Aaron Richard Baskin (born December 1, 1948)''Harlan Daily Enterprise' "Actor's Songs Do Not Please Nashville Set" /ref> is an American film composer and producer, best known as the musical director and producer of the Academy Award winning soundtrack for the
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...
film ''
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
'', and other creative film scores in the 1970s and 1980s. He eventually became a film director, directing music videos for
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
,
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
, and many others, as well as feature films. He produced Elton John's concert special, ''Elton John Live at the Greek Theatre'', with Ray Cooper. Collaborating again, he wrote and directed Elton John's music video for Disney's ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'', " The Circle of Life".
In the mid-1990's, he was a pioneer of streaming video, and co-founded Intertainer, the first broadband video-on-demand program service in the U.S. While chairman of that company, he co-authored key patents and technology fundamental to streaming video that are widely used today in all major streaming services. He is a long-time environmental activist, and founding board director of the LA Waterkeeper, and other private philanthropies. He lives in Santa Monica, California, and Sun Valley, Idaho.
Biography
Personal life
Baskin was born to a Jewish family in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
, to the
Baskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins, Inc. is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake specialty store, specialty shops owned by Inspire Brands. Baskin-Robbins was formed in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California.Burt Baskin and his wife Shirley Robbins (sister of co-founder Irv Robbins). His mother remarried to Isadore Familian. His sister, Edie Baskin, served as the official photographer for ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' from the show's premiere in 1975 until 1999.
Baskin was in a relationship with
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
from November 1983 to October 1987.
Career
Two years after ''Nashville'' was released, Baskin was the musical guest on the March 12, 1977, episode during the second season of ''Saturday Night Live'' with host Sissy Spacek.
In 1985, Baskin produced and arranged tracks on Barbra Streisand's ''
The Broadway Album
''The Broadway Album'' is the twenty-fourth studio album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released by Columbia Records on November 4, 1985. Consisting mainly of classic show tunes, the album marked a major shift in Streisand's career. She ha ...
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
Colin Higgins
Colin Higgins (28 July 1941 – 5 August 1988) was an Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director, and producer. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film '' Harold and Maude'', and for directing the films '' Foul Play ...