ...

2009- Slumdog Millionaire

91. Michael Giacchino

Composer | Star Trek

Michael Giacchino is an American composer of music for films, television and video games.

Giacchino composed the scores to the television series Lost, Alias and Fringe, the video game series Medal of Honor and Call of Duty and many films such as The Incredibles (2004), Star Trek (2009), Up (2009), ...

2010- Up

92. Trent Reznor

Soundtrack | The Social Network

Trent Reznor is an American songwriter/musician/producer and sole member of multi-platinum act Nine Inch Nails, and now an Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy Award winning film composer. He began creating music as a child in Western Pennsylvania, first on piano and then taking up other instruments. He ...

2011- The Social Network, 2021- Soul

93. Atticus Ross

Soundtrack | The Social Network

Atticus Ross was born on January 16, 1968 in England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Mank (2020). He has been married to Claudia Sarne since 2001. They have three children.

2011- The Social Network, 2021- Soul

94. Ludovic Bource

Composer | The Artist

Ludovic Bource is known for The Artist (2011), Escape from Planet Earth (2012) and OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006).

2012- The Artist

95. Mychael Danna

Composer | Life of Pi

Mychael Danna is an Oscar and and Emmy Award-winning film composer recognized for his evocative blending of non-western traditions with orchestral and electronic music. His highly awarded works include the Oscar-winning score for Ang Lee's Life of Pi (2012), and his many Genie Award-winning scores ...

2013- Life of Pi

96. Will Butler

Soundtrack | Love and Monsters

Will Butler was born on October 6, 1982 in The Woodlands, Texas, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Love and Monsters (2020), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) and Boyhood (2014).

2014- Her

97. Owen Pallett

Music_department | Her

Owen Pallett is known for Her (2013), The Box (2009) and Possessor (2020).

2014- Her

98. Alexandre Desplat

Composer | The King's Speech

Composer and conductor Alexandre Desplat, Oscar winner and seven-time Academy Award nominated, for his prolific filmography and his collaborations with Stephen Frears, Terrence Malick, Ang Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, Jacques Audiard, Wes Anderson, Roman Polanski, George Clooney or Matteo Garrone is one ...

2015- The Grand Budapest Hotel, 2018- The Shape of Water

99. Justin Hurwitz

Soundtrack | La La Land

Justin Hurwitz was born on January 22, 1985 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for La La Land (2016), First Man (2018) and Whiplash (2014).

2017- La La Land, 2023- Babylon

100. Nicholas Britell

Composer | Moonlight

Three-time Academy Award-nominated composer and pianist Nicholas Britell is known for his critically acclaimed scores on feature films with Academy Award winning writer-directors Barry Jenkins and Adam McKay. In 2018, Britell wrote the highly acclaimed score for Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could...

2019- If Beale Street Could Talk