Dennis Spiegel is an American

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

. At the

44th Primetime Emmy Awards The 44th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, August 30, 1992. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. It was hosted by Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley and Dennis Miller, and directed by Wa ...

Spiegel won the award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (shared with composer

Curt Sobel Curt Elliot Sobel (born October 26, 1953 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American composer and music editor. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (shared with lyricist Dennis Spiegel) for the song “Why Do I Li ...

) for the song "Why Do I Lie?" from the HBO movie '' Cast a Deadly Spell''. He is a three time Emmy nominee. His film work includes the Michael Caine movie "Blame it on Rio" for which he wrote the lyrics for the song score.

Academy Award controversy

Spiegel's song "Alone yet Not Alone" from the 2013 film of the same name was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 86th Academy Awards, but the nomination was rescinded on January 29, 2014, after the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

found that the song's co-writer

Bruce Broughton Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed man ...

, a former governor and current executive committee member of the music branch of the academy, had improperly contacted other branch members. "No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one's position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one’s own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President. Not everyone agreed with the academy's actions.

References

American lyricists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people {{US-music-bio-stub