Celebrity News January 26, 2019
Michel Legrand, Oscar-Winning Composer, Dead at 86
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Oscar winner Michel Legrand, famed for his film scores, died Saturday at 86, his official site announced.
Legrand performed just last month at the Paris Philharmonic and had more appearances scheduled for the spring.
In the '60s, he made his name composing indelible scores for French New Wave films, including "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964) and "The Young Girls of Rochefort" (1966), before winning his first Oscar, for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" from "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968). He won twice more, for the scores of "Summer of '42" (1971) and "Yentl" (1983).
Other notable works include his scores for "The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun" (1970), "Atlantic City" (1980) and for Orson Welles' last completed film "F for Fake" (1974) and his posthumously-released "The Other Side of the Wind," which was shot from 1970-1976 and released on Netflix in 2018.
Throughout his six-decade career, the five-time Grammy winner performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin.
French President Emmanuel Macron remembered Legrand as an "indefatigable genius," saying in a statement, "His unique tunes that run through our heads and are hummed in the streets have become like the soundtracks of our lives."
He is survived by his wife, actress Macha Méril, and by three children from his first marriage.
