Latest news with #Schifrin
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ : Mission: Impossible' composer Lalo Schifrin dies at 93
LOS ANGELES: Argentine musician Lalo Schifrin, composer of the memorable "Mission: Impossible" theme and the scores for dozens of Hollywood movies and TV shows, has died at age 93, media outlets reported on Thursday. Schifrin's son, William, confirmed his father's death, The Hollywood Reporter said. An agent for Schifrin did not immediately respond to an e-mail from Reuters. Born in Buenos Aires, Schifrin became a fan of American jazz in his teens. He was also a pianist and conductor. Schifrin received six Oscar nominations for movie scores that included the 1967 film "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Amityville Horror" in 1979. He won four Grammys, including one for the "Mission: Impossible" theme set to an unconventional 5/4 time signature. The song was written for the CBS television spy drama that debuted in 1966 and became a blockbuster film franchise still running today. Schifrin received an honorary Oscar for his lifetime of work in 2018. Clint Eastwood presented him with the award. - REUTERS
Express Tribune
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Mission: Impossible' composer dies at 93
Famed composer Lalo Schifrin, who created themes for a host of hit Hollywood films and television shows – including the instantly recognisable Mission: Impossible score – died Thursday aged 93, US media reported. Born in Argentina, Schifrin blended the influences of his classical and symphonic training with jazz and modern sounds in his diverse and vast oeuvre, which includes the scores for around 100 films, some of them the best-known of their generation. His death was confirmed by his son, Ryan Schifrin, to several entertainment trade publications. Schifrin's work for film includes The Cincinnati Kid (1965) and Bullitt (1968), both with Steve McQueen, Paul Newman's Cool Hand Luke (1968), and Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry (1971). He also created the score to the 1960s Mission: Impossible television series, which inspired the theme of the massive film franchise starring Tom Cruise. A pipe-smoker in his younger years and bespectacled with a mane of silver hair later, he was also a highly respected international orchestra conductor and jazz pianist. Boris Claudio Schifrin was born in Buenos Aires on June 21, 1932 into a musical family, his father Luis Schifrin being the concert master of the city's Philharmonic Orchestra for 25 years. He learned piano at a young age, developing an extensive knowledge of classical music. His introduction in his teens to jazz and the American sound – through its greats such as Charlie Parker, George Gershwin and Louis Armstrong – was like a conversion, he would say later, and set his life on a new course. Schifrin moved to the United States in 1958 and became a US citizen over a decade later. In Hollywood, television producer Bruce Geller asked him to create scores for his television series Mission: Impossible (1966) and Mannix (1969). Schifrin received several Academy Award nominations for his film work including for Cool Hand Luke. In 2018, he received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement, presented by Eastwood. afp
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lalo Schifrin, Composer of ‘Mission: Impossible' Theme, Dead at 93
Lalo Schifrin, the Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning composer behind the 'Theme From Mission: Impossible,' has died at the age of 93. The composer's son Ryan confirmed his father's death to the Associated Press, adding that Schifrin died Thursday due to complications from pneumonia at his home in Los Angeles. More from Rolling Stone Rebekah Del Rio, 'Mulholland Drive' Singer of 'Llorando,' Dead at 57 Bobby Sherman, Teen Music and Television Star, Dead at 81 Patrick Walden, Babyshambles Guitarist, Dead at 46 The Buenos Aires, Argentina-born Schifrin, the son of an orchestral violinist, had an early start in music, training on the piano at the age of six. However, upon entering college, Schifrin opted to study law, but his musical roots ultimately took hold. 'While advancing with my law studies, I was also studying music on the side, only as a hobby. And I had a very good teacher, who is probably the most important South American composer—Juan Carlos Paz. He's known among avant-garde circles all over the world, because he's the one who introduced twelve–tone music and the serial techniques in Argentina,' Schifrin told Jazz Professional in 1967. 'All of a sudden, the French Embassy in Buenos Aires offered a scholarship to the Conservatoire of Music. I went for the examination and won the scholarship. That meant that I abandoned my plans for a law career, and I decided to go to Europe.' In Paris, Schifrin became immersed in jazz music, as many of the greats of the time — Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson — would regularly perform during his time there. Upon returning to Argentina, Schifrin joined one of the country's first jazz orchestras, where he drew the attention of a visiting jazz legend, Dizzy Gillespie. Schifrin, who at that time was already scoring Argentinean films, eventually joined Gillespie's band. 'I stayed with Dizzy about three years,' he said. 'In addition to writing many things for the small group, I rearranged his band book for a type of orchestra with no saxophones in it—only brass,' compositions that formed Gillespie's 1960 LP Gillespian, and resulted in Schifrin's first Grammy nomination (for Best Original Jazz Composition). Schifrin moved to New York and worked alongside Gillespie from 1960 to 1963. (Schifrin and Gillespie would reunite for 1977's Free Ride.) However, dissatisfied with the traveling involved with being in a jazz group, Schifrin signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, moved to Los Angeles, and scored his first American film, 1964's Rhino! Two years later, Schifrin created his most popular work, the theme from the American spy series Mission: Impossible,' which — the composer frequently admitted — he wrote in just three minutes, and without first seeing any footage from the series or even reading a script. All Schifrin had to go on was producers' idea for an opening credits' burning fuse, which gave the theme its original title, 'Burning Fuse.' (Morse Code of the series' initials, M:I, would also form the theme's 5/4 signature.) 'Television, in those days, people were in the kitchen having a soft drink, and all of the sudden in the living room, the TV set is playing the theme of a new show,' Schifrin said, adding that the 'inviting, exciting' theme was like a lure. Like the series itself, 'Theme From Mission: Impossible' was a hit, landing on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning Schifrin a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Theme; the song would also be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. (Decades later, the TV show would also eventually become a billion-dollar Tom Cruise film franchise, and though it updated Schifrin's theme, the composer did not contribute musically to any of the reboot's installments.) Over the course of his career, Schifrin would score over 200 films and television shows, and while some would lean on his jazz background — like his work on the 1968 Steve McQueen classic Bullitt and his Oscar-nominated score for Cool Hand Luke, notably its famed 'Tar Sequence' — Schifrin would adapt musically to fit the project, like his experimental work on George Lucas' sci-fi flick THX-1138 and his terrifying score for The Amityville Horror; the composer was infamously recruited to originally score The Exorcist, but upon delivering a portion of his music, the studio and director William Friedkin deemed the shrieking score too scary for even the film and rejected. 'I look for unusual sounds—but never as gimmicks. I like always to make them functional, organic parts of the music,' Schifrin told Jazz Professional. 'It can be percussion, it can be bizarre or exotic instruments, or it can be electronic instruments—but I look for that musical quality, that can be combined, and be organic to the film, to the orchestra and to the music.' Other notable Schifrin scores include Dirty Harry and its sequel Magnum Force, 1973's Charley Varrick, the Bruce Lee kung fu classic Enter the Dragon, Brubaker, the Rush Hour trilogy, Carlos Saura's Tango, the Ringo Starr-starring Caveman and more. 'I've used something in the periphery of jazz myself—not really jazz, but some jazz–orientated scores, like Bullitt, the picture with Steve McQueen. And a little bit of jazz in certain other movies,' Schifrin said. 'But jazz doesn't need anything to be seen, while film–making is made up of many components. There are the dramatic, the visual and the audio elements: they have to be all integrated, and be part of the one thing.' Despite winning a handful of Grammys, the Academy Award remained elusive: Schifrin was nominated for Best Original Score six times — for Cool Hand Luke, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror, The Competition and The Sting II — but never won an Oscar. However, the Academy celebrated Schifrin's career with an honorary Oscar in 2019. 'I love music. To me there is no labels,' Schifrin said in 1969. 'I don't believe in rock n' roll or classical or jazz. I believe that there is good music and bad music.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lalo Schifrin, Acclaimed Composer of ‘Mission: Impossible' and ‘Mannix' Themes, Dies at 93
Lalo Schifrin, the six-time Oscar-nominated composer, pianist and conductor renowned for his electric, jazz-infused themes and music for Mission: Impossible, Mannix, Starsky & Hutch and Bullitt, died Thursday. He was 93. Schifrin, who received an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November 2018, died of pneumonia at a hospital in Los Angeles, his son Ryan Schifrin told The Hollywood Reporter. He lived for the past few decades in a Beverly Hills home once owned by Groucho Marx. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Squid Game' Finale Ends With Surprise Hollywood Star Cameo Lorde Summer Officially Arrives With New Album 'Virgin' Rick Hurst, Actor on 'The Dukes of Hazzard,' Dies at 79 A native of Argentina whose father was the Buenos Aires Philharmonic concert master for more than three decades, Schifrin was trained in the world of classical music before being hooked on American jazz when he was a teenager. He artfully blended the two genres, and the combustible energy and rhythmic vitality of his compositions were especially well-suited for action-suspense movies and TV shows. The workaholic Schifrin received Oscar nominations for his scores for Cool Hand Luke (1967), The Fox (1968), Voyage of the Damned (1976), The Amityville Horror (1979) and The Sting II (1983) and for the song 'People Alone' from The Competition (1980). He scored Dirty Harry (1971) and the sequels Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) and The Dead Pool (1988), all starring Clint Eastwood — the filmmaker presented him with his Oscar — and served as the composer on all three of the Rush Hour films. Schifrin had Ray Charles perform with a symphony orchestra for The Cincinnati Kid (1965), and he provided the classic saxophone-laden car-chase music for Steve McQueen's Bullitt (1968). His résumé also included work on Coogan's Bluff (1968) — that kicked off his long association with Eastwood and director Don Siegel — Kelly's Heroes (1970), Charley Varrick (1973), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Telefon (1977), The Nude Bomb (1980), Black Moon Rising (1986), Money Talks (1997), Something to Believe In (1998), Tango (1998), Bringing Down the House (2003) and The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004). His cool, percolating Mission: Impossible theme, set to an unusual 5/4 time signature and commissioned for the fabled CBS espionage drama that bowed in September 1966, netted Schifrin one of his four Grammy Awards and one of his four Emmy noms. It still serves as a vital link to the Tom Cruise movie franchise. Schifrin said it took him just three minutes to put the theme together, and he composed it without seeing any footage from the show. 'Orchestration's not the problem for me,' he told the New York Post in 2015. 'It's like writing a letter. When you write a letter, you don't have to think what grammar or what syntaxes you're going to use, you just write a letter. And that's the way it came. 'Bruce Geller, who was the producer of the series, put together the pilot and came to me and said, 'I want you to write something exciting, something that when people are in the living room and go into the kitchen to have a soft drink, and they hear it, they will know what it is. I want it to be identifiable, recognizable and a signature.' And this is what I did.' The Mission: Impossible opening credits showed a match lighting a fuse that burned superimposed over quickly-cut scenes from the episode. Schifrin wrote music for several episodes as well, and an M:I album proved quite successful. An inspired Bruce Lee worked out to the show's score in his gym in Hong Kong before signing Schifrin as the composer and orchestrator on Enter the Dragon (1973). As a bonus, Lee gave the musician his first martial arts lessons, for free. Schifrin concocted a jazz waltz in 3/4 time for the theme to the Mike Connors series Mannix — also produced by Geller — and played the Moog synthesizer on the opening music for another 1960s' CBS drama, Medical Center. Schifrin also was responsible for the themes for T.H.E. Cat, Petrocelli, Starsky & Hutch, Bronk and Most Wanted. And his 'Tar Sequence' music from Cool Hand Luke was adopted by ABC affiliates for their Eyewitness News broadcasts. Born Boris Claudio Schifrin on June 21, 1932, he began playing the piano at age 5. His classmates exposed him to jazz records when he was about 16, and he became 'totally absorbed in that music,' he recalled in a 2008 interview for the Archive of American Television. 'It was like an illumination, a very important moment in my life. I converted to jazz.' However, jazz was considered 'immoral' back then, and he had to listen on the sly. He studied music and law for four years at his hometown University of Buenos Aires, then received a scholarship to the Paris Conservatory of Music in 1952, studying classical music under famed composer Olivier Messiaen. 'I had a double life,' he told The Telegraph in 2004. 'I would study at the Conservatory during the day and play in jazz bands at night in places like the Club Saint-Germain. Messiaen didn't like jazz, but he was a very nice man, a Catholic mystic.' In 1956, Schifrin returned to Buenos Aires, formed his own jazz band and got involved in writing music for TV and radio programs. A year later, he won Argentina's equivalent of an Oscar for his score for El Jefe. With Dizzy Gillespie and his all-star band (including Quincy Jones on first trumpet and Phil Woods on alto sax) in town for a concert at the U.S. Embassy, Schifrin conducted his group from behind the piano during a reception to honor the jazz great. The trumpeter approached Schifrin and asked, 'Do you write all these charts, all these arrangements?' he recalled. 'I said yes. 'Would you like to come to the United States?' I thought it was a joke.' Schifrin arrived in New York City in 1958 and played piano in a Mexican restaurant until he was invited by Xavier Cugat to write arrangements for his show and tour with his orchestra. He finally reconnected and signed with Gillespie in 1960, performing on a hit album, Gillespiana, for Verve Records, which was later purchased by MGM. He also arranged jazz LPs for the likes of Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughan. Inspired by the movie work of such composers as Henry Mancini and Johnny Mandel, Schifrin employed his MGM connections and headed to California in 1963. His first Hollywood gig was for the African-set film Rhino! (1964), and he scored several projects under Stanley Wilson at Universal Pictures, including the 1966 bomb-on-an-airplane NBC telefilm The Doomsday Flight, written by Rod Serling. Schifrin also scored David Wolper documentaries, including The Making of a President: 1964 (1966), for which he received an Emmy nom; The World of Jacques Cousteau (1966); and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1968). Throughout his career, Schifrin conducted a number of the world's top orchestras, including those in London, Vienna, Los Angeles, Israel, Mexico City, Houston, Atlanta and Buenos Aires. In 1987, he was appointed musical director for the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra, which was formed for the purpose of recording music for films, and held the post for five years. Schifrin then conducted a 1995 symphonic celebration in Marseilles, France, to mark the 100th anniversary of the invention of movies by the Lumiere brothers. His longtime involvement in the jazz and classical worlds came together quite nicely in 1993 when he was featured as pianist and conductor for the first of his several 'Jazz Meets the Symphony' albums. Schifrin, who received the BMI Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988, recorded dozens of albums, many on the Adelph Records label run by his wife, Donna. He also was the principal arranger for The Three Tenors' World Cup concerts. He recently completed a composition for Argentina that was performed in his native country. In addition to his wife and son Ryan, a writer-director (Abominable), survivors include another son, Will Schifrin, a TV writer (The Fairly OddParents); a daughter, Frances; and grandchildren Dylan, Jonah, Jack and Emma. 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Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lalo Schifrin, Composer of the Classic ‘Mission: Impossible' Theme, Dies at 93
If he had only composed the unforgettable instrumental theme from Mission: Impossible, Lalo Schifrin would be fondly remembered. But the Argentine native had a seven-decade career that made him one of the premier composers in both film and television. Schifrin died Thursday (June 26) at age 93. Schifrin received 19 Grammy nominations spanning 40 years (1962-2002) and multiple genres (both jazz and pop) and skillsets (composition, arrangement and performance). He won four Grammys. More from Billboard Gone But Not Forgotten: Musicians We Lost in 2025 Ask Billboard: Here Are the Nos. 1 & 2 Reasons That the Hot 100 Has Been Historic This Month Inside Bouyon: How a Fusion of Local Folk Music & Digitized Instruments Gave Way to Dominica's Fast-Spreading Homegrown Genre Schifrin received four Primetime Emmy nominations – three for Mission: Impossible and one for his music for David Wolper's The Making of the President 1964. He received six Oscar nominations, five for scores (Cool Hand Luke, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror and The Sting II) and one for a song, 'People Alone' from The Competition (1980), which he co-wrote with lyricist Will Jennings. Schifrin never won a Primetime Emmy or an Oscar in competition, but in 2018 the Motion Picture Academy awarded him an Honorary Oscar 'in recognition of his unique musical style, compositional integrity and influential contributions to the art of film scoring.' He was just the third film scorer to receive such an award, following Alex North (1985) and Ennio Morricone (2006). A fourth film scorer, Quincy Jones, was awarded an Honorary Oscar posthumously last year. Schifrin's Honorary Oscar was presented by Clint Eastwood, for whom Schifrin had scored many films, from Coogan's Bluff (1968) to The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004). Their work together included the iconic 1971 film Dirty Harry and its four sequels. 'I am very honored by this distinction that touches me profoundly,' Schifrin said in accepting the award. 'My love and appreciation for motion pictures started very early in my life. I remember when I was five years old my parents took me to see a movie, a horror movie, and at that moment I realized that without music it wouldn't be so scary. And it's true. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with great, outstanding directors, producers, and talented musicians in the creation of musical scores to support their projects. … Composing for movies has given me a lifetime of joy and creativity. Receiving this Honorary Oscar is a culmination of a dream. It is a 'mission accomplished.'' For all he accomplished, Schifrin's Mission: Impossible theme is unquestionably his greatest hit. His music for that drama series, which aired on CBS from 1966-73, brought him two Grammy Awards, three Primetime Emmy nominations and high placements on the Billboard charts. His 'Mission-Impossible' theme reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1968. It won a Grammy for best instrumental theme in 1968 and was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017. Schifrin's M:I score brought him a second Grammy in 1968 – best original score written for a motion picture or a television show. In the latter category, Schifrin bested scores from four feature films, which is highly unusual for a TV project, then or now. Schifrin's album Music From Mission: Impossible reached No. 47 on the Billboard 200. Schifrin told the New York Post in 2015 that the M:I theme came to him very quickly. And he said he composed it without seeing any footage from the show. 'Bruce Geller, who was the producer of the series, put together the pilot and came to me and said, 'I want you to write something exciting, something that when people are in the living room and go into the kitchen to have a soft drink, and they hear it, they will know what it is. I want it to be identifiable, recognizable and a signature.' And this is what I did.' The theme transferred to the long-running film franchise starring Tom Cruise (who is slated to get his own Honorary Oscar in November.) Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. of U2 recorded Schifrin's composition for the first M:I film in 1996. Their version reached No. 7 on the Hot 100 and was nominated for a Grammy for best pop instrumental performance – where it competed with Schifrin's own new rendition of the theme which he recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. (Both lost to Béla Fleck & The Flecktones' 'The Sinister Minister.') Schifrin's highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 was a 1962 studio album, Bossa Nova – New Brazilian Jazz, which reached No. 35. He won his first two Grammy Awards in 1965 and 1966 for 'The Cat' and 'Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts,' both of which were voted best original jazz composition. Schifrin also wrote the pitch-perfect theme song for Mannix (also produced by Geller), which helped that Mike Connors P.I. series stay on the air for eight years (one year longer than M:I). His other TV themes include The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Medical Center, Starsky & Hutch, T.H.E. Cat and Petrocelli. His other film scores, not already named, include The Cincinnati Kid, Bullitt, Enter the Dragon and all three Rush Hour films. Born Boris Claudio Schifrin on June 21, 1932, Schifrin was a second-generation musical talent. His father was the concert master for the Buenos Aires Philharmonic for more than three decades. The younger Schifrin began playing piano at the tender age 5. When he was about 16, his classmates turned him to jazz records, and he was hooked for life. He studied music and law for four years at the University of Buenos Aires, and received a scholarship to the Paris Conservatory of Music in 1952. In 1956, Schifrin returned to Buenos Aires, formed his own jazz band and became active writing music for TV and radio programs. Schifrin arrived in New York City in 1958. He reconnected with early mentor Dizzy Gillespie in 1960, and worked on Gillespie's hit album, Gillespiana, which brought both musicians Grammy nominations – Gillespie for best jazz performance – large group (instrumental) and Schifrin for best original jazz composition. Around the same time, Schifrin also arranged jazz albums for the likes of Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughan. Inspired by the success of such film composers as Henry Mancini and Johnny Mandel, Schifrin moved to California in 1963. He landed his first Oscar-nominated score, Cool Hand Luke, just four years later. Schifrin also conducted several of the world's top orchestras, including those in London, Vienna, Los Angeles, Israel, Mexico City, Houston, Atlanta and Buenos Aires. In 1987, he was appointed musical director for the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra, which was formed for the purpose of recording music for films. He held the post for five years. Schifrin received the BMI Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988 and received a Trustees Award at the Latin Grammys in 2017. He was a Lifetime Achievement honoree at the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) Awards. He is survived by his wife, Donna; sons Will, a TV writer (The Fairly OddParents), and Ryan, a writer-director (Abominable); a daughter, Frances; and four grandchildren. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
