‘Mission Impossible’ theme composer Lalo Schifrin passes away at 93

WASHINGTON DC: Grammy-winning composer of ‘Mission: Impossible’ Lalo Schifrin, who also composed film scores including ‘Cool Hand Luke,’ ‘Dirty Harry’ and ‘Bullitt,’ passed away on Thursday at the age of 93, reported Variety.

The celebrated music composer’s demise was due to complications from pneumonia, the news outlet said.

This Argentine musician was among the first to apply a broad range of musical ideas to film and TV scores, from jazz and rock to more modern and complex techniques of orchestral writing.

Schifirin was at the peak of his career in the 1960s and 70s, when he produced several film and TV scores that are now regarded as classics.

In November 2018, Schifrin became only the third composer in the history of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences to receive an honorary Oscar.

According to Variety. Schifrin was nominated six times for Oscars including score nods for ‘Cool Hand Luke’ (1967), ‘The Fox’ (1968) ‘Voyage of the Damned’ (1976) ‘The Amityville Horror’ (1979) and ‘The Sting II’ (1983), plus a best-song nomination for ‘The Competition’ (1980), but he was especially well-known for his TV themes.

The famous ‘Mission: Impossible’ theme earned him two of his five Grammy Awards and three of his four Emmy nominations, bringing him lasting fame. It was used throughout the eight Tom Cruise “Mission” films that began in 1996.

The first of two ‘Mission: Impossible’ soundtrack albums became a best-seller in 1968, and the theme reached no. 41 on the Billboard pop charts, reported Variety.

According to the outlet, Schifrin wrote the music for more than 40 TV-movies and miniseries including the controversial 1966 ‘Doomsday Flight,’ about a madman who hides a bomb aboard a commercial airliner; and the 1980s and ’90s multi-parters ‘Princess Daisy,’ ‘A.D.,’ ‘Out on a Limb,’ ‘A Woman Named Jackie’ and ‘Don Quixote,’ reported Variety.

Other TV series for which he wrote themes included ‘Blue Light,’ ‘The Young Lawyers,’ ‘Planet of the Apes,’ ‘Bronk’ and ‘Glitter.’

According to Variety, Schifrin’s last major work was a collaboration with fellow Argentinian composer Rod Schejtman: “Long Live Freedom,” a 35-minute symphony dedicated to their country that debuted April 5 at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.

Survivors, in addition to his wife Donna, include three children (William Schifrin and wife Lissa, Frances Schifrin and husband John Newcombe, Ryan Schifrin and wife Theresa) and four grandchildren, reported the outlet. (ANI)