Maurice Jarre, 1924 – 2009

From the BBC: French composer Maurice Jarre, best known for his music for Hollywood films, has died in Los Angeles at 84, after suffering from cancer.

Jarre, father of the composer Jean-Michel Jarre, rose to prominence relatively late in life. His breakthrough came in 1962 when he wrote the score for Lawrence of Arabia, for which he was awarded an Oscar. He won two further Oscars for Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India, and composed music for more than 150 films.

His scores enhanced the work of some of the film industry’s greatest directors – among others David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston and Luchino Visconti.

Partial list of Maurice Jarre’s awards and accolades after the cut.

Maurice Jarre was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and won three:

• Nominated for Best Music, Original Score for: Ghost
• Nominated for Best Music, Original Score for: Gorillas in the Mist
• Nominated for Best Music, Original Score for: Witness
• Won the 1984 Academy Award for Original Music Score for the film A Passage to India
• Nominated for Best Music, Original Score for: The Message
• Nominated for Best Music, Song for: The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean for the song “Marmalade, Molasses & Honey”
• Won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Music, Score – Substantially Original for: Doctor Zhivago
• Nominated for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment for: Les Dimanches de ville d‚ÄôAvray
• Won the 1962 Academy Award for Best Music, Score – Substantially Original for: Lawrence of Arabia

Jarre won the 1967 Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special for Doctor Zhivago.

• British Academy Awards, 1989, Best Original Music Score for Dead Poets Society
• Globe, 1995, Best Original Score for A Walk in the Clouds