Richard Stephen Robbins (December 4, 1940 – November 7, 2012) was an American-born composer, best known for his

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

scores for the

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

films. Robbins was born in South

Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer") , image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...

. In November 2012, he died of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at the age of 71. He died at his home in New York.

Personal life

Robbins began playing the piano at the age of five. He graduated from the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, and later received a fellowship through a fund established by the philanthropist

Frank Huntington Beebe Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

to continue his studies in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Robbins was

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and lived his later years with his long-term partner, artist Michael Schell.

Awards

Robbins was nominated for an

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), ...

in 1992 for his score for the film ''

Howards End ''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book wa ...

'' (performed by Martin Jones) and in 1993 for ''

The Remains of the Day ''The Remains of the Day'' is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, England. In 1956, he ta ...

''. Additionally, he won a Sammy Film Music Award in 1992 for ''

''.

Filmography

Robbins wrote the score for the following films unless otherwise noted: * ''

Sweet Sounds Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ket ...

'' (1976); short film; director only * '' Roseland'' (1977); assistant to producer

Ismail Merchant Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman (25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005)) was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included Direc ...

* ''

The Europeans ''The Europeans: A sketch'' is a short novel by Henry James, published in 1878. It is essentially a comedy contrasting the behaviour and attitudes of two visitors from Europe with those of their relatives living in the "new" world of New England ...

'' (1979) * ''

Jane Austen in Manhattan ''Jane Austen in Manhattan'' is a 1980 American romantic drama film produced by Merchant Ivory Productions for LWT, but released for theatrical exhibition in UK and USA. It was the last film appearance of Anne Baxter and the début film of Sean Y ...

'' (1980) * ''

Quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...

'' (1981) * ''

Heat and Dust ''Heat and Dust'' (1975) is a novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala that won the Booker Prize in 1975. The book was also ranked by ''The Telegraph'' in 2014 as one of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels. Plot summary The initial stages of the novel ...

'' (1983) * ''

The Bostonians ''The Bostonians'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in ''The Century Magazine'' in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886. This bittersweet tragicomedy centres on an odd triangle of characters: Basil Ransom, a political c ...

'' (1984) * ''

A Room with a View ''A Room with a View'' is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society a ...

'' (1985) * ''

Sweet Lorraine "Sweet Lorraine" is a popular song with music by Cliff Burwell and words by Mitchell Parish that was published in 1928 and has become a jazz standard. It is written in F major and has an AABA structure. A version by Teddy Wilson charted in Octobe ...

'' (1987) * ''

My Little Girl ''My Little Girl'' is a 1986 American drama film the directorial debut of Connie Kaiserman that was released in the U.S. in 1987. It is also Geraldine Page's final role and both Jennifer Lopez and Erika Alexander's film debut. Plot Franny Bet ...

'' (1987) * '' Maurice'' (1987) * '' The Perfect Murder'' (1988) * ''

Slaves of New York ''Slaves of New York'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama Merchant Ivory Productions film. Directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, it stars Bernadette Peters, Adam Coleman Howard, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt, Mercedes Ruehl, ...

'' (1989) * ''

Love and Other Sorrows Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

'' (1989, TV) * ''

Bail Jumper Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

'' (1990) * '' Mr & Mrs Bridge'' (1990) * ''

The Ballad of the Sad Café ''The Ballad of the Sad Café'', first published in 1951, is a book by Carson McCullers comprising a novella of the same title along with six short stories: "Wunderkind", "The Jockey", "Madame Zilensky and the King of Finland", "The Sojourner", " ...

'' (1991); directed by

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in '' A Room with a View'' (1 ...

* ''

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1993) * ''

Street Musicians of Bombay A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of landform, land adjoining buildings in an urban area, urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as ...

'' (1994); also director * ''

Jefferson in Paris ''Jefferson in Paris'' is a 1995 historical drama film, directed by James Ivory, and previously entitled ''Head and Heart''. The screenplay, by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, is a semi- fictional account of Thomas Jefferson's tenure as the Ambassador of ...

'' (1995) * ''

Surviving Picasso ''Surviving Picasso'' is a 1996 Merchant Ivory film directed by James Ivory and starring Anthony Hopkins as the famous painter Pablo Picasso. It was produced by Ismail Merchant and David L. Wolper. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's screenplay was loos ...

'' (1996) * ''

The Proprietor ''The Proprietor'' is a 1996 film. It is a United States, U.S.-France, French co-production Merchant Ivory film, directed by Ismail Merchant for Jeanne Moreau's request. Cast Starring *Jeanne Moreau as Adrienne Mark *Sean Young as Virginia Kelly * ...

'' (1996) * ''

Lumière and Company ''Lumière and Company'' (original title: ) is a 1995 anthology film made in collaboration between forty-one international film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or scri ...

'': segment "

" (1996) * ''

The Hidden Dimension ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

'' (1997) * '' A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries'' (1998) * ''

Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It ...

'' (1998); directed by

Nicole Garcia Nicole Garcia (born 22 April 1946) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Charlie Says'' was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Her film ''Going Away'' was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2 ...

* ''

Cotton Mary ''Cotton Mary'' is a 1999 film co-directed by Ismail Merchant, best known as the producer half of Merchant Ivory, and the Indian actress and writer Madhur Jaffrey, who also co-starred. It is a sensual film, shot in coastal South India. Plot Lil ...

'' (1999); directed by

* ''

The Golden Bowl ''The Golden Bowl'' is a 1904 novel by Henry James. Set in England, this complex, intense study of marriage and adultery completes what some critics have called the "major phase" of James's career. ''The Golden Bowl'' explores the tangle of int ...

'' (2000) * '' The Girl'' (2000) * ''

The Mystic Masseur ''The Mystic Masseur'' is a 2001 Merchant Ivory film based on the novel of the same name by V. S. Naipaul. It is one of relatively few films directed by Ismail Merchant, who is better known as the producer in the Merchant Ivory partnership, ...

'' (2001) * ''

Le Divorce ''Le Divorce'' is a 2003 romantic comedy-drama film directed by James Ivory from a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Ivory, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Diane Johnson. Plot Isabel Walker travels to Paris to visit her siste ...

'' (2003) * ''

The White Countess ''The White Countess'' is a 2005 drama film directed by James Ivory and starring Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lynn Redgrave, Allan Corduner, and Madeleine Potter. The screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro focus ...

'' (2005); directed by

James Ivory James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with screen ...

References

External links

*
Richard Robbins
at ''Epdlp'' (Spanish)

Richard Robbins obituary 1940 births 2012 deaths American film score composers American male film score composers Film directors from Massachusetts LGBT film score composers LGBT people from Massachusetts Musicians from Massachusetts People from Weymouth, Massachusetts {{US-composer-20thC-stub