The Sting composer Marvin Hamlisch dies

7 August 2012, 15:33

The Academy Award-winning film composer Marvin Hamlisch has died in LA following a short illness, aged 68.

Marvin Hamlisch, the Academy Award-winning composer of film scores including The Sting and Sophie's Choice, has died in LA following a short illness. He was 68.

Throughout his illustrious career, Hamlisch won three Academy Awards, four Emmy Awards, Tony Award and a Pulitzer prize for the score for A Chorus Line. He also composed the music for the Barbra Streisand/Robert Redford film The Way We Were, and several early Woody Allen films including Bananas and Take The Money And Run.

Other famous works include co-writing the song 'Nobody Does It Better' from The Spy Who Loved Me and and adaptation of Scott Joplin's 'The Entertainer' for The Sting. His most recent film score was for The Informant!, which starred Matt Damon and was directed by Steven Soderbergh.

In his youth, Hamlisch was a pupil of the Julliard School of Music, and he held conducting posts with several American orchestras.