Marvin Hamlisch

From Grokipedia

Marvin Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer, pianist, and conductor renowned for his versatile contributions to film scores, Broadway musicals, and popular songs. Born in New York City to Hungarian-Jewish immigrant parents, Hamlisch displayed prodigious musical talent from a young age, beginning piano lessons at five and gaining admission to the Juilliard School's pre-college division at seven. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens College in 1967 while working as a rehearsal pianist on Broadway productions.

Hamlisch's career breakthrough came in the early 1970s with film compositions that earned him widespread acclaim, including three Academy Awards in 1974: Best Original Song Score and/or Adaptation Score for The Sting (1973), and Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Song ("The Way We Were") for the film of the same name (1973). His score for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) featured the Oscar-nominated hit "Nobody Does It Better," further solidifying his status in Hollywood. On Broadway, Hamlisch achieved landmark success with A Chorus Line (1975), for which he composed the music and won a Tony Award for Best Original Score and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976, making it one of the longest-running musicals in history. Other notable stage works include They're Playing Our Song (1979) and The Goodbye Girl (1993).

Throughout his career, Hamlisch amassed an extraordinary array of honors, becoming one of 21 individuals to achieve competitive EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) and one of just two—alongside Richard Rodgers—to also win a Pulitzer Prize. His four Grammy Awards included Best New Artist in 1974, while he received four Emmys for television work, such as the score for Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq (1971). In later years, Hamlisch served as principal pops conductor for major orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra, and continued composing until his death from a brief illness in Los Angeles at age 68.

In brief

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, a feat dubbed the "EGOT". He and composer Richard Rodgers are the only people to have won those prizes and a Pulitzer Prize ("PEGOT").