Ennio Morricone, Legendary Film Composer, Dies at 91 in Rome

Ennio Morricone, the iconic Italian composer and conductor, died at 91 in Rome after a fall at his home. Born in Trastevere in 1928, he studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia and debuted his first film score in 1961 for Luciano Salce's 'Il federale'. His profound collaboration with Sergio Leone produced legendary scores for spaghetti westerns like 'Once Upon a Time in the West'. Morricone also worked with directors Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bernardo Bertolucci, Brian De Palma, Oliver Stone, Pedro Almodóvar, and Warren Beatty. He won two Oscars: an honorary award in 2007 and Best Original Score for Quentin Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight' in 2016. His career spanned over 50 years, earning nine David di Donatello, five Oscar nominations, four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, a Grammy, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement (1995), and the Polar Music Prize (2010, first Italian). Giuseppe Tornatore is directing a documentary about him, recently completing filming. Morricone considered his score for 'The Mission' (1986) his greatest pride, winning a Golden Globe and BAFTA. He famously said, 'I don't write for success. I write for myself.'