Alan Menken facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alan Menken
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Menken in 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alan Irwin Menken |
| Born | July 22, 1949 Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
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Alan Menken is a super talented American composer and conductor. He was born on July 22, 1949. He is famous for creating music for many popular movies and musicals. Alan Menken has won lots of awards, including eight Academy Awards (also known as Oscars), a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. He is one of only 21 people who have won an "EGOT." This means he has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award – the biggest awards in TV, music, movies, and theater!
He is best known for writing music and songs for Walt Disney Animation Studios films. His work on The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) earned him two Academy Awards for each movie. He also composed music for other popular films like Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Enchanted (2007), and Tangled (2010). More recently, he worked on Disenchanted (2022) and Spellbound (2024).
Alan Menken is also well-known for his work in Broadway musicals. He won a Tony Award for Best Original Score for Newsies (2012). He was also nominated for Tony Awards for his music in Beauty and the Beast (1993), The Little Mermaid (2008), Sister Act (2009), and Aladdin (2014). Other successful stage musicals he worked on include Little Shop of Horrors (1982) and A Christmas Carol (1994).
Menken has worked with many talented lyricists (people who write song words). Some of these include Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Stephen Schwartz, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
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Alan Menken's Early Life and Education
Alan Irwin Menken was born in Manhattan, New York City, on July 22, 1949. His father, Norman Menken, was a dentist who played boogie-woogie piano. His mother, Judith, was an actress, dancer, and playwright. His family was Jewish.
Discovering a Love for Music
Alan showed an interest in music from a very young age. He took piano and violin lessons and started composing his own music early on. When he was nine, his original song "Bouree" received top ratings at a music contest. Before college, he dreamed of being a rock star like Bob Dylan, writing many guitar songs.
He went to New Rochelle High School and graduated in 1967. Menken remembered making up his own Bach fugues and Beethoven sonatas because he found practicing boring. After high school, he attended New York University and graduated in 1972 with a music degree. He later joined the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. This workshop helped him realize that writing musicals was what he truly wanted to do.
Alan Menken's Amazing Career
After college, Alan Menken wanted to be a rock star or a recording artist. However, his interest in musicals grew when he joined the Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Musical Theatre Workshop. There, he was mentored by Lehman Engel. From 1974 to 1978, he presented various works from the BMI workshop. During this time, he also worked as a dance accompanist, a music director for clubs, and even wrote songs for Sesame Street.
First Big Successes
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Alan Menken found his first major success as a composer when playwright Howard Ashman chose him to write the music for his musical based on Kurt Vonnegut's novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. This musical opened in 1979 and received excellent reviews.
Menken and Ashman then created their next musical, Little Shop of Horrors. This show was based on a 1960 black comedy film. It opened in 1982 and was a huge hit, running for five years Off-Broadway. It even set a record for the highest-earning Off-Broadway show ever! The musical was later made into a 1986 film starring Rick Moranis. This film earned Menken and Ashman their first Oscar nomination for the song "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space". In 1983, Menken received the BMI Career Achievement Award for his work in musical theater.
Disney Renaissance and Broadway Hits
Because of the success of Little Shop of Horrors, Walt Disney Studios hired Menken and Ashman to write music for The Little Mermaid (1989). They wanted to create an animated musical that would be as good as classic Disney films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Little Mermaid was a huge success and started a new era for Disney, known as the Disney Renaissance. The film won them their first Academy Award for Best Song ("Under the Sea") and Best Score.
Menken and Ashman's next Disney film, Beauty and the Beast, earned them three Academy Award nominations in 1991, winning for its title song. Menken also won another Academy Award for Best Score. Sadly, Howard Ashman passed away in 1991 while they were working on Aladdin. Menken then teamed up with Tim Rice to finish the songs for Aladdin. The film won an Academy Award in 1992 for Best Song ("A Whole New World") and Menken also won for Best Score.
Menken's work also moved to Broadway. A musical version of Beauty and the Beast opened in 1994 and ran for 13 years. He also worked with Stephen Schwartz on Pocahontas (1995), winning two more Academy Awards. In 1996, they created songs for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In 1997, Menken worked with David Zippel on Hercules. His other Disney film scores included Home on the Range (2004), The Shaggy Dog (2006), Enchanted (2007), and Tangled (2010).
Broadway and Live-Action Films
Menken created the stage version of The Little Mermaid, which played on Broadway from 2008 to 2009. He was nominated for a Tony Award for this. His musical Sister Act opened in London in 2009 and on Broadway in 2011, earning him another Tony nomination. In 2010, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2012, Menken won a Tony Award for Best Score for his musical Newsies.
His stage version of Aladdin opened on Broadway in 2014, earning him another Tony nomination. In 2015, Menken helped compose music for the TV series Galavant. He also worked on A Bronx Tale: The Musical, which played on Broadway in 2016.
More recently, Menken has been involved in live-action Disney films. He wrote new songs for the 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast and the 2019 live-action Aladdin. He also worked on the animated series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (2017-2020), winning a Daytime Emmy Award in 2020 for the song "Waiting in the Wings."
He wrote new songs for Disenchanted (2022), the sequel to Enchanted. Menken also worked on new music for the live-action film The Little Mermaid (2023), collaborating with Lin-Manuel Miranda. He also composed songs for the Netflix film Spellbound (2024).
With eight Academy Awards, Alan Menken is one of the most awarded people in music history. Only Alfred Newman (nine wins), Cedric Gibbons (11 wins), and Walt Disney (22 wins) have won more Oscars than him. He holds the record for the most wins for a living person.
Alan Menken's Personal Life
Alan Menken met ballet dancer Janis Roswick while working with the Downtown Ballet Company. They got married in November 1972 and live in North Salem, New York. They have two daughters, Anna and Nora.
Alan Menken's Works
Film Music
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Credited as | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Songwriter | Score producer | Actor | ||||
| 1972 | A Dancer's Life | William Richert | No | No | No | Yes | Documentary film |
| 1986 | Little Shop of Horrors | Frank Oz | No | Yes | No | No | Composed original and new songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; score by Miles Goodman |
| 1989 | The Little Mermaid | John Musker Ron Clements |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | First score for an animated film Composed songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman |
| 1990 | Rocky V | John G. Avildsen | No | Yes | No | No | Composed song "Measure of a Man"; score by Bill Conti |
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast | Gary Trousdale Kirk Wise |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Composed songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman |
| 1992 | Newsies | Kenny Ortega | No | Yes | No | No | Composed songs with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by J.A.C. Redford |
| Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Chris Columbus | No | Yes | No | No | Composed song "My Christmas Tree" with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by John Williams | |
| Aladdin | John Musker Ron Clements |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Composed songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice | |
| 1993 | Life with Mikey | James Lapine | Yes | Yes | No | No | Composed songs "Cold Enough to Snow" and "Life with Mikey Theme" with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz & Jack Feldman |
| 1995 | Pocahontas | Mike Gabriel Eric Goldberg |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Composed songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz |
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Gary Trousdale Kirk Wise |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1997 | Hercules | John Musker Ron Clements |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Composed songs with lyrics by David Zippel |
| 2004 | Home on the Range | Will Finn John Sanford |
Yes | Yes | No | No | Composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater |
| Noel | Chazz Palminteri | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Composed song "Winter Light" with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | |
| 2006 | The Shaggy Dog | Brian Robbins | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2007 | Enchanted | Kevin Lima | Yes | Yes | No | No | Composed songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz |
| 2010 | Tangled | Byron Howard Nathan Greno |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater |
| 2011 | Captain America: The First Avenger | Joe Johnston | No | Yes | No | No | Composed "Star Spangled Man" with lyrics by David Zippel; score by Alan Silvestri |
| Jock the Hero Dog | Duncan MacNeillie | No | Yes | No | No | Composed song "Howling at the moon" with lyrics by Tim Rice; score by Klaus Badelt and Ian Honeyman | |
| 2012 | Mirror Mirror | Tarsem Singh | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2016 | Sausage Party | Conrad Vernon Greg Tiernan |
Yes | Yes | No | No | Co-composer with Christopher Lennertz; Composed song "The Great Beyond" with lyrics by Glenn Slater, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ariel Shaffir and Kyle Hunter |
| Aria for a Cow | Dan Lund | Yes | Yes | No | No | Short film; Composed song "Aria" with lyrics by Howard Ashman |
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| 2017 | Beauty and the Beast | Bill Condon | Yes | Yes | No | No | Returned from the 1991 animated film Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; Composed new songs with Tim Rice |
| 2018 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | Rich Moore Phil Johnston |
No | Yes | No | No | Composed songs "In This Place" and "A Place Called Slaughter Race" with lyrics by Phil Johnston & Tom MacDougall; score by Henry Jackman |
| Holmes & Watson | Etan Cohen | No | Yes | No | No | Composed song "Strange Sensation" with lyrics by Glenn Slater; score by Mark Mothersbaugh | |
| Howard | Don Hahn | Yes | No | No | Yes | Documentary film Disney+ original film Limited theatrical run in 2018; official release in 2020 |
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| 2019 | Aladdin | Guy Ritchie | Yes | Yes | No | No | Returned to score from the 1992 animated film Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice; Composed new songs with lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul |
| 2022 | Disenchanted | Adam Shankman | Yes | Yes | No | No | Disney+ original film Returned from the 2007 film Composed songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz |
| 2023 | The Little Mermaid | Rob Marshall | Yes | Yes | No | No | Returned to score from the 1989 animated film Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; Composed new songs with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda |
| 2024 | Spellbound | Vicky Jenson | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Netflix original film Composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater |
Television Music
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Songwriter | Score producer | Executive producer | Actor | |||
| 1989–1990 | Sesame Street | No | Yes | No | No | No | Composed "Grouchelot", "What is Friend?", "It's Gonna Get Dirty Again," "Snuffle Friends," "Martian Family (Yip Yip Song)," "Monster Up and Down", "Pond Full of Fish" and "Todos un Pueblo" |
| 1989 | Polly | No | Yes | No | No | No | Television film Composed song "By Your Side" with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by Joel McNeely |
| 1990 | Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue | No | Yes | No | No | No | TV special Composed "Wonderful Ways to Say No" with lyrics by Howard Ashman; score by Richard Kosinski, Sam Winans, Paul Buckmaster, Bill Reichenbach, Bob Mann and Guy Moon |
| 1992 | Lincoln | Yes | No | No | No | No | Television film |
| 2004 | A Christmas Carol | No | Yes | No | No | No | Television film Composed songs with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; score by Michael Kosarin |
| 2013 | The Neighbors | No | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Sing Like a Larry Bird" Composed "More or Less The Kind of Thing You May or May Not Possibly See on Broadway", "Giselle", "More or Less The Kind of Thing You May or May Not Possibly See on Broadway" (Reprise) |
| 2015–2016 | Galavant | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Composed complete soundtrack, score co-composed with Christopher Lennertz |
| 2017 | Tangled: Before Ever After | No | Yes | No | No | No | Television film Disney Channel original film Composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater; score by Kevin Kliesch |
| 2017–2020 | Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Composed complete soundtrack, score composed by Kevin Kliesch |
| 2019 | The Little Mermaid Live! | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | TV special Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; Composed new songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater |
| 2020 | Central Park | No | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Dog Spray Afternoon" Composed song "Spoiler Alert" with lyrics by Glenn Slater |
| 2021 | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | No | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "The Star-Spangled Man" Composed "Star Spangled Man" with lyrics by David Zippel for Captain America: The First Avenger; score by Henry Jackman |
| 2022 | Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | TV special Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; Composed "Evermore" with lyrics by Tim Rice |
Theater Musicals
- Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (Off-Broadway, 1979)
- Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Dennis Green
- Based on a 1965 novel by Kurt Vonnegut
- Little Shop of Horrors (Off-Broadway, 1982; West End, 1983; Broadway, 2003)
- Lyrics by Ashman
- Based on the 1960 black comedy film
- Weird Romance (Off-Broadway, 1992)
- Lyrics by David Spencer
- Two one-act musical: Based on "Her Pilgrim Soul" and "The Girl Who Was Plugged In"
- Beauty and the Beast (Broadway, 1994; West End, 1997)
- Lyrics by Ashman and Tim Rice
- Based on the 1991 Disney film
- A Christmas Carol (Madison Square Garden, 1994–2003)
- Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
- Based on 1843 novella by Charles Dickens
- King David (Broadway, 1997)
- Lyrics by Rice
- Based on the Biblical books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles and Psalms
- Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (Berlin, 1999)
- Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
- Based on the Disney film and the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo
- The Little Mermaid (Broadway, 2008)
- Lyrics by Ashman and Glenn Slater
- Based on the Disney film
- Sister Act (West End, 2009; Broadway, 2011)
- Lyrics by Slater
- Based on the 1992 comedy film
- Leap of Faith (Broadway, 2012)
- Lyrics by Slater
- Based on the 1992 film
- Newsies (Paper Mill Playhouse, 2011; Broadway, 2012)
- Lyrics by Jack Feldman
- Based on the 1992 film
- Aladdin (Seattle, 2011; Broadway, 2014)
- Lyric by Ashman, Rice and Chad Beguelin
- Based on the 1992 film
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla Playhouse, 2014)
- Lyrics by Schwartz
- Based on the 1996 film and the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (Montreal, 2015)
- Lyrics by Spencer
- Based on the 1959 novel by Mordecai Richler
- A Bronx Tale: The Musical (Broadway, 2016)
- Lyrics by Slater
- Based on the 1990 autobiographical one-man play by Chazz Palminteri
- Hercules (Central Park, 2019)
- Lyrics by David Zippel
- Based on the 1997 Disney film
Other Projects
- Aladdin, Jr. – A shorter musical adapted from the 1992 animated film Aladdin.
- Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage – A theatrical show at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World.
- Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular – A theatrical show at Disney California Adventure.
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame – A theatrical show at Disney's MGM Studios, Walt Disney World.
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure – An attraction at Disney California Adventure.
- Sindbad's Storybook Voyage featuring "Compass of Your Heart" – An attraction at Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo Disney Resort.
- Tangled: The Musical – A theatrical show on the Disney Cruise Line (started November 2015).
- Dubai Parks and Resorts's official theme song "All the Wonders of the Universe" (opened October 2016).
- Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular 2017 celebration featuring the world premiere of "The Sum of Us" (lyrics by Jack Feldman).
Awards and Honors
Alan Menken has won many awards! He has received eight Academy Awards (Oscars) and was nominated 19 times. This makes him one of the most awarded people in music for films. He has also won eleven Grammy Awards, one Tony Award, and one Daytime Emmy Award. He also has seven Golden Globe Awards.
He was named a Disney Legend in 2002. He also received the Richard Kirk Career Achievement Award in 1998 and The Oscar Hammerstein Award in 2013.
The American Film Institute included the title song from Beauty and the Beast in its list of "100 Greatest Songs in American Films." Five other songs from his Disney films were also nominated for this list:
- "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid (1989)
- "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- "A Whole New World" from Aladdin (1992)
- "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin (1992)
In 2006, the AFI listed its 25 greatest movie musicals. Beauty and the Beast (1991) was ranked 22nd, making it the only animated musical film on the list. Four of his other film musicals were also nominated:
- Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
- The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Aladdin (1992)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
In 2019, Menken accepted a Razzie Award for "Worst Original Song" for "High Times, Hard Times" from Newsies (1992). He won this award in 1993. This made him the first person to win both a Razzie and an Oscar in the same year!
In 2020, Menken achieved "EGOT" status. This happened when he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song in a Children's, Young Adult or Animated Program. He won for co-writing the song "Waiting in the Wings" for Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure.
See also
In Spanish: Alan Menken para niños
