R.I.P. Marvin Hamlisch

Musician, conductor and composer Marvin Hamlisch has died following a brief illness, at 68.

Hamlisch, one of only eleven “EGOT” winners in the history of the entertainment industry, was awarded three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and two Golden Globe awards for his work. On Broadway, he wrote the music for “A Chorus Line” – which received the Pulitzer Prize – as well as “They’re Playing Our Song”, “The Goodbye Girl” and “Sweet Smell of Success”.

He is the composer of more than forty movie scores including his Oscar-winning score and title song for “The Way We Were” and his adaptation of Scott Joplin’s music for “The Sting,” for which he also received an Oscar. His list of film scores includes 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, most recently, "The Informant".

He also wrote pop hits, his first being “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows”, recorded by Leslie Gore. He also had a chart hit with “Nobody Does It Better”, the theme song from “The Spy Who Loved Me”, as well as with "The Way We Were".

Hamlisch was a graduate of Queens College, in Flushing, NY, and the Juilliard School of Music. Over the past twenty years, he traveled the country (and the world) conducting local orchestras in concert. He held the position of Principal Pops Conductor for the symphony orchestras in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, San Diego, Seattle, Dallas, and Pasedena.

In press releases his for upcoming concerts, Hamlisch said, “Music is truly an international language. It has the ability to bring people together like nothing else.” He was scheduled to be in Nashville later this week to see his hit musical, "The Nutty Professor", directed by Jerry Lewis, and was also working on a new Broadway musical called "Gotta Dance."

He is survived by Terre Blair, his wife of 25 years.