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Bill Conti

 
Bill Conti

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Bill Conti



 
 
Bill Conti (born April 13, 1942 in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the Capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States....
) is an Italian American
Italian American

An Italian American is an United States of Italians descent and/or dual citizenship. The phrase refers to someone born in the United States or who has immigrated to the United States and is of Italian heritage....
 film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
 ceremony.

Conti is a graduate of Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a state university, coeducational, Level l Research University located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System....
. Bill also studied at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School

The Juilliard School, located on the Upper West Side in New York City, is a performing arts music school. It is informally identified as simply Juilliard, and trains in dance, drama, and music....
 of Music. He is a past winner of the Silver Knight Award presented by the Miami Herald.

big break into celebrity came in 1976, when he was hired to compose the music for a small United Artists
United Artists

United Artists Entertainment LLC is an United States film studio. The current United Artists was formed in November 2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., an MGM company....
 film called Rocky
Rocky

Rocky is a 1976 film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen. It tells the rags-to-riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa , an uneducated but good-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia....
.






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Bill Conti (born April 13, 1942 in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the Capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States....
) is an Italian American
Italian American

An Italian American is an United States of Italians descent and/or dual citizenship. The phrase refers to someone born in the United States or who has immigrated to the United States and is of Italian heritage....
 film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
 ceremony.

Early life and career

Bill Conti is a graduate of Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a state university, coeducational, Level l Research University located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System....
. Bill also studied at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School

The Juilliard School, located on the Upper West Side in New York City, is a performing arts music school. It is informally identified as simply Juilliard, and trains in dance, drama, and music....
 of Music. He is a past winner of the Silver Knight Award presented by the Miami Herald.

Rocky series

His big break into celebrity came in 1976, when he was hired to compose the music for a small United Artists
United Artists

United Artists Entertainment LLC is an United States film studio. The current United Artists was formed in November 2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., an MGM company....
 film called Rocky
Rocky

Rocky is a 1976 film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen. It tells the rags-to-riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa , an uneducated but good-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia....
. The film became a phenomenon, and Conti's training montage tune, "Gonna Fly Now
Gonna Fly Now

"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford....
" topped the Billboard singles chart in 1977. He also composed music for the sequels Rocky II
Rocky II

Rocky II is the 1979 in film sequel to Rocky, a motion picture in which an unknown boxing had been given a chance to go the distance with the World Heavyweight Champion....
 (1979), Rocky III
Rocky III

Rocky III is the third installment in the Rocky . It is directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the Rocky Balboa, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, and Talia Shire as Rocky's wife, Adrian_Pennino....
 (1982), Rocky V
Rocky V

Rocky V is the fifth film in the Rocky . It was released on November 16, 1990 in film. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Stallone's real life son Sage Stallone and real life boxing Tommy Morrison as boxer Tommy Gunn, a talented yet raw boxer, who only uses Rocky for his connections and to try to win the World Heavyweight tit...
 (1990) and Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa (film)

Rocky Balboa is a 2006 in film written and directed by Sylvester Stallone who also stars as underdog Boxing Rocky Balboa. It is the sixth and final film in the Rocky , which began with the Oscar-winning Rocky thirty years earlier in 1976....
 (2006).

Other film and television credits

Conti also worked for some other films and, eventually, for television series. In 1981, he wrote the music for the James Bond
James Bond

James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections....
 film, For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Only (film)

For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond James Bond , and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional character Secret Intelligence Service agent James Bond ....
, when John Barry
John Barry (composer)

John Barry, Order of the British Empire is a renowned Golden Globe Award and five-time Academy Award-winning English film score composer. He is best known for composing 11 James Bond movies and was hugely influential on the 007 series' distinctive style....
 was unwilling to return to the United Kingdom for tax reasons, and provided the score for playwright Jason Miller
Jason Miller (playwright)

Jason Miller was an American actor and playwright. He received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play, That Championship Season....
's film version of his Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is an United States award regarded as the highest national honor in newspaper journalism, literary achievements and musical composition....
 winning play That Championship Season
That Championship Season (1982 film)

That Championship Season is Jason Miller 1982 film version of his 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway That Championship Season. It stars Robert Mitchum, Martin Sheen, Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach and Paul Sorvino and was filmed on location in Scranton, Pennsylvania where it is set....
 the following year
1982

1982 was a common year starting on Friday ....
.

In 1983, he composed the score for HBO's first film, The Terry Fox Story. Conti composed music for the films Bad Boys
Bad Boys (1983 film)

Bad Boys is a 1983 in film juvenile delinquent melodrama primarily set in a juvenile detention center, starring Sean Penn, Esai Morales, and Ally Sheedy, directed by Rick Rosenthal....
 and Mass Appeal
Mass Appeal (film)

Mass Appeal is a 1984 in film Cinema of the United States Comedy-drama directed by Glenn Jordan. The screenplay by Bill C. Davis is based on his 1980 Mass Appeal....
. Then in 1984, he received an Academy Award for composing the score to 1983's The Right Stuff followed by composing music for the TV series North and South
North and South (TV miniseries)

North and South is an United States television miniseries set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War. It was based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes and follows its general storyline, despite some deviations....
 in 1985. He also composed the score for The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is a 1984 in film film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue....
 as well as the Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe (film)

Masters of the Universe is a 1987 in film science fiction/fantasy film based on the Masters of the Universe. The movie stars Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor....
 live action movie. In 1999 he composed the score for The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair

The Thomas Crown Affair is either of two films:* The Thomas Crown Affair , a 1968 film starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway* The Thomas Crown Affair , a 1999 remake of the 1968 film, starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo...
 remake, starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.

He also composed the themes to television's Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)

Dynasty is an United States prime time television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989....
, The Colbys
The Colbys

'The Colbys' is an United States prime time soap opera which aired on American Broadcasting Company from November 20 1985 to March 26 1987....
, Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest

Falcon Crest is an United States primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990....
, Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey

Cagney & Lacey is an United States television series that first aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982 to May 16, 1988....
, and The Lifestyles of The Rich And Famous. Conti also composed the theme song to the original version of American Gladiators
American Gladiators

American Gladiators was an United States game show television program that matched a cast of amateur sportspersons against each other, as well as against the show's own "gladiators", in contests of strength and agility....
, worked with CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
 on the movie jingle, composed one of the early themes to Inside Edition
Inside Edition

Inside Edition is a syndicated news program, on the air since January 9, 1989. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair , but now more closely resembles Entertainment Tonight or The Insider ....
, and wrote the theme to Primetime Live for ABC News
ABC News

ABC News is a division of United States television and radio network American Broadcasting Company, owned by The Walt Disney Company. Its current president is David Westin....
. In addition he composed the score to the studio altered American version of Luc Besson
Luc Besson

Luc Besson is a French film director, writer and film producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company....
's The Big Blue
The Big Blue

The Big Blue , released in 1988 in film, is the first English language film made by French people director Luc Besson. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free diving....
.

Awards and nominations

Bill Conti has received many award nominations for his work. He received a Best Song nomination for "Gonna Fly Now
Gonna Fly Now

"Gonna Fly Now", also known as "Theme from Rocky", is the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta Little and Nelson Pigford....
." He won an Oscar for the largely electronic score for The Right Stuff.

External links