Composer Leonard Rosenman dead at 83
LOS ANGELES (AP) -March 5, 2008 Rosenman died Tuesday of a heart attack at his home at the
Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, said family
friend Jon Burlingame.
Rosenman was a concert composer when his friend James Dean
introduced him to director Elia Kazan. Kazan asked the composer to
write the score for "East of Eden," beginning Rosenman's film
career. He went on to score dozens of films and television shows.
Rosenman won back-to-back Academy Awards in 1975 and 1976 for
his work on "Barry Lyndon" and "Bound for Glory." He was
nominated twice more for his scores for "Cross Creek" in 1983 and
"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" in 1986.
He won Emmys for his TV-movie scores for "Sybil" in 1976 and
"Friendly Fire" in 1979.
He also composed the music for the TV series "Combat!," and
wrote much of the music for "Marcus Welby, M.D." and the theme
music for "The Defenders."
His other film music included scores for "Hell Is for Heroes,"
"Fantastic Voyage" and "A Man Called Horse."
A native of New York, Rosenman served in the Army Air Forces in
the Pacific during World War II. After his service, he moved to
California and studied with composers Arnold Schoenberg and Roger
Sessions.
