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Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer Michael Kamen has died at his London home at the age of 55, his publicist said today.
He collapsed yesterday after an apparent heart attack, according to his Los Angeles-based Jeff Sanderson.
Kamen collaborated with a wide range of artists, from the London Philharmonic to Aerosmith, Metallica, Pink Floyd and jazz saxophonist David Sanborn. He also provided music for the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard films.
Although he was classically trained and studied oboe at New York’s Julliard School, the composer's distinctive long, curly hair and beard made him look more like a heavy-metal guitarist than a classical conductor.
He was known for combining those two sensibilities. Among his most famous collaborations was on the orchestral arrangements in Pink Floyd’s 1979 album, The Wall. He also worked with the band on the albums The Final Cut and The Division Bell.
Kamen’s most recent Grammy win came in 2001, which he shared with Metallica for best rock instrumental performance. He won for conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in the metal-rock band’s song The Call of Ktulu.
He also had Grammy wins in 1996 for best instrumental arrangement with An American Symphony, which he derived from his work on the Richard Dreyfuss musical drama Mr Holland’s Opus. His first award was in 1992 for best pop instrumental performance for the theme music to Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. He also worked with singer Bryan Adams to help craft the movie theme songs Everything I Do (I Do It For You) from Robin Hood and Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman from Don Juan DeMarco.
Kamen worked with such pop, jazz and rock stars as Sting, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and Eric Clapton. He also had Oscar nominations for co-writing those songs.
Born in New York City in 1948, he said he learned to play piano at the age of two and later added the guitar, clarinet and oboe.
He played folk-blues in a jug band while simultaneously studying oboe at Julliard, and later experimented with techno, disco and rock while writing pure classical music for ballet performances.
His first full film score was for the 1976 Sean Connery political thriller The Next Man. Other movie credits include Brazil, Highlander, Someone to Watch Over Me, the animated The Iron Giant, the recent Western Open Range and Band of Brothers. Two upcoming films include Meg Ryan’s Against the Ropes and the comedy First Daughter.
Kamen is survived by his wife, Sandra Keenan-Kamen, two daughters, his father Saul Kamen and three brothers.
