Joel Hirschhorn (December 18, 1937 – September 17, 2005) was an American
songwriter. He won the
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
on two occasions. He also wrote songs for a number of musicians, including
Elvis Presley and
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...
. Hirschhorn was born in
the Bronx and attended the
High School of Performing Arts
The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984.
In 1961, the school was m ...
in
Manhattan. After graduating, Hirschhorn became a regular performer on New York's nightclub circuit, both as a solo singer and as a member of the
rock & roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
band, The Highlighters.
During the mid-1960s, Hirschhorn branched out into writing film soundtracks. The first score he wrote was for ''
Who Killed Teddy Bear?
''Who Killed Teddy Bear'' is a 1965 American neo-noir crime thriller film, directed by Joseph Cates and starring Sal Mineo, Juliet Prowse, Jan Murray and Elaine Stritch. The film was written by Arnold Drake and Leon Tokatyan.
Plot
Norah Dain ( ...
'' (1965), which was directed by his friend
Joseph Cates
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
. He worked with Cates again the following year in ''
The Fat Spy''. However, the film was received so badly that Hirschhorn struggled to find work in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
for years afterwards.
Hirschhorn, along with songwriting partner
Al Kasha
Alfred Kasha (January 22, 1937 – September 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, whose songs include " The Morning After" from '' The Poseidon Adventure''.
Life
Kasha started songwriting and producing at a young age and was hired as a producer ...
, did not work on another film until 1970's ''
The Cheyenne Social Club'', which was directed by
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
. It was the pair's next effort, for ''
The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972), that really made their name. "
The Morning After", a song they wrote in a single evening, won them their first
Oscar and also topped the
Billboard chart.
''
The Towering Inferno'' (1974) provided Hirschhorn and Kasha with their second Oscars, this time for the "
We May Never Love Like This Again". Following this success, the pair received two further Oscar nominations, both for their work on ''
Pete's Dragon ''Pete's Dragon'' is the title of two Disney live-action films:
* ''Pete's Dragon'' (1977 film)
* ''Pete's Dragon'' (2016 film)
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