Oscar Winning Composer Dies
After a battle with cancer, the award winning Hollywood film composer, Maurice Jarre has died in Los Angeles aged 84.
Celebrated for his music scores for more than 150 films, Jarre's music enhanced the work of a number of acclaimed directors, including John Frankenheimer, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston and Luchino Visconti.
However it was not until Jarre was approaching his forties that he achieved fame. His breakthrough came in 1962 when he was asked to write the score to Lawrence of Arabia, for which he was awarded an Oscar.
This success lead to a further two Oscars for Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India, plus six Academy Award nominations, two Bafta Awards, four Golden Globes and a Grammy.
Most recently, Jarre received a Lifetime Achievement award at the Berlin International Film Festival, which was to be one of his last public appearances.
30 March 2009
