Danny Elfman

∙ Composer and former Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman is a self-taught musician with no formal training.
∙ When he was 18, he visited his brother in France, where he joined a musical theater troupe, playing the violin as a street performer.
∙ In the ’70s, he served as music director of Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a quirky cabaret group that dressed up in flamboyant costumes.
∙ In the ’80s and early ’90s, he fronted the new wave band Oingo Boingo, which had evolved from Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.
∙ Elfman scored his first film, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, the same year that Oingo Boingo had their first big hit—“Weird Science,” from the movie of the same name.
∙ His Emmy-nominated theme song for The Simpsons was approved to be recorded the same day that he composed and demoed the tune.
∙ Elfman has been nominated for four Academy Awards, including twice in the Best Original Score category.
∙ He has worked on music for 17 Tim Burton films, resulting in a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition (“The Batman Theme”) and three Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Score.
∙ In addition to his TV and movie soundtrack work, Elfman has composed a full percussion concerto for the London Philharmonic Orchestra.