Joel Hirschhorn (December 18, 1937 – September 17, 2005) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

. He won the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

on two occasions. He also wrote songs for a number of musicians, including

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

and

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

. Hirschhorn was born in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

and attended the

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. After graduating, Hirschhorn became a regular performer on New York's nightclub circuit, both as a solo singer and as a member of the

rock & roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

band, The Highlighters. During the mid-1960s, Hirschhorn branched out into writing film soundtracks. The first score he wrote was for ''

Who Killed Teddy Bear? ''Who Killed Teddy Bear'' is a 1965 American neo-noir crime thriller film, directed by Joseph Cates and starring Sal Mineo, Juliet Prowse, Jan Murray and Elaine Stritch. The film was written by Arnold Drake and Leon Tokatyan. Plot Norah Dain ( ...

'' (1965), which was directed by his friend

Joseph Cates Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

. He worked with Cates again the following year in '' The Fat Spy''. However, the film was received so badly that Hirschhorn struggled to find work in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

for years afterwards. Hirschhorn, along with songwriting partner Al Kasha, did not work on another film until 1970's ''

The Cheyenne Social Club ''The Cheyenne Social Club'' is a 1970 American Western comedy film written by James Lee Barrett, directed and produced by Gene Kelly, and starring James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Shirley Jones. The film is about an aging cowboy who inherits a ...

'', which was directed by

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

. It was the pair's next effort, for '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972), that really made their name. " The Morning After", a song they wrote in a single evening, won them their first Oscar and also topped the

Billboard chart The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

. '' The Towering Inferno'' (1974) provided Hirschhorn and Kasha with their second Oscars, this time for the " We May Never Love Like This Again". Following this success, the pair received two further Oscar nominations, both for their work on '' Pete's Dragon'' (1977). Hirschhorn and Kasha continued to work together until the late 1990s, their final collaboration being '' Rescue Me'' (1992). The pair also worked together on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals, receiving Tony Award for Best Original Score nominations for both '' Copperfield'' and ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

''. Late in his career, Hirschhorn wrote '' The Complete Idiot's Guide to Songwriting'', which was first published in 2001.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirschhorn, Joel 1938 births 2005 deaths Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters Jewish American songwriters Songwriters from New York (state) American film score composers American musical theatre composers American musical theatre lyricists American lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni People from the Bronx Jewish American musicians Jewish rock musicians Nightclub performers Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park 20th-century American composers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews