World-Renowned composer James Horner passed away in a plane crash on Monday. He was 61-years-old.
A plane registered to Horner crashed in North Ventura County on Monday morning at about 9:30 a.m., and the pilot was killed. It was not immediately clear if Horner was on the plane.
Horner’s death was later confirmed by his assitant Sylvia Patrycja in a post on facebook:
“A great tragedy has struck my family today, and I will not be around for a while. I would like some privacy and time to heal. We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart, and unbelievable talent. He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road. Love Sylvia.”
Horner’s attorney Jay Cooper told NBC L.A. that the acclaimed composer owned five aircraft, including two helicopters. Cooper added that Horner was an “experienced” pilot.
From Variety: Horner was one of the most popular film composers of the last 30 years, and his “Titanic” soundtrack – with its hit Celine Dion song, “My Heart Will Go On,” written with Will Jennings – became the biggest-selling movie-score album of all time, selling an estimated 30 million units worldwide.
Horner began his career with AFI shorts and low-budget Roger Corman films including “The Lady in Red” and “Battle Beyond the Stars,” quickly graduating to major studio films including “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.” His 1980s output demonstrated his versatility, including scores for “48 Hrs.,” “Cocoon,” “Willow” and “Field of Dreams.”
In the 1990s he added “The Rocketeer,” “Sneakers,” “Patriot Games,” “Legends of the Fall” and “Ransom” to his resume before hitting the jackpot, both financially and awards-wise, with “Titanic.” In addition to his two Oscars, he won song and score Golden Globes for the James Cameron film.
He received eight other Oscar nominations, including seven for the scores of “Aliens,” “Field of Dreams,” “Apollo 13,” “Braveheart,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “House of Sand and Fog” and “Avatar.”
As a songwriter, he earned an Oscar nomination and two 1987 Grammys including Song of the Year for “Somewhere Out There,” written with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil for the animated film “An American Tail.” He did the “American Tail” sequel “Fievel Goes West” and musically launched another popular animated-film franchise with “The Land Before Time.”
He earned four more Grammys including one for instrumental composition for 1989’s “Glory” and three for “Titanic” including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
