Danny Elfman

Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman (May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He is Jewish (of British Jewish, Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent). He wrote music for many movies and television series. In 2002, he married actress Bridget Fonda. They have one child, Oliver Elfman (born September 19, 2003).

Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman, 2022
Background information
Birth name	Daniel Robert Elfman
Born	(1953-05-29) May 29, 1953 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Film score pop new wave film music contemporary classical music
Occupation(s)	Composer record producer singer songwriter
Years active	1972–present

Influences

Elfman stated composers & Musical Artists like Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, David Tamkin, George Bruns, Alban Berg, Thomas Tallis, Max Stiener, Buddy Baker, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Carl Orff, Dr. Seuss, Jakob Gimpel, Kurt Weil, Peter Gabriel, Harry Partch, George Gershwin, Dimitri Tiomkin, Alice Cooper, Leonard Bernstein, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, Maurice Jarre, John Williams, Lalo Schifrin, Oliver Wallace, Henry Mancini, Randy Newman, Bernard Herrmann, Frank Zappa, Carl W. Stalling, Scott Bradley, Frank Churchill and Hans Zimmer as influences.

Elfman's work in rock and pop music and specifically as songwriter for Oingo Boingo was influenced by The Specials, Madness, Selecter, Devo, Talking Heads, XTC and Lene Lovich, as well as British comedy rock band Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias.

Some of his music

Elfmans has written music for dozens of movie and video games. Some of his famous works include:

Filmography

• The Simpsons
• Sesame Street
• The Muppet Show
• Space Jam: A New Legacy
• Men in Black
• Batman Returns
• Good Will Hunting
• Spider-Man
• Dick Tracy
• Beetlejuice
• Sommersby
• Batman
• Corpse Bride
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Edward Scissorhands
• Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
• Sleepy Hollow
• Big Fish
• Frankenweenie
• Justice League
• The Grinch
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Awards

Elfman has been nominated for many awards in the music and movie business.

• Academy Awards - 4 nominations
• Emmy Awards - 3 nominations
  • Winner: Main Title Theme Music - Desperate Housewives
• Golden Globes - 3 nominations
• Grammy Awards - 12 nominations
  • Winner: Best Instrumental Composition: The Simpsons theme from The Simpsons

Other websites

• Danny Elfman on IMDb
• An overview of Elfman's career