The French composer and jazz pianist won three Academy Awards, including for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind." He penned more than 200 film and TV scores and several musicals.
Prolific French movie composer Michel Legrand has died aged 86, his spokesperson said on Saturday.
"It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing away of our friend and artist Michel Legrand," a statement on his Facebook page from his management company, City Lights, said.
"He changed the meaning of music in films with his sense of rhythm and his absolute passion for life."
During a career spanning more than half a century, Legrand won three Oscars, five Grammys, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.
The first Academy Awards nominations came for the French films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), which helped launch his international career.
The French government tweeted a tribute featuring some of Legrand's lyrics.
Thirteen Oscar nominations in all
Legrand's first Oscar win was for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind," which he wrote for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968).
Michel Legrand performing in Cannes in 1973 Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Göbel
Later he would receive international accolades for his work on Summer of '42 (1971), Yentl (1983) and Dingo (1991), among others.
Born in Paris in February 1932, Legrand studied for seven years at the legendary Paris Conservatoire, graduating with top honors as a composer and pianist.
In all, he composed more than 200 film and television scores for top directors including Jean-Luc Godard, Clint Eastwood, Barbra Streisand, Robert Altman and many others.
As a jazz pianist, he wrote several songs that have become jazz standards covered by other artists. They include 'What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," which Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and Dusty Springfield featured on their own albums.
7 great film music composers
How long should a list of the most important film composers be? Should it number 10, 50 or 100? Who should be included is a matter of dispute. Here's our small and personal selection.
Image: AP
Max Steiner
Considered the father of film music, the Austrian-American composer was the first to underscore dialogue with music. Early on he discovered how music can enhance and even transform the impact of images, such as in the classics "King Kong" (1933), "Gone With the Wind" (1939) and "Casablanca" (1942). Nominated 24 times for an Oscar, Steiner was awarded the distinction three times.
Of Jewish background, the composer emigrated from Austria to the US in 1934 and soon set standards for Hollywood film music. Generously paid by Warner Bros. Studios, he was able to choose his own projects. Korngold devised the music to "Anthony Adverse" (1936), "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) and "The Sea Hawk" (1940). He also wrote piano and orchestral works, Lieder and chamber music.
Bernard Herrmann (r.) with Alfred Hitchcock
A young woman is stabbed under a shower in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" — the scene rendered doubly terrifying by screeching violins. Herrmann's score in Hitchcock's "Vertigo" first conjures up a vague sense of unease, then propels the action forward at the end. The American composer's long career comprises the Orson Welles classic "Citizen Kane" (1941) and Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" (1976).
The 20th Century Fox theme, one of the most familiar signature tunes ever, was actually composed for a different studio but rejected. Newman also devised the scores to "Everything About Eve" (1950) with Bette Davis and "The Seventh Year Itch" (1955) starring Marilyn Monroe. His sons, Thomas and David Newman, are also important film composers.
Image: picture-alliance / Mary Evans Picture Library
Ennio Morricone
The Italian wrote the ultimate film music to "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968) as well as to "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984), "The Untouchables" (1987) and over 500 other films. Quentin Tarantino used Morricone's compositions in "Inglourious Basterds" (2009) before asking him to write the original score for "The Hateful Eight" (2015).
Image: Jelmer de Haas
Hans Zimmer
The Hollywood-based German took the Oscar for the music to "Lion King" in 1995 and has been nominated for the distinction 10 times. His amalgamation of synthesizer and orchestral sounds was revolutionary. Zimmer wrote the music for over 150 films, including "Rain Man" (1988), "Pirates of the Caribbean" (2003, 2006, 2007 and 2011) and "Blade Runner 2049" (2017).
Image: AP
John Williams
In 1975, he wrote the music to Steven Spielberg's "Jaws." Without his compositions, the "Indiana Jones" films (from 1981-2008), the "Star Wars" franchise (from 1977), "Superman" (1978), "E.T" (1982), "Schindler's List" (1993) and "Jurassic Park" (from 1993) would have turned out quite differently. Williams' music often works on a subconscious level before culminating in a grand finale.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
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Before his death, Legrand had planned a world tour beginning next month.
