Ennio Morricone, the famed Italian composer whose tunes made Clint Eastwood a star, passed away on July 6. He was 91. It was reported that he died in hospital having fractured his femur in a fall some days ago.
He was known as the “Maestro” for his stellar composition, and went on to win two Oscars, one for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight in 2016, while the other was an honorary one in 2007. He has been credited with changing the entire sound scene of the cinema of that era.
He has worked on more than 500 film and TV scores. His famed works include Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables, Cinema Paradiso, A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. His scores with Leone became legendary, and earned Clint Eastwood his taciturn gunslinger, known as “The Man With No Name”. Despite his Hollywood fame, he remained rooted to his Italian background and continued to do the sound scores for the Italian film industry.
Celebrities from all over the world expressed their regret over his demise on several social media platforms. His death was marked by Italian health minister Roberto Speranza, who tweeted: “Adieu maestro, and thank you for the emotions you gave us.” Composers AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer also took to Twitter to express their condolences.
Only a composer like #EnnioMorricone could bring the beauty, culture and the lingering romance of Italy to your senses in the pre-virtual reality and pre-internet era… All we can do is celebrate the master’s work and learn!
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) July 6, 2020