Film composers at 85+ still around?
- This topic has 23 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 2 days, 12 hours ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Which film composers are still around, age 85 and above? And which of them are still active? He or she MUST have turned 85 to qualify, no young whippersnappers below that age!
Born 1941:
Gheorghe Zamfir — still active
Paul Simon — still active
John Williams (the guitarist) — retired
Bob Dylan — still active
Jürgen Knieper — retired?
Eleni Karaindrou — still activeBorn 1940:
Giorgio Moroder — still active
Herbie Hancock — still active?
Vladimir Cosma — still active
Paul Williams — retired?
Frank Duval — retired?
Charles Fox — retired?
Franco Godi — still active?
Nando de Luca — retired?Born 1939:
Wendy Carlos — retired
Franco Micalizzi — still active?
Giancarlo Chiaramello — retired
Gian Paolo Chiti — retired
Francesco Santucci — retired
Tony Hatch — retired
Gian Piero Reverberi — retiredBorn 1938:
Howard Blake — retired?
Charles Calello — retired?
Paul Chihara — still active
John Corigliano — still active?
Eric Demarsan — still active
Sven Libaek — retired?
Denny Zeitlin — still active
Jonathan Tunick — retired
Bruce Smeaton — retiredBorn 1937:
Michael Gibbs — retired?
Philip Glass — still active
Anthony Hopkins — still active
David Shire — retired?Born 1936:
Steve Reich — still active
Born 1935:
Bruno Zambrini — retired
Carlo Martelli — retired?
Dick DeBenedictis — retired
Terry Riley — still active
Arvo Pärt — still activeBorn 1934:
Charles Gross — retired?
Dave Grusin — still active?
Barry de Vorzon — retired?
Paul Glass — retired?
Patrick Gleeson — retired?
Jan Klusàk — retired?
Christian Bruhn — still active?Born 1933:
Tôn-Thát Tiét — retired?
Jerzy Woy-Wojciechowski — retiredBorn 1932:
John Williams — still active
Sigurd Jansen — retiredBorn 1931:
Dizzy Reece — retired
Herb Pilhofer — retired
Bobby Lamb — retiredBorn 1930:
John Scott — still active?
Clint Eastwood — still active
David Amram — still active
François Rabbath — retiredBorn 1929:
Stu Phillips — retired?
Toshiko Akiyoshi — retiredBorn 1928:
George Dreyfus — retired?
Ted Nichols – retired?
Samuel Adler — retired
Thea Musgrave — retiredBorn 1927:
Gerhard Heinz — retired?
Dick Hyman — still active
John Kander — still active?Born 1926:
Laurence Rosenthal — still active
Aleksandr Zatsepin — retired
Philip Springer — retired
David Lee — retiredBorn 1925:
??
Born 1924:
Terry Gibbs — retired
Born 1923:
Johnny Pate — retired
Born 1922 or earlier:
Ray Anthony (b. 1922) — not a composer, but played on many soundtracks.
Elisabeth Waldo (b. 1918) — not a film composer, strictly speaking, but did a couple of scoresI’ve added 1941 as a year now that we’re in 2026 and added a couple of names (yes, I know John Williams the guitarist and Bob Dylan aren’t film composers as such, but they’ve done at least one each). I’ve also looked quickly through the list to see if anyone has died since the last time, but only found Michel Portal, who passed away 3 days ago, no less, and has been removed from the list. Feel free to tip me. It’s always a bit of a morbid enterprise, this, but ultimately useful.
Didn’t read in any mainstream media about Michel Portal’s passing. But arte has just put up again a jazz concert from 2021 if anyone is interested:
That’s probably because he’s relatively niche outside France. But certainly a legendary jazz figure that has died. 90 is very good innings. Thanks for the concert clip!
He’s actually quite known as a jazz figure over here I think. But maybe I just missed the news in the endless stream of news…
What do you guys think? Should I have Paul Simon and Bob Dylan on there, for 1941? They’ve scored a film, but are hardly film composers?
Technically anyone who writes any film music is also a film composer even if no a primary film composer. Bob Dylan did at least score a classic western and won an oscar for a film song so would surely qualify. What did Paul Simon do outside of the Siman & Garfunkel songs for THE GRADUATE?
Well, there’s ONE-TRICK PONY (1980) and SHAMPOO (1975), although I’m not sure about the extent of original film score writing. Probably none.
Thanks for the suggestion of Herb Pilhofer, Jon.
What do you guys think? Should I have Paul Simon and Bob Dylan on there, for 1941? They’ve scored a film, but are hardly film composers?
Neil Young did that guitar mumbling on Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man. Does this put him in a row with Jerry Goldsmith? I don’t think so.
Neil Young did that guitar mumbling on Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man. Does this put him in a row with Jerry Goldsmith? I don’t think so.
Did anyone say that?
Did anyone say that?
As the question popped up if Bob Dylan belongs to that list of old film composers, yes, in a way.
Yeah, some of these are tricky and borderline. There are other names on the list that at least warrant discussion as well:
Gheorghe Zamfir – mostly famous as a pan flute player on many soundtracks, he’s actually written a few scores as well.
John Williams (the guitarist) — has played on soundtracks, including – most famously – “Cavatina”, and written the score for EMMA.
Paul Williams – mostly a songwriter, has contributed on many film songs, and presumably written a score or two.
Anthony Hopkins and Clint Eastwood — more famous as actors, but have written several scores
Arvo Pärt, Terry Riley, Steve Reich — mostly minimalist concert music, but presumably also a few, lesser known scores
Thea Musgrave — mostly opera and classical music. Some film music?
Terry Gibbs — mostly a studio musician, did he write any scores?
Ray Anthony — a studio musician. He didn’t write any scores. But included him at the end nonetheless, since he played on so many soundtracks. And he’s so ancient at 104
Elisabeth Waldo — mostly known as an ethno musician, but she DID write a couple of scores. At a whopping 107, she’s also the oldest “celebrity” in the world, I think.
I’m open to discussing pros and cons of having all of these on there.
What is certain is that Johnny Pate, at 102, remains the oldest film composer in the world. Yes, he did many other things as well, but with 9 original scores on his resume, there’s no doubt about his qualification.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.