Good, Bad and Ugly film score genius dies at 91
OSCAR-winning Italian film composer Ennio Morricone, who created the iconic score for The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, has died aged 91.
He is understood to have died in hospital in Rome after suffering a fall several days ago.
Known as “The Maestro”, Ennio scored more than 500 films over seven decades.
But he is best known for composing the soundtracks to the Dollars trilogy of spaghetti westerns that made Clint Eastwood a global star.
A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For A Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) are renowned for Ennio’s haunting melodies.
Having received an honorary Oscar in 2007, he went on to win one in 2016 for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.
He also received Oscar nominations for Days Of Heaven, The Mission, The Untouchables, Bugsy and Malena.
Ennio also created the music for classics Once Upon A Time In America and Cinema Paradiso.
Tributes poured in for the composer yesterday. Fellow composer Hans Zimmer said: “Ennio was an icon and icons just don’t go away, icons are forever. It really has taken me by surprise as he was still touring. I saw him about a year ago. He seemed strong. He was conducting at the O2.
“He was a major influence on me. The first movie I ever saw was Once Upon A Time In The West. I heard the music and saw those images and I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
Zimmer said Ennio’s music was “always outstanding, and done with great emotional fortitude intellectual thought”.
Italian health minister Roberto Speranza tweeted: “Adieu maestro, and thank you for the emotions you gave us.”
Pop band New Order’s frontman Bernard Sumner called Ennio a “musical hero” in a post on his group’s Twitter page. French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre said: and great
“Ennio Morricone – a unique sound, magnificent melodies, a major influence and constant source of inspiration. Love and respect.”
Director Edgar Wright said he “could make an average movie into a must see, a good movie into art, and a great movie into legend”.
Film4, the British Film Institute and the Royal Philharmonic Society also posted tributes.