Lalo Schifrin, Acclaimed Composer of ‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘Mannix’ Themes, Dies at 93
The Argentine native blended jazz and classical music, earned six Oscar noms and four Grammys and inspired a martial-arts legend.
Also Lalo Schifrin was best known for doing a score for Cool Hand Luke called "The Tar Sequence." That cut is better known for being used as a newscast opening from Local news off ABC O&O's in the United States and National Nine News in Australia rather than Cool Hand Luke itself.
He artfully blended the two genres, and the combustible energy and rhythmic vitality of his compositions were especially well-suited for action-suspense movies and TV shows.
The workaholic Schifrin received Oscar nominations for his scores for Cool Hand Luke (1967), The Fox (1968), Voyage of the Damned (1976), The Amityville Horror (1979) and The Sting II (1983) and for the song “People Alone” from The Competition (1980).
He scored Dirty Harry (1971) and the sequels Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) and The Dead Pool (1988), all starring Clint Eastwood — the filmmaker presented him with his Oscar — and served as the composer on all three of the Rush Hour films.