William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor. He is best known for his film scores, including ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...

'' (1976), '' Rocky II'' (1979), '' Rocky III'' (1982), '' Rocky V'' (1990), '' Rocky Balboa'' (2006), '' The Karate Kid'' (1984), '' The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), '' The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989), '' The Next Karate Kid'' (1994), '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981), ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

'' (and its sequel '' The Colbys''), and '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), which earned him an

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by ...

. He also received nominations in the Best Original Song category for " Gonna Fly Now" from ''Rocky'' and for the title song of ''For Your Eyes Only''. He was the musical director at the Academy Awards a record nineteen times. Conti is known for his collaborations with director John G. Avildsen, having scored fourteen films for Avildsen, beginning with ''Rocky'' (1976) and ending with '' Inferno'' (1999). Their collaboration included such pictures as the first three films in '' The Karate Kid'' franchise (1984–1989), '' Slow Dancing in the Big City'' (1978), '' The Formula'' (1980), and '' Neighbors'' (1981).

Biography

Early life

Conti, an

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

, was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, the son of Lucetta and William Conti. He graduated from North Miami High School in 1959. He is a past winner of the Silver Knight Award presented by the

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University School of Music, where he met his wife Shelby Cox, and earned a master's degree with honors from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

of Music.

''Rocky'' series

As early as 1971, Bill was orchestrating pop recordings by Italian artists, such as the album ''Sì... incoerenza'' ("Yes to Incoherence") by Italian singer

Patty Pravo Nicoletta Strambelli (born 9 April 1948), known professionally as Patty Pravo, is an Italian singer. She debuted in 1966 and remained most successful commercially for the rest of the 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Having suffered a decline in p ...

. He was also a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

of the scores for

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

s. Conti's big break into celebrity came in 1976, when

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

hired him to compose the music for a small film called ''

''. The film became a phenomenon and won three Oscars at the 49th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The same ceremony was also the first time Conti served as musical director for the telecast, a role he reprised 19 times, more than any other person. His training montage tune, " Gonna Fly Now", topped the Billboard singles chart in 1977, and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Conti also composed music for the sequels '' Rocky II'' (1979), '' Rocky III'' (1982), '' Rocky V'' (1990) and '' Rocky Balboa'' (2006).

Other film and television credits

Conti also worked for some other films and, eventually, for television series. In 1981, he wrote the music for the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film '' For Your Eyes Only'', when John Barry was unwilling to return to the United Kingdom for tax reasons, and provided the score for playwright Jason Miller's film version of his

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning play ''

That Championship Season ''That Championship Season'' is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. Plot synopsis The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. ...

'' the following year. In 1983, Conti composed the score for HBO's first film, ''The Terry Fox Story''. He then did '' Bad Boys'', '' Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story'', '' Mass Appeal''. In 1984, he won an Academy Award for composing the score to 1983's '' The Right Stuff'', after which he wrote the music for the TV series '' North and South'' in 1985. He also scored the ''

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...

'' live action film. Another score was the 1987 film '' Happy New Year''. In 1991, Conti composed for '' Necessary Roughness'', a college football film. In 1993, he wrote the music for '' The Adventures of Huck Finn'' starring

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. Wood made his film debut with a minor part in ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989) at the age of eight and achieved recognition in the early 1990s as a child acto ...

and directed by Stephen Sommers. In 1999, he composed the score for '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' remake, starring

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

and

Rene Russo Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as '' Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...

. That year, he scored '' Inferno'', starring

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate schoo ...

. Conti composed the themes to television's ''

'', '' The Colbys'', '' Falcon Crest'' and '' Cagney & Lacey.'' He wrote the theme song to the original version of '' American Gladiators'', worked with CBS on its 1980s film jingle, composed one of the early themes of ''

Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American tabloid television program that is distributed in Broadcast syndication, first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine progr ...

'', and wrote the '' Primetime Live'' theme for

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

. He composed the score to the studio-altered American version of

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French filmmaker. He directed and produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Associated with the '' Cinéma du look'' film movement, he h ...

's '' The Big Blue''. Two of Conti's previously composed works were reused for the show '' Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous''. These were the love theme "Come with Me Now", from the soundtrack for '' Five Days from Home'' (used for the show's main theme), and "Runaway", from '' For Your Eyes Only'' (used for in-show content).

Awards and nominations

Conti has been nominated for three Academy Awards, winning one in the Best Original Score category for '' The Right Stuff''. He also received nominations in the Best Original Song category for " Gonna Fly Now" from ''

'' and for the title song of '' For Your Eyes Only''. He had three Golden Globe nominations; two for Best Original Score for ''

'' and '' An Unmarried Woman'', and one for Best Original Song for the title song of '' For Your Eyes Only''. Conti also received thirteen Emmy nominations, all but one for his role as musical director at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

(the exception, his first nomination, was for his music for the 1985 series '' North and South''). He won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Musical Direction for the 64th, 70th and 75th Academy Award ceremonies. On April 22, 2008, at the LSU Union Theatre at Louisiana State University, Conti was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Selected discography

*'' Blume in Love'' (1973) *'' Harry and Tonto'' (1974) *'' Next Stop, Greenwich Village'' (1976) *''

'' (1976) *'' Smash-Up on Interstate 5'' (1976) *'' F.I.S.T'' (1978) *'' Paradise Alley'' (1978) *'' The Big Fix'' (1978) *'' Slow Dancing in the Big City'' (1978) *'' An Unmarried Woman'' (1978) *'' Five Days from Home'' (1978) *'' The Pirate'' (1978) *''

Dreamer The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary #For conditional resident status, conditional residency, with the right to work, for Illegal ...

'' (1979) *'' Rocky II'' (1979) *'' Goldengirl'' (1979) *'' The Seduction of Joe Tynan'' (1979) *'' A Man, a Woman and a Bank'' (1979) *'' Gloria'' (1980) *'' Private Benjamin'' (1980) *'' The Formula'' (1980) *'' Escape to Victory'' (1981) *'' Carbon Copy'' (1981) *'' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981) *'' Neighbors'' (1981) *'' Rocky III'' (1982) *'' I, the Jury'' (1982) *'' Split Image'' (1982) *''Theme from

'' (1982): The single spent nine weeks on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, peaking at number 52 in December 1982. *''

'' (1982) *'' Cagney & Lacey'' (1982) *'' Emerald Point N.A.S.'' (1983) *'' Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story'' (1983) *'' Bad Boys'' (1983) *'' The Right Stuff'' (1983) *'' The Terry Fox Story'' (1983) *'' Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets'' (1984) *'' The Karate Kid'' (1984) *'' The Karate Kid I'', '' II'', '' III'', '' The Next Karate Kid Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Scores'' (released 2006) *''Theme from Dynasty II: The Colbys'' (1985) *'' North and South'' (1985) *'' Gotcha!'' (1985) *'' F/X'' (1986) *'' The Karate Kid, Part II'' (1986) (released 2011) *''

Nomads Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In the twentieth century, ...

'' (1986) *''

'' (1987) *'' A Prayer for the Dying'' (1987) *'' Broadcast News'' (1987) *'' A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon'' (1988) *'' Cohen & Tate'' (1988) *'' Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman'' (1989) *'' Lock Up'' (1989) *'' The Fourth War'' (1990) *'' Rocky V'' (1990) *'' Necessary Roughness'' (1991) *'' Year of the Gun'' (1991) *'' Falcon Crest'' (TeeVee Tunes Soundtrack) (1992) *''

'' (TeeVee Tunes Soundtrack) (1992) *'' Blood In Blood Out'' (1993) *'' The Adventures of Huck Finn'' (1993) *'' Rookie of the Year'' (1993) (released 2006) *'' 8 Seconds'' (1994) *'' Bushwhacked'' (1995) (released 2006) *''

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

'' (1995) *''

Spy Hard ''Spy Hard'' is a 1996 American Spy film, spy parody film starring Leslie Nielsen (who also executive produced) and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond and other action films. The introduction to the film is sung by comedy artist "Weird A ...

'' (1996) *'' The Real Macaw'' (1998) *'' Wrongfully Accused'' (1998) *'' Inferno'' (1999) *'' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1999) (includes other artists) *'' Avenging Angelo'' (2002) *'' Boys on the Run'' (2003) *'' Rocky Balboa'' (2006) *'' Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky'' (2006) (includes other artists)

References

External links

*
Interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conti, Bill 1942 births Living people 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American composers 21st-century American conductors (music) American disco musicians American male conductors (music) American film score composers American male film score composers American male television composers American people of Italian descent American television composers Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Juilliard School alumni Louisiana State University School of Music alumni Musicians from Providence, Rhode Island Primetime Emmy Award winners Rocky (franchise) music Spaghetti Western composers Varèse Sarabande Records artists