Lalo Schifrin, award-winning composer known for 'Mission: Impossible' theme, dies at 93

Lalo Schifrin, the six-time Oscar nominee and prolific composer champion known for his Grammy-winning “Mission: Impossible” theme, has died. He was 93.

Schifrin died Thursday greeting astatine a infirmary successful Los Angeles, his lad Will Schifrin, a writer and producer, told The Times. He reportedly died of complications from pneumonia.

The Argentine-born composer infused elements of jazz, stone and funk into classical orchestral euphony and is credited with helping to alteration the dependable of movies. Schifrin was Oscar-nominated for his scores connected the films “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), “The Fox” (1967), “Voyage of the Damned” (1976), “The Amityville Horror” (1979) and “The Sting II” (1983). He besides earned a opus information for “People Alone” from the 1980 play “The Competition.” In 2018, Schifrin received an honorary Oscar.

Schifrin wrote much than 100 scores for movie and tv implicit the people of his Hollywood career, including for the movies “Dirty Harry” (1971), “THX 1138” (1971), “Enter the Dragon” (1973) and the “Rush Hour” trilogy, arsenic good arsenic TV shows including “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “Starsky & Hutch.”

“I learned to beryllium a chameleon,” Schifrin told The Times successful 2018. “In question pictures, the existent creator is the screenwriter and the manager and the producer. I person to enactment for what they person made. Like a chameleon, I bash immoderate is necessary.”

In 2011, Schifrin modestly described himself arsenic a “music maker.” While the catchy taxable for the spy bid “Mission: Impossible” remains 1 of his best-known pieces, Schifrin told The Times “it was conscionable work.”

“For everything I’ve done, I did my best,” Schifrin said successful 2016. “I similar what I did. I don’t deliberation it’s a masterpiece, but it’s OK. ... If radical similar it, to the constituent of embracing it, great. That doesn’t hap excessively often.”

Born successful Buenos Aires, Argentina, successful 1932, Schifrin was exposed to euphony from a young age. His father, Luis, served arsenic the concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires astatine the Teatro Colón. And Schifrin was conscionable 5 years aged erstwhile a travel to the movies with his grandma made him recognize that it was the euphony that made the fearfulness movie truthful scary.

Schifrin began studying soft nether Enrique Barenboim, the begetter of pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, erstwhile helium was 6. He discovered and fell successful emotion with modern American jazz arsenic a teenager. At the proposition of 1 of his teachers, helium applied for a assistance to be the Paris Conservatory. During his clip there, helium made wealth playing astatine jazz clubs.

After returning to Buenos Aires, Schifrin started his ain jazz set to execute astatine concerts and connected TV. He yet met American jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, who invited him to enactment for him successful the U.S. In 1963, portion helium was moving with Gillespie aft moving to New York, Schifrin was offered a occupation successful Hollywood.

“My archetypal movie was called ‘Rhino,’” Schifrin told The Times successful 2011. “It was a low-budget movie, but it was the beginning.”

Schifrin is survived by his wife, Donna, and his children, William, Frances and Ryan.