James Horner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James Horner
Horner in 2010
Background information
Birth name	James Roy Horner
Born	(1953-08-14)August 14, 1953 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	June 22, 2015(2015-06-22) (aged 61) Los Padres National Forest, California, U.S.
Genres	Film score
Occupation(s)	Composer conductor orchestrator
Instruments	Piano violin
Years active	1978–2015

James Roy Horner (born August 14, 1953 – died June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was famous for creating music for movies. He often mixed choir voices and electronic sounds in his music. He also used sounds and styles from Celtic music.

Horner's first movie music was for The Lady in Red in 1979. But he became well-known after scoring Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in 1982. His music for James Cameron's Titanic is the best-selling movie soundtrack with an orchestra ever. He also wrote the music for Avatar, which became the highest-grossing film of all time.

Horner created music for many other famous movies. These include Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Aliens (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Braveheart (1995), The Mask of Zorro (1998), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).

He worked with many famous directors like James Cameron and Ron Howard. He also worked with producers like Steven Spielberg. James Horner won two Academy Awards, six Grammy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards for his amazing work.

Horner loved to fly airplanes. He died at age 61 in a plane crash while flying his own small aircraft.

Early Life and Music Training

James Horner was born on August 14, 1953, in Los Angeles, California. His father, Harry Horner, was a set designer and art director who came from Europe. His mother, Joan Ruth, was from Canada. His brother Christopher is a writer and filmmaker.

Horner started playing the piano when he was five years old. He also played the violin. He spent his younger years in London, England. There, he studied music at the Royal College of Music. Later, he came back to America and earned a music degree from the University of Southern California. He also studied at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After teaching music theory at UCLA, he started focusing on writing music for movies. Horner was also a skilled pilot.

Horner's Movie Music Career

Horner's first movie music jobs were for director Roger Corman in 1979 and 1980. These films included The Lady in Red and Battle Beyond the Stars. As his music became more noticed, he got bigger projects in Hollywood.

Becoming a Top Film Composer

Horner's big chance came in 1982 when he was asked to create the music for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. This movie helped him become one of Hollywood's top composers. The director, Nicholas Meyer, joked that they hired Horner because they couldn't afford the first Star Trek composer anymore. But by the time Meyer returned for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Horner was so famous they couldn't afford him either!

Throughout the 1980s, Horner continued to write music for many popular films. These included 48 Hrs. (1982), Krull (1983), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Aliens (1986), Willow (1988), and Field of Dreams (1989). His work on Cocoon (1985) was the first of many times he worked with director Ron Howard.

In 1987, Horner's music for Aliens earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Also that year, the song "Somewhere Out There," which he helped write for An American Tail, was nominated for Best Original Song.

Family Films and Big Hits

Horner wrote orchestral music for many family films, especially those from Steven Spielberg's company, Amblin Entertainment. Some of these films include An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), The Rocketeer (1991), Casper (1995), Jumanji (1995), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).

In 1995, Horner scored six movies. Two of his most successful were Braveheart and Apollo 13. Both of these movies received Academy Award nominations for their music.

Horner's biggest success came in 1997 with his music for James Cameron's Titanic. At the 70th Academy Awards, Horner won an Oscar for Best Original Dramatic Score. He also shared an Oscar for Best Original Song with Will Jennings for "My Heart Will Go On". The music and song from Titanic also won three Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

After Titanic, Horner continued to compose for major movies like The Perfect Storm, A Beautiful Mind, and The Mask of Zorro. He also worked on smaller films. He received more Academy Award nominations for A Beautiful Mind (2001) and House of Sand and Fog (2003).

Horner also created the theme music for the CBS Evening News from 2006 to 2011. He made different versions of the theme to fit the news of the day.

Later Works and Final Projects

Horner worked with James Cameron again on the 2009 film Avatar. This movie became the highest-grossing film ever, even more than Cameron's own Titanic. Horner spent over two years working only on Avatar. Avatar earned Horner his tenth Academy Award nomination.

After Avatar, Horner wrote music for The Karate Kid (2010) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). In early 2015, he composed the music for Wolf Totem.

When he passed away, Horner had already scored two movies that had not yet been released:

• Southpaw, a boxing movie. Horner wrote the music for free because he loved the film.
• The 33, a movie about trapped miners.

In July 2015, a month after his death, it was found that Horner had also secretly written the music for the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven.

Horner's music is also heard in movie trailers. A part of his music from Aliens, called "Bishop's Countdown," is one of the most used pieces in trailers. He also wrote the theme music for the Horsemen P-51 Aerobatic Team, a group of pilots who perform stunts with P-51 Mustang fighter planes.

Musical Style and Influences

James Horner was known for his unique musical style. Sometimes, people noticed that parts of his music sounded similar to his earlier works or to pieces by famous classical composers. For example, some of his music for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock included parts from Prokofiev's music. The main theme from Aliens was similar to a piece by Aram Khachaturian.

His heroic theme from Willow was based on a symphony by Robert Schumann. Music from Field of Dreams included parts from Aaron Copland's ballet Rodeo. Some critics felt that these similarities made Horner's music seem less original.

For his movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Horner's main theme included parts from music by Nino Rota and Raymond Scott.

Death and Tributes

James Horner died on June 22, 2015. His turboprop aircraft crashed into the Los Padres National Forest in California. He was the only person in the plane. Three days later, officials confirmed the crash was an accident. He was survived by his wife, Sara Elizabeth Horner, and his two daughters.

Investigators found that the main reason for the accident was that Horner flew too low to the ground. Witnesses said the plane was flying very low, and radar showed it made many low-altitude turns. They also found that Horner had taken some prescription medications for pain and headaches.

Many people from around the world shared their sadness and respect for Horner. These included composers like Hans Zimmer and John Williams, and directors like Ron Howard and James Cameron. Cameron said he and Horner were excited to work together again on the Avatar movies. Horner's assistant said he was an "amazing person with a huge heart and unbelievable talent" who "died doing what he loved."

Many celebrities, including Russell Crowe, Diane Warren, and Celine Dion, also shared their condolences. Celine Dion, who sang "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, said Horner's talent changed her career. Leona Lewis, who sang "I See You" for Avatar, said working with him was one of the biggest moments of her life.

The last films he composed music for, Southpaw, The 33, and The Magnificent Seven, were all dedicated to his memory. The movie Avatar: The Way of Water, which Horner was supposed to work on, was also dedicated to him.

Awards and Recognitions

Horner won two Academy Awards: one for Best Original Dramatic Score for Titanic and another for Best Original Song for "My Heart Will Go On" in 1998. He was nominated for eight other Oscars. He also won two Golden Globe Awards, three Satellite Awards, three Saturn Awards, and six Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for three British Academy Film Awards.

In October 2013, Horner received the Max Steiner Award at the Hollywood in Vienna Gala. This award is given for outstanding achievements in movie music.

AFI Recognition

In 2005, the American Film Institute created a list of the top twenty-five American film scores. Five of Horner's scores were among the 250 movies considered. This made him the composer with the most nominations who didn't make it into the top twenty-five. His nominated scores were:

• Field of Dreams (1989)
• Glory (1989)
• Apollo 13 (1995)
• Braveheart (1995)
• Titanic (1997)

List of Awards

Grammy Awards

• 1988: An American Tail – Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television
• 1988: "Somewhere Out There" (from: An American Tail, Winner) – Song of The Year
• 1988: "Somewhere Out There" (from: An American Tail, Winner) – Best Song Written specifically For a Motion Picture or Television
• 1990: Field of Dreams – Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television
• 1991: Glory (Winner) – Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television
• 1996: "Whatever You Imagine" (from: The Pagemaster) – Best Song Written specifically For a Motion Picture or Television
• 1999: "My Heart Will Go On" (from: Titanic, Winner) – Record of The Year
• 1999: "My Heart Will Go On" (from: Titanic, Winner) – Song of The Year
• 1999: "My Heart Will Go On" (from: Titanic, Winner) – Best Song Written For A Motion Picture or for Television
• 2003: A Beautiful Mind – Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
• 2011: Avatar – Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
• 2011: "I See You" (from: Avatar) – Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media

Dedicated Movies

• The World of James Horner - Hollywood in Vienna 2013, directed by Sandra Tomek (2013)

List of Scores