Ken Thorne

Infobox_Person
name = Ken Thorne
residence = Canoga Park, CA
birth_date = birth date and age|1924|1|26
birth_place = East Dereham, Norfolk, England
occupation = Film score composer
spouse = Linda Thorne

Kenneth Thorne (born January 26, 1924) is an Academy Award-winning British-American television and film score composer.

Early life

Thorne was born in East Dereham, a town in the English County of Norfolk. Thorne began his musical career as a pianist with the big bands of England during the 1940s, playing at night clubs and the dance halls. At age 27, Thorne decided to seriously study composition with private tutors at Cambridge and later studied the organ for five years in London.

Film scoring

Thorne began composing scores for films in 1948. Thorne was considered Richard Lester's composer of choice. He was hired for the films "Superman II" and "III" to reuse the music by John Williams and recompose them for the sequels, also adding some original work. He also did the music score for The Beatles movie "Help!" The score was featured in the "Help!" U.S. album. Since the 1980s, Ken Thorne has mainly focused his work for TV.

Awards and nominations

* Academy Awards
** Winner for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment: "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1966)
* Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
** Nominated for Best Music "The House Where Evil Dwells" (1982)
** Nominated for Best Music "Superman II" (1980)
** Nominated for Best Music "Arabian Adventure" (1979)
* Emmy Awards
** Nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics for "For A Love Like You" from "A Season of Hope" (1995) [shared with Dennis Spiegel (lyricist)]
* Grammy Awards
** Nominated for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show for "Help!" (1965) [shared with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison

External links

*imdb|0006322
* [http://www.supermancinema.co.uk/special_features/interviews/ken_thorne/index.htm Interview] discussing his work on the Superman films at the Superman Cinema website