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 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 "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and Roy Orbison. 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 Y ...

and attended the High School of Performing Arts in

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 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?'' (1965), which was directed by his friend Joseph Cates. He worked with Cates again the following year in ''

The Fat Spy ''The Fat Spy'' is a 1966 Z movie that attempts to parody teenage beach party films rather than spy films. It was filmed at Cape Coral, Florida. It is featured in the 2004 documentary ''The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made''. Briefly released to theate ...

''. However, the film was received so badly that Hirschhorn struggled to find work in Hollywood for years afterwards. Hirschhorn, along with songwriting partner

Al Kasha Alfred Kasha (January 22, 1937 – September 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, whose songs include " The Morning After" from '' The Poseidon Adventure''. Life Kasha started songwriting and producing at a young age and was hired as a producer ...

, 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 b ...

'', which was directed by Gene Kelly. 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 Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

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 ''The Towering Inferno'' is a 1974 American disaster film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen, featuring an ensemble cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels '' The Towe ...

'' (1974) provided Hirschhorn and Kasha with their second Oscars, this time for the "

We May Never Love Like This Again In Modern English, ''we'' is a plural, first-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word forms: * ''we'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''us'' and ': the accusative (objective; ...

". 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 The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical or play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be eligible, a score must be written ...

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