Argentine Composer Lalo Schifrin to Receive Honorary Oscar

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced today that Argentine musician Lalo Schifrin will receive an Honorary Oscar, along with other four honorees, at a ceremony to be held on Sunday, November 18. The honors are conferred by the Academy’s Board of Governors “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

Née Boris Claudio Schifrin on June 21, 1932 in Buenos Aires, he is a pianist, composer, arranger and conductor best known for his prolific work as composer for cinema and TV scores since the fifties, including the theme from Mission Impossible. Schifrin worked extensively with Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel including the scores for Coogan's Bluff (1968) and Dirty Harry (1971). Other film credits include the scores for After the Sunset (2004), Rush Hour 3 (2007), and Tango (1998).

Schifrin has been nominated to six Academy Awards for Cool Hand Luke (1967), The Amityville Horror (1979), Voyage of the Damned (1976), The Fox (1967), The Competition (1980), and The Sting II (1983); nominated for three Golden Globes, and has won five Grammy Awards out of twenty-two nominations.