Richard Stephen Robbins (December 4, 1940 – November 7, 2012) was an American-born composer, best known for his motion picture scores for the Merchant Ivory films.
Richard Robbins | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 4, 1940 South Weymouth, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | November 7, 2012 (aged 71) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Film score |
| Occupation | Composer |
Robbins was born in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. In November 2012, he died of Parkinson's disease at the age of 71. He died at his home in New York.[1]
Personal life
editRobbins began playing the piano at the age of five. He graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston, and later received a fellowship through a fund established by the philanthropist Frank Huntington Beebe to continue his studies in Vienna.[2]
Robbins was gay, and had a relationship with Ismail Merchant, and probably James Ivory, with whom he worked on several films.[3] He lived his later years with his long-term partner, artist Michael Schell.[2]
Awards
editRobbins was nominated for an Oscar in 1992 for his score for the film Howards End (performed by Martin Jones) and in 1993 for The Remains of the Day.[4] Additionally, he won a Sammy Film Music Award in 1992 for Howards End.[5]
Filmography
editRobbins wrote the score for the following films unless otherwise noted:
- Sweet Sounds (1976); short film; director only
- Roseland (1977); assistant to producer Ismail Merchant
- The Europeans (1979)
- Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
- Quartet (1981)
- Heat and Dust (1983)
- The Bostonians (1984)
- A Room with a View (1985)
- Sweet Lorraine (1987)
- My Little Girl (1987)
- Maurice (1987)
- The Perfect Murder (1988)
- Slaves of New York (1989)
- Love and Other Sorrows (1989, TV)
- Bail Jumper (1990)
- Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)
- The Ballad of the Sad Café (1991); directed by Simon Callow
- Howards End (1992)
- The Remains of the Day (1993)
- Street Musicians of Bombay (1994); also director
- Jefferson in Paris (1995)
- Surviving Picasso (1996)
- The Proprietor (1996)
- Lumière and Company: segment "Merchant Ivory" (1996)
- The Hidden Dimension (1997)
- A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
- Place Vendôme (1998); directed by Nicole Garcia
- Cotton Mary (1999); directed by Ismail Merchant
- The Golden Bowl (2000)
- The Girl (2000), directed by Sande Zeig
- The Mystic Masseur (2001)
- Le Divorce (2003)
- The White Countess (2005); directed by James Ivory
References
edit- ^ "Composer Richard Robbins dies at 71". 3 News NZ. 13 November 2012.
- ^ a b Trounson, Rebecca (18 November 2012). "Richard Robbins dies at 71; film composer had 2 Oscar nods". Archived from the original on November 20, 2012 – via LA Times.
- ^ Gilbey, Ryan (12 March 2024). "I got you an Oscar. Why do I need to pay you?". The Guardian.
- ^ Bergan, Ronald (13 November 2012). "Richard Robbins obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ "The Sammy Film Music Awards - Complete List".
External links
edit- Richard Robbins at IMDb
- Richard Robbins at Epdlp (Spanish)
- [1] Richard Robbins obituary
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