Mission: Impossible composer Lalo Schifrin dies at 93, media reports say
Lalo Schifrin received an honorary Oscar for his lifetime of work in 2018. PHOTO: REUTERS
Argentine musician Lalo Schifrin, composer of the memorable Mission: Impossible theme and the scores for dozens of Hollywood movies and TV shows, has died at age 93, media outlets reported on June 26.
Schifrin's son, William, confirmed his father's death, The Hollywood Reporter said. An agent for Schifrin did not immediately respond to an e-mail from Reuters.
Born in Buenos Aires, Schifrin became a fan of American jazz in his teens. He was also a pianist and conductor.
Schifrin received six Oscar nominations for movie scores that included the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke and The Amityville Horror in 1979.
He won four Grammys, including one for the Mission: Impossible theme set to an unconventional 5/4 time signature. The song was written for the CBS television spy drama that debuted in 1966 and became a blockbuster film franchise still running today.
Schifrin received an honorary Oscar for his lifetime of work in 2018. Clint Eastwood presented him with the award. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
China's Revenge On Gold Diggers video game fuels sexism debate
Revenge On Gold Diggers, a full-motion video interactive game, is now among the country's top 10 best-selling titles on Steam. PHOTO: REUTERS BEIJING – One of China's best-selling new games has renewed a debate around sensitive gender issues in a country grappling with plunging marriage rates. Revenge On Gold Diggers, a full-motion video interactive game, soared to the top of Steam's revenue charts in China since its launch a week ago. Selling at US$6 (S$7.65) apiece, it is now among the country's top 10 best-selling titles on the PC platform, surpassing enduring hits like Black Myth: Wukong and Baldur's Gate 3. Developed by a little-known indie studio, the game unfolds as a series of choose-your-own-adventure episodes, where the player acts as a male protagonist interacting with five women. The female characters range from a live-streamer to a coffee shop barista, each of them exploiting their male counterparts for money. One of the women in the game boasts about her manipulation by saying, 'He's more obedient than a dog.' These storylines have stirred controversy on China's social networks, with critics slamming the game as a sexist fantasy. The developer responded by renaming the title to the more palatable Emotional Fraud Simulator while keeping all content intact. Opinions have been split. A state newspaper in Beijing opined this week that the game helps 'creatively strengthen young people's awareness of safety in romantic relationships', with other official outlets reposting the sentiment. Marriage numbers in China have been falling for most of the past decade and plunged to a record low last year – compounding a demographic crisis that's proliferating across the world's second-largest economy. Facing job insecurity and uncertain futures, young people are finding solace in things like video games, pet ownership and trendy collectibles like Labubu. Revenge On Gold Diggers has also been compared by Chinese social-media users and local media such as Sixth Tone with a recent real-life tragedy. In 2024 , a young gaming influencer nicknamed 'Fat Cat' killed himself and the internet attacked his girlfriend. A legion of Chinese indie games studios are trying to make it on Steam in the romance simulation genre, after 2024's surprise hit Love Is All Around. Featuring live-action footage, these games typically portray a male protagonist romantically pursuing multiple women and offer varying endings based on a player's dialogue choices. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
American singer Katy Perry, British actor Orlando Bloom split after nine years
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom have been engaged since February 2019 and have a four-year-old daughter. PHOTO: KATYPERRY/INSTAGRAM After nine years together, American singer Katy Perry and British actor Orlando Bloom have parted ways. They have been engaged since February 2019 and have a four-year-old daughter. The 40-year-old singer of Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) was first romantically linked to Bloom in January 2016, where they were seen at several Golden Globe after-parties together. They went public with their relationship on Instagram in May that year, after attending the Cannes Film Festival. The pair were set to wed in 2020, but their plans were foiled by the pandemic. Bloom, 48, recently appeared in Orlando Bloom: To The Edge (2024), which he executive produced. The three-episode TV series sees him going on a journey of self-discovery through activities such as freediving and rock climbing. The Pirates Of The Caribbean star also has a 14-year-old son with his ex-wife, Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr. Perry was previously married to British comedian Russell Brand between October 2010 and December 2011. She is now in Adelaide for her The Lifetimes Tour, which will wrap up in December. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
Mission: Impossible theme composer Lalo Schifrin dies at 93
Lalo Schifrin, the composer who wrote the endlessly catchy theme for Mission: Impossible and more than 100 other arrangements for film and television, died Thursday (Jun 26). He was 93. Schifrin's sons William and Ryan confirmed his death to trade outlets. The Associated Press' messages to Schifrin's publicist and representatives for either brother were not immediately returned. The Argentine won four Grammys and was nominated for six Oscars, including five for original score for Cool Hand Luke, The Fox, Voyage Of The Damned, The Amityville Horror and The Sting II. He also wrote the grand finale musical performance for the World Cup championship in Italy in 1990, in which the Three Tenors – Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras – sang together for the first time. The work became one of the biggest sellers in the history of classical music. 'THE MOST CONTAGIOUS TUNE EVER HEARD' Schifrin, also a jazz pianist and classical conductor, had a remarkable career in music that included working with Dizzy Gillespie and recording with Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan. But perhaps his biggest contribution was the instantly recognizable score to television's Mission: Impossible, which fuelled the just-wrapped, decades-spanning feature film franchise led by Tom Cruise. Written in the unusual 5/4 time signature, the theme – Dum-dum DUM DUM dum-dum DUM DUM – was married to an on-screen self-destruct clock that kicked off the TV show, which ran from 1966 to 1973. It was described as "only the most contagious tune ever heard by mortal ears" by New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane and even hit No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. Schifrin originally wrote a different piece of music for the theme song but series creator Bruce Geller liked another arrangement Schifrin had composed for an action sequence. "The producer called me and told me, 'You're going to have to write something exciting, almost like a logo, something that will be a signature, and it's going to start with a fuse,'" Schifrin told the AP in 2006. "So I did it and there was nothing on the screen. And maybe the fact that I was so free and I had no images to catch, maybe that's why this thing has become so successful – because I wrote something that came from inside me." When director Brian De Palma was asked to take the series to the silver screen, he wanted to bring the theme along with him, leading to a creative conflict with composer John Williams, who wanted to work with a new theme of his own. Out went Williams and in came Danny Elfman, who agreed to retain Schifrin's music. Hans Zimmer took over scoring for the second film, and Michael Giacchino scored the next two. Giacchino told NPR he was a hesitant to take it on, because Schifrin's music was one of his favorite themes of all time. "I remember calling Lalo and asking if we could meet for lunch," Giacchino told NPR. "And I was very nervous – I felt like someone asking a father if I could marry their daughter or something. And he said, 'Just have fun with it.' And I did." Mission: Impossible won Grammys for best instrumental theme and best original score from a motion picture or a TV show. In 2017, the theme was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. U2 members Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. covered the theme while making the soundtrack to 1996's first installment; that version peaked at No 16 on the Billboard 200 with a Grammy nomination. A 2010 commercial for Lipton tea depicted a young Schifrin composing the theme at his piano while gaining inspiration through sips of the brand's Lipton Yellow Label. Musicians dropped from the sky as he added elements. EARLY LIFE FILLED WITH MUSIC Born Boris Claudio Schifrin to a Jewish family in Buenos Aires, Schifrin was classically trained in music, in addition to studying law. After studying at the Paris Conservatory, Schifrin returned to Argentina and formed a concert band. Gillespie heard Schifrin perform and asked him to become his pianist, arranger and composer. In 1958, Schifrin moved to the United States, playing in Gillespie's quintet in 1960-62 and composing the acclaimed Gillespiana. The long list of luminaries he performed and recorded with includes Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Dee Dee Bridgewater and George Benson. He also worked with such classical stars as Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniel Barenboim and others. Schifrin moved easily between genres, winning a Grammy for 1965's Jazz Suite On The Mass Texts while also earning a nod that same year for the score of TV's The Man From UNCLE. In 2018, he was given an honorary Oscar statuette and, in 2017, the Latin Recording Academy bestowed on him one of its special trustee awards. Later film scores included Tango, Rush Hour and its two sequels, Bringing Down The House, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, After the Sunset and the horror film Abominable. Writing the arrangements for Dirty Harry, Schifrin decided that the main character wasn't in fact Clint Eastwood's hero, Harry Callahan, but the villain, Scorpio.
