Marvin Hamlisch

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only 18 people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, a feat dubbed the "EGOT". He and composer Richard Rodgers are the only people to have won those prizes and a Pulitzer Prize ("PEGOT"). Early life Hamlisch was born in Manhattan, to Viennese-born Jewish parents Lilly (née Schachter) and Max Hamlisch. His father was an accordionist and bandleader. Hamlisch was a child prodigy; by age five, he began mimicking the piano music he heard on the radio. A few months before he turned seven, in 1951, he was accepted into what is now the Juilliard School Pre-College Division. His favorite musicals growing up were My Fair Lady, Gypsy, West Side Story, and Bye Bye Birdie. Career Hamlisch attended Queens College, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967. His first job was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. Shortly afterward, producer Sam Spiegel hired him to play piano at parties, and later to score Spiegel's 1968 film The Swimmer. Music for films Liza Minnelli's 1964 debut album included "The Travelin' Life", a song Hamlisch wrote in his teens (originally titled "Travelin' Man"). His first hit arrived when he was 21 years old: "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows", co-written with Howard Liebling and recorded by Lesley Gore. It reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1965.