Celebrity Biographies
Johnny Mandel
He composed music for more than thirty films, and won an Oscar. Johnny Mandel passed away on June 29, 2020, at the age of 94, from a heart condition, at his residence in Ojai, California. “Giant, genius, gentleman. There are many ways to describe him. His incredible music spanned decades, spanning oceans,” says Paul Williams, president of the American Association of Composers (ASCAP).
Born in New York on November 23, 1925, John Alfred Mandel (his full name) studied Music at the prestigious Juilliard School before starting to play with prestigious jazz bands.
He began his journey as a composer with Quiero vivir , from 1958. Titles such as Harper, private investigator and Point blank followed . Johnny Mandel won the Oscar for Castles in the Sand , followed by another nomination for Slaves to Sin . But most of all he remembers his song “Suicide is Painless”, which plays at the beginning of MASH , by Robert Altman . The director had commissioned him the “stupidest” song he could think of, and since he was not inspired it was finally Michael Altman, the filmmaker’s son, who wrote the lyrics.