The Broadway arts community mourns the loss of a great and talented composer today. Marvin Hamlisch, a well-known composer from from New York, NY, is now dead.
During his youth, Hamlisch was accepted into Juilliard School of Music’s Pro-College Division, and his first job was playing the piano for the play Funny Girl, which starred Barbara Streisand.
Many of us knew Hamlisch for his work with various Broadway productions, providing musical scores for well-known plays, such as: The Way We Were (1973), adaptations for Scott Joplin’s The Sting (1973), A Chorus Line (1975), and They’re Playing Our Song (1978).
With his work with A Chorus Line, the musical score for this amazing Broadway play earned him both a Tony Award and also a Pulitzer Prize. To give you a taste of Hamlisch’s work, I have provided below a YouTube clip of the song “One” from A Chorus Line.
Many other of Hamlisch’s scores can be heard within popular movies and productions, such as: Sophie’s Choice, Ordinary People, Three Men and a Baby, Ice Castles, The Informant!, and Behind the Candelabra.
Unfortunately, Marvin Hamlisch died on August 6th, 2012, at the age of 68 after a brief illness. Various fans of Hamlisch’s work have left their respects via Twitter (provided below).
RIP Marvin Hamlisch. You were an amazing composer and a bundle of light
The GREAT Marvin Hamlisch passed away… What a loss. What a talent. What contributions… #rip
So shocked & sad to learn of Marvin Hamlisch passing away at 68 after a brief illness. Such a lovely, gracious, talented man. Such a loss.
RIP Marvin Hamlisch. He produced such wonderful music. A sad loss.
So sad to hear of the passing of Marvin Hamlisch. Such a wonderful conductor, composer, and person. The music world will not be the same.