Leonard Rosenman Dies at 83

NY Times: Leonard Rosenman, an Oscar-winning film composer who helped introduce avant-garde music to Hollywood movie scores, died on Tuesday in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. He was 83 and a former Hollywood resident.

The cause was a heart attack, his family said.

Mr. Rosenman, who could also write lushly traditional film scores, composed the original music for dozens of well-known pictures. Among them were “East of Eden” (1955), “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955), “The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond” (1960), “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” (1970) and the 1978 version of “The Lord of the Rings.”

Planet of the Apes is one of my favorite soundracks. If you haven't listened to the music without the vision of guys running around in ape suits, do yourself a favor and get a copy.