Lennie niehaus

Born on June 11, 1929, in St. Louis, Missouri, Leonard Niehaus was the son of a violinist who provided live music at silent movie screenings in theaters. He was not amused that his son, after discarding the oboe, violin and bassoon, opted for the sax. “The sax! You can play the piano or the violin, but not the sax. You’ll end up playing in a brothel,” his mother warned him.

After graduating from high school, he studied music at Los Angeles City College, after which he earned a music education degree from Los Angeles State College in 1951. He then enlisted in various jazz ensembles, and began composing for the studios. In the 70s, Lennie Niehaus began his first collaborations in the cinema, under the orders of Jerry Fielding, Sam Peckinpah’s favorite composer.

She met Clint Eastwood in the 1950s, when the future star was still working as a swimming instructor for the United States Army. Lennie Niehaus participated in a performance with his jazz group at the Fort Nord base, and they have become great friends ever since, united by his passion for jazz. He signed his first soundtrack for a feature film for Walking the Tightrope , starring Eastwood, although directed by  Richard Tuggle , and then Very Hot City , by Richard Benjamin , also with the actor leading the cast.

From that moment on, Lennie Niehaus  continued composing for the cinema, in titles directed by Eastwood, such as Unforgiven or The Bridges of Madison , up to Blood Debt , from 2002. When dealing with the world of jazz, he shone above all with Bird , where Forest Whitaker played musician Charlie Parker. When she wasn’t dealing with the score, she worked on musical arrangements, or directing the orchestra, for example in Million Dollar Baby, or Gran Torino . Among her work with other filmmakers, the 1993 telefilm Lush Life stands out., about jazz musicians, which also had Whitaker as a secondary.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia, daughter, Susan, and grandson, Owen.