Francis Lai Death
Francis passed away on November 7, 2018 at the age of 86 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.
When did Francis Lai die?
November 7, 2018How old was Francis Lai when died?
86Where did Francis Lai die? What was the location of death?
Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Francis Lai Birthday and Date of Death
Francis Lai was born on April 26, 1932 and died on November 7, 2018. Francis was 86 years old at the time of death.
Birthday: April 26, 1932
Date of Death: November 7, 2018
Age at Death: 86
Francis Lai - Biography
Francis Lai (born 26 April 1932) is a French accordionist, and composer noted for his film scores. Lai was born on 26 April 1932, in Nice, France, the son of market gardeners of Italian origin. From a very early age Lai was fascinated by music and he played first in his local regional orchestras. In Marseilles he discovered jazz and met Claude Goaty, a singer of popular songs in the 50s.
In 1965 he met filmmaker Claude Lelouch and was hired to help write the score for the film A Man and a Woman. Released in 1966, the film was a major international success, earning a number of Academy Awards. The young Lai received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Original Score". This initial success brought more opportunities to work for the film industry both in his native France, where he continued to work with Lelouch on scores to films such as Vivre pour vivre (1967), Un homme qui me plaît (1969), Le voyou (1970) and La bonne année (1973), as well as in Great Britain and the United States. He was known for his support of Mireille Mathieu in many compositions and recordings. In 1970 he wrote the score for director René Clément's film, Rider on the Rain ("Le passager de la pluie"). It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc in September 1971.
In 1970 Lai won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film Love Story. In the United States, the soundtrack album went to No. 2 in the Billboard album charts and the film's theme, "Where Do I Begin", was a hit single with lyrics by Carl Sigman for traditional pop singer Andy Williams. The song would also be recorded successfully by Lai himself, with a full orchestra, and by Henry Mancini and Shirley Bassey. Lai's "Love Story" theme was heard in the 1978 Love Story sequel titled Oliver's Story, although the main score was composed by Lee Holdridge.
In a career spanning forty years, Lai also wrote music for television programs and alone or in collaboration with others has composed music for more than one hundred films and personally wrote more than six hundred songs. Notably, he penned the music for the Perry Como hit "I Think of You", with lyrics by Rod McKuen.
