Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch, the composer of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical, A Chorus Line passed away August 7th after a brief illness. He was 68 years old.
Hamlisch was a musical prodigy and was accepted to Julliard at age 7.
In a career that spanned almost 50 years Hamlisch’s work was heard in every medium of the entertainment industry. His first hit song was “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963. In 1964 he was the rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl on Broadway which starred Barbara Streisand. Hamlisch would later win two Oscars (Best scoring and Best song) for the motion picture The Way We Were which starred Streisand and Robert Redford. His association with Streisand continued as her Musical Director for two of her concert tours.
On Broadway A Chorus Line won Hamlisch a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. His other Broadway musicals included the Tony nominated They’re Playing Our Song, Smile, The Goodbye Girl and The Sweet Smell of Success. His musical Jean Seberg played in London but never materialized in the states. His new musical The Nutty Professor, based on the Jerry Lewis comedy classic recently opened in Tennessee.
For film his credits included Seems Like Old Times, Ice Castles, The Informant, Ordinary People, Sophie’s Choice and The Sting for which he won an Oscar for Best Score Adaptation.
His work for television included the theme song for a show called Hour Magazine which featured host Gary Collins.
Hamlisch for many years was the Principal Pops Conductor for symphonies across the country including the National Symphony Orchestra. He recently conducted a concert with the NSO at Wolf Trap featuring the music of George Gershwin with singer Melissa Errico.
He is survived by his wife Terry of 25 years.
