Marvin Hamlisch, Composer, Dead At Age 68

By Robert Ottone | August 07 2012 10:23 AM

Marvin Hamlisch, best known for his scores to The Sting and The Way We Were (for which he won Academy Awards), has passed away at the age of 68, according to USA Today. Hamlisch is one of the few recipients of an Emmy, a Golden Globe, an Oscar and a Tony award. He had been working on the score to the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, directed by Steven Soderbergh.

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Marvin Hamlisch, best-known for his scores to “The Sting” and “The Way We Were” (for which he won Academy Awards), has passed away at the age of 68, according to USA Today.

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Details of Hamlich's passing have yet to be released, however; a spokesperson for Hamlisch's family stated that he had been suffering from a brief illness. Hamlisch, a long-time Yankee fan, was a native of New York, where his music was featured on Broadway, as well as the silver screen.

Adapting Scott Joplin's music for The Sting won Hamlisch his third Academy Award (the unforgettable tune The Entertainer is still a Hollywood classic to this day). He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his long-running stage-pieces A Chorus Line, as well as having written The Goodbye Girl and The Sweet Smell of Success.

Hamlisch was the principal pops conductor for multiple symphony orchestras around the United States. He was also scheduled to conduct the New York Philharmonic for their New Year's Eve celebration.

His numerous stage and screen compositions are the stuff of legends. His indelible and classic approach to American songwriting matched perfectly with The Sting, and his melodic and beautiful pieces will remain Broadway standards for years to come.