Maurice Jarre- Biography

One of the most prolific film composers of the late 20th Century, Lyon-born Maurice Jarre had been crafting film underscores for a decade when he came to international prominence in 1962 with his Oscar-winning score for the sweeping David Lean-directed epic "Lawrence of Arabia".

Jarre studied percussion and composition at the Paris Conservatory under Arthur Honneger, Jacques de la Presle and Louis Aubert. Following military service in the French navy during WWII, he was tapped by Jean Louis Barrault to serve as orchestral composer and arranger for Barrault's theater company. When he left Barrault after four years, Jarre joined with Jean Vilar's recently formed Theatre National Populaire and honed his craft preparing incidental music for classical works by Moliere, Victor Hugo and Shakespeare. Shortly thereafter, the composer crossed over into films, debuting with the music for George Franju's short "Hotel des Invalides" (1952) and following up over the next six years with the scores for several shorts and documentaries, including "Toute la memoire du monde" (1956), directed by Alain Resnais, and "Le Bel Indifferent" (1957), helmed by Jacques Demy. Franju tapped the musician for the full-length feature "La Tete contre les murs/The Keepers" (1958) and Jarre's career began to take off in earnest. He wrote the rare horror score for "Eyes Without a Face/Les Yeux sans visages" (1959) and collaborated with Richard Fleischer on "Crack in the Mirror" (1960) and "The Big Gamble" (1961).

But it was his association with Lean that yielded Jarre's best-known work. Following the award-winning "Lawrence of Arabia", the two once again worked together on "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), which brought Jarre his second Academy Award and included the haunting, seemingly ubiquitous "Lara's Theme". After a five year absence, the duo reunited to collaborate on the uneven "Ryan's Daughter" (1970) and then enjoyed one last pairing with "A Passage to India" (1984), which earned Jarre his third Oscar.

In addition to his work with Lean, Jarre also has enjoyed successful teamings with John Huston (including the stirring music for 1975's "The Man Who Would Be King") and Peter Weir (five features to date, including the all electronic scores for 1982's "The Year of Living Dangerously" and 1985's "Witness"). As of 2000, he has amassed a career total of nine Academy Award nominations (eight for original score and one for Best Song for "Marmalade, Molasses and Honey" from 1972's "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean"). Among the numerous TV projects that have borne his creative stamp are the acclaimed miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" (NBC, 1977), "Shogun" (NBC, 1980) and the small screen remake of "Samson and Delilah" (ABC, 1984).

In addition to his illustrious career as a film composer, Jarre has also written the scores for several ballets, symphonic pieces and other classical works. Additionally, he has appeared as conductor of some of the world's most renowned orchestras. After more than fifty years as a musician and composer, Jarre obviously has not lost his touch: filmgoers in 2000 were treated to two of his lilting scores in the films "Sunshine" and "I Dreamed of Africa".