Among the things not commonly known about two-time Golden Globe winner James Horner – he won both awards for Titanic and got another eight nominations – are that he created a distinctive four-note trumpet blast during story climaxes, that he wrote the theme for the Universal Pictures logo used between 1990 and 1997, and that all in all he won 56 prizes.
The Los Angeles-born James Roy Horner (birthdate: Aug 14, 1953) was sent to London to study music at the Royal College of Music by his Austrian emigree Father and Canadian mother who recognized his talent. In addition, he earned degrees from both USC and UCLA. After scoring student films for the American Film Institute in the late 1970s, he got his break with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Over 150 films followed, and the composer worked on high-profile projects with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard, Mel Gibson and James Cameron among others. Horner also holds the title as composer of the biggest-selling orchestral soundtrack in history – Titanic (1997).
The lifelong hobby-pilot tragically died in a plane crash on June 22, 2015, less than two months shy of his 62nd birthday. Themes from his hugely successful scores for franchises such as Spider-Man and Avatar are still being used in sequels.
