Johnny Mandel

Celebrated for his swinging, coolly sophisticated jazz style, Johnny Mandel built upon his early years as a big-band trumpeter and trombonist to emerge as a major film composer and arranger. Like his contemporaries Michel Legrand, Lalo Schifrin, and Henry Mancini, Mandel helped define the sound of Hollywood film soundtracks in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. He earned a Grammy nomination for his first film score, 1958's I Want to Live!, before winning both an Oscar and Grammy for "The Shadow of Your Smile" from 1965's The Sandpiper. He also enjoyed widespread acclaim for composing "Suicide Is Painless," the theme from Robert Altman's 1970 film M*A*S*H, as well as its popular spin-off series. Meanwhile, he remained highly sought after in the pop world, working with the likes of Natalie Cole (1991's Unforgettable: With Love), Barbra Streisand (2009's Love Is the Answer), and Paul McCartney (2012's Kisses on the Bottom).