The Italian film composer Ennio Morricone has died at the age of 91 on Monday, July 6th, 2020. His Lawyer, Giorgio Assumma, told CNN that he died at dawn in a Rome hospital after falling and breaking his leg.
Morricone is best known internationally as the composer behind the melodies from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. The Oscar-winning composer was also famous for the scores of spaghetti Westerns, and won an Academy Award for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight in 2016, after five previous nominations and an Honorary Award in 2007 that recognized his lifetime’s achievement.
Morricone scored more than 500 films, and was a winner and nominee for numerous BAFTA awards and Golden Globes, as well as being the recipient of a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
According to Assumma, Morricone requested a private funeral. Italian President Sergio Mattarella offered condolences to the family of the distinguished artist:
“Both a refined and popular musician, he has left a deep mark in the history of music in the second part of the 20th century,” he said. “Through his soundtracks, he has greatly contributed in spreading and reinforcing Italy’s prestige around the world.”
