Marvin Hamlisch - R.I.P.

[Ron Thorne]

Marvin Hamlisch | 1944-2012

Sensationally Decorated Maestro of Film and Stage

By ROB HOERBURGER


Peter Kramer/KRAPE, via Associated Press

Marvin Hamlisch in 2009.

Marvin Hamlisch, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who imbued his movie and Broadway scores with pizazz and panache and often found his songs in the upper reaches of the pop charts, died on Monday in Los Angeles. He was 68 and lived in New York.

He collapsed on Monday after a brief illness, a family friend said.


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[Monte Smith]

Streisand enabler.

[Rob Damen]

It's not mentioned as often, but I liked his work on "The Spy Who Loved Me" in spite of how badly it's dated over the years.

RIP

Cheers,

Rob

[Valerie]

how quickly he left us! nevertheless, he also left us with lots of good music.

[steve(thelil)]

On SNL, (Gilda Radner's) Lisa Lupner would stifle (Bill Murray's) Todd Di LaMuca's advances by reminding him that she was saving herself for Marvin Hamlisch.

RIP

[Mike Schwartz]

In thinking about him, I remember the perfect timing when his projects came out that it was still very much the age of variety shows, and late night that would feature someone like him for a chat and ask him to play.

That timing put him in the public eye more than I can imagine would happen for a similar body of work, would they come out today.

[clinthopson]

He was a very versatile composer who came around at just the right time.

[Ron Thorne]

Like him and his music or not, Hamlisch was a brilliant musician with a gift for composition in several diverse genres. His film scores alone showed his genius. And, how many composers have won an Emmy, Oscar, Grammy and Tony? Only two others.

I love this bit of history.

"When Marvin Hamlisch auditioned for the Juilliard School of Music, he played not Chopin or Mozart but the American folk standard "Goodnight, Irene," a choice that could have had lamentable results for any other prospective student.But Hamlisch quickly established there was little about his talent that was ordinary: He could perform the song in any key the admissions committee requested — and he was but 6 years old." - L.A. Times

[Bourne]

This will sound odd, but I have always compared him to people like Liberace, or Wayne Newton. A supremely talented artist who somehow became the butt of bad jokes.

Would never be so artificial to now call myself a fan of his, but talents of his nature will always be missed.

Rest in peace, maestro.

[Monte Smith]

I'll never forget seeing him on an episode of THE GREAT SPACE COASTER. His talent emerged at a time where appearances like that were possible. And who could forget THE ENTERTAINER? Man. And then the whole fucking Barbra Streisand thing that will scar all sonic history until forever.