Maurice Jarre | Film music composer, 84
Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre, 84, who captured the majesty of the desert in his music for Lawrence of Arabia and wrote the haunting "Lara's Theme" in his score for Doctor Zhivago , has died.
Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre, 84, who captured the majesty of the desert in his music for Lawrence of Arabia and wrote the haunting "Lara's Theme" in his score for Doctor Zhivago, has died.
Mr. Jarre died in his villa in Los Angeles, where he had lived for decades, Bernard Miyet, a friend of the composer and leader of the French musicians' guild SACEM, said yesterday. No cause of death was given.
Born in 1924 in Lyon, France, Mr. Jarre studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris, training initially as a kettledrum player. He started his career composing scores for theatrical productions and worked 12 years as permanent composer at the Theatre National Populaire.
He soon branched into composing soundtracks for movies, and in 1961 worked on director David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, for which he won his first Oscar.
He won a second for his work on Lean's Doctor Zhivago. The movie's song "Lara's Theme" earned him worldwide recognition. Mr. Jarre collaborated with Lean again in 1984 on A Passage to India, winning his third Oscar.
- AP