MOVIE NEWS – Lalo Schifrin, the legendary composer whose name will forever be associated with the unforgettable Mission: Impossible theme and a host of other celebrated film scores, has passed away. According to Variety, the Grammy-winning Argentinian artist died on Thursday, June 26, due to complications from pneumonia. A true giant of cinematic music has departed, one whose influence shaped the sound of generations.

The Argentine pianist and composer was a true pioneer, becoming one of the first to blend a wide variety of musical styles—including rock and jazz—into film and television scores that spanned all genres. Schifrin’s most notable work includes composing or contributing to the music for Bullitt (1968), The Amityville Horror (1979), Here’s Lucy (1971), The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), Money Talks (1997), and the Rush Hour film series (1998–2007), among hundreds of others. He was 93 years old.

The Mission: Impossible theme came about thanks to praise Schifrin received for his previous projects, which drew the attention of producer Bruce Geller, who invited him to the set. In an interview with SoundTrack Fest, Schifrin explained that he had no idea what the Mission: Impossible project was about when he first arrived on set: “First, I had no idea what the project was about, because they did not even give me a script to read and know what it was… Everything is very slow, and everything goes in different order, and of course, without the script, when one of the characters said something, I did not understand anything. Now, when they put it all together, that is when I understood.”

Schifrin Already Had Grammys Before ‘Mission: Impossible’

Born on June 21, 1932, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Schifrin began studying piano at a very young age. Lalo studied composition with Juan Carlos Paz and the French composer Olivier Messiaen. His father, Luis Schifrin, led the second violin section of the orchestra at Teatro Colón for several decades, which was one of Lalo’s earliest exposures to the music world. Schifrin revealed that his father was against him becoming a musician and urged him to pursue a career as a doctor or lawyer instead.

“Well, when I finished high school in Buenos Aires, my father didn’t want me to be a musician; he did not want me to continue the music career, because he knew how difficult it was to become something or someone there. So even if it sounds strong, he forbade me to continue studying music. He wanted me to get a diploma, as a lawyer or a doctor. I resisted, but yet I had to go to law school. And there I did 4 years. It was 6 years in total to get the diploma, but I only did 4.”

When he returned home in 1956, Schifrin formed his own jazz orchestra, and from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, he continued to develop his musical abilities, composing for film, television, and radio. Ultimately, his decision to pursue music paid off, as in 1962, he signed with Verve Records as an artist and arranger. That same year, he won his first Grammy for “The Cat,” a collaboration with organist Jimmy Smith. Three years later, in 1965, he received a second Grammy for composing “Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts.”

Source: Variety