Well known for his musical compositions for movies such as ‘Batman’ (1989), ‘Mission Impossible’ (1996) and more recently, ‘Alice in Wonderland (2010), he is also a musician, producer and actor.
Starting Out
Danny Elfman first chose to follow the musical path when he discovered his idols; famous composers Bernard Herrmann (composer of the 1951 film, ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’) and Franz Waxman (composer of ‘The Blue Angel’ 1930.) Throughout his childhood, he would go to his local movie theatre where he was introduced to the music created by such composers as Herrmann and Waxman.
In the 1970's, when Elfman was eighteen, he began performing in an avant-garde musical theatre group named, ‘Le Grande Magic Circus’ after having followed his brother, Richard Elfman (now a film director) to Paris, France.
Leading him further down the path to his successful music career, Elfman travelled the world absorbing an eclectic range of musical genres. He then began composing; his first being a composition for the rock band that his brother had formed, ‘The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo.’ The same song was used for the film, ‘Forbidden Zone’ (1982) which was directed by Richard Elfman.
By the time the film had been completed, the band had shortened their name to ‘Oingo Boingo’ and were a huge hit in Southern California. ‘Oingo Boingo’ influenced many musicians including Danny Elfman himself who became singer/songwriter for the band from 1976 to 1995 once his brother took the decision to leave the group and begin directing. It was later discovered that the continuous loud rock music had affected Danny Elfman’s hearing dramatically.
However, he continued down the route of composing and has since scored a great number of movies despite having never been classically trained.
Joining Forces with Tim Burton in 1985
His collaboration with director, Tim Burton began in 1985 when they joined forces on the big budget film, ‘Pee-Wees Big Adventure.’ It was this partnership that kicked off Elfman’s flourishing career. This was not only Elfman’s first score for such a big film but it was also the first time Burton had directed. In the years that followed, a friendship blossomed; combining their talentsand therefore creating a large number of box office hits.
Elfman has since scored the majority of Tim Burton’s films, even playing the voice of Jack Skellington in Burton’s ‘ A Nightmare Before Christmas.’
Award Winning Composer
Over time, Elfman has been nominated for many Oscar awards for such films as 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' 'Good Will Hunting' and more recently, 'Milk.' He has also collected a number of awards including Emmy and BMl Film Music Awards.
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