Shirley Walker facts for kids

Shirley Anne Walker (born Rogers; April 10, 1945 – November 30, 2006) was an amazing American composer and conductor for movies and TV shows. She was one of the very few women who wrote music for films in Hollywood. Shirley Walker was a true pioneer, meaning she was one of the first women to get full credit for writing the music for a big Hollywood movie. People remember her for opening doors for other women in the film industry.

Shirley often wrote her music by hand. She also always arranged the music for the orchestra (this is called orchestrating) and led the musicians herself (this is called conducting).

She won two Emmy Awards during her career. In 2014, a special award called the ASCAP Shirley Walker Award was created to honor her.

Early Life and Musical Talent

Shirley Walker was born Shirley Anne Rogers in Napa, California, on April 10, 1945. Her dad worked for the Navy, and her mom taught piano lessons while raising five children. Shirley grew up loving music. She was a musical prodigy, which means she was incredibly talented at music from a young age.

She started performing as a teenager, playing at hotels and with jazz bands from 1964 to 1967. While still in high school, Shirley was a piano soloist with the San Francisco Symphony! She later went to San Francisco State University on a piano scholarship. She studied music composition and piano.

Shirley married Don Walker in 1967. They had two sons, Colin and Ian. Don Walker passed away in March 2006.

Starting Her Music Career

After high school, Shirley wrote music for a play called "Make Way For Love." She even played keyboards for all the shows!

For several years, she wrote short catchy tunes for commercials (called jingles) and music for industrial films. Her journey into film music began in 1979. She was hired to play synthesizers for the movie Apocalypse Now. You can hear her unique musical ideas throughout the film.

Soon after, she worked on The Black Stallion (1979). She helped arrange the music and wrote extra parts. This gave her an official start as a film composer. At that time, very few women were film composers. Shirley stood out because she was great at working with a full orchestra. This special talent shaped many famous movie scores.

Shirley Walker's Amazing Work

Leading and Creating Music for Film and TV

Shirley learned a lot about film music by working as an orchestrator and conductor. She worked with many famous composers like Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, and Brad Fiedel. It's common for someone to be a composer, or an orchestrator, or a conductor. But Shirley was special because she did all three! She understood exactly how music worked, how to write it, and how musicians could play it. She made sure every piece of music was recorded perfectly, with the right speed, sound, and feeling.

In the early 1980s, Shirley often helped other composers by arranging or conducting their music. She worked on movies like Cujo (1983) and Ghost Warrior (1984). She even wrote music for The Dungeonmaster (1984) and Ghoulies (1985) as a co-composer. The music for Ghoulies even sounded a bit like Danny Elfman's style, even before she worked with him! Shirley kept writing for TV and working as an orchestrator/conductor through the late 1980s. She worked a lot with Brad Fiedel and then started working with Danny Elfman on Scrooged (1988).

One of Shirley's most important jobs was conducting the music for National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989). The movie's star, Chevy Chase, was so impressed by her that he suggested her for his next film, Memoirs Of An Invisible Man. This was a huge moment! Memoirs Of An Invisible Man became Shirley Walker’s first official solo film score. She became the first woman to write, arrange, and conduct an entire orchestral score by herself for a major movie studio. She later said that many people came to watch her record the music because it was such a big event.

In 1992, Shirley became one of the first female composers to get full credit for a major Hollywood movie score with Memoirs of an Invisible Man. She also worked with John Carpenter on Escape From L.A. She helped Danny Elfman by arranging and conducting his music for many popular films like Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Dick Tracy (1990). She added even more energy to his already exciting music.

Shirley also composed music for films like Willard and the first three Final Destination movies. She also scored TV shows such as Falcon Crest, Space: Above and Beyond, and The Flash.

While working with Elfman and Fiedel, Shirley also helped a rising composer named Hans Zimmer. She arranged and conducted his music for films like Black Rain (1989), Backdraft (1991), and A League Of Their Own (1992).

Shirley was also a leader in the music community. She was a Board Member and Vice President for The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL). She often spoke up for composers and their working conditions.

Shirley Walker and DC Comics

Shirley Walker played a huge role in bringing the world of DC Comics to life with her music. At first, she wasn't sure about working on a cartoon version of Batman. But when she met the creators and saw how deep the characters would be, she agreed to join. Her connection with Danny Elfman helped them use some of his movie music in the show. However, Shirley also wrote her own amazing theme music for the series.

She was the main composer for Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), and Batman Beyond (1999–2001). Her music set the standard for the entire DC Animated Universe.

Bruce Timm, one of the show's creators, heard Shirley's music on The Flash TV series and loved it. He found out she had worked with Danny Elfman on the first Batman movie. He contacted Shirley, and she was happy to join the team. It was very rare back then for every episode of a show to have original music. But their boss agreed, which was a huge help!

After the success of the Batman movies, Batman: The Animated Series was created. Danny Elfman wrote the main theme, and Shirley Walker wrote other important themes. She became one of the show’s main composers and music directors. This led to Shirley scoring the animated movie, Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993), which is still one of her most famous works. For fun, the choir in Mask Of The Phantasm actually sang the names of the orchestra members backward! Shirley continued to compose music for the sequel series, The New Batman Adventures and Batman Beyond.

Shirley worked with Danny Elfman on many DC Comics projects. She conducted the music for the Batman film, wrote most of the music for Batman: The Animated Series, and scored The Flash TV series. She also scored episodes of Batman Beyond. Even after her direct involvement ended, her musical themes were still used in later shows like Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

Awards and Legacy

Shirley won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on Batman: The Animated Series (1998) and Batman Beyond (2001). These were her only awards, but her impact continued.

Shirley Walker passed away on November 30, 2006, at age 61, after finishing her work on the Black Christmas and Final Destination movies. She is survived by her two sons, Ian and Colin.

Her friend and fellow composer, Laura Karpman, said that Shirley was one of the few female composers who succeeded in Hollywood. "She’s been an incredible mentor to a lot of men and women in Hollywood," Karpman said. Shirley not only composed, but she also conducted, arranged, and orchestrated music. She had a huge impact on the films and TV shows she worked on, and on the musicians she worked with.

When Warner Bros. hired her in 1990 for Batman: The Animated Series, Shirley wanted to find and give chances to the next generation of film composers. She brought in over 30 composers to work on the Batman series! She also looked out for the orchestra musicians, making sure they didn't get too tired. In one story, she pretended to conduct for producers who were wasting the musicians' time, while secretly telling jokes to the orchestra to keep their spirits up.

Even though she was a pioneer for women composers and had a huge influence, Shirley Walker is sometimes overlooked. However, in 2014, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) created the Shirley Walker Award in her honor. This award celebrates people whose achievements help make film and television music more diverse.

Film Scores

Television Scores (Partial)