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Howard Shore(I)

  • Music Department
  • Composer
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Howard Shore at an event for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
Howard Shore is a Canadian composer, born in Toronto. He was born in a Jewish family. He started studying music when 8-years-old, and played as a member of bands by the time he was 13-years-old. He was interested in a professional career in music as a teenager. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music, a college of contemporary music located in Boston.

For a few years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Shore was a member of Lighthouse, a jazz fusion band. In the 1970s, Shore mainly composed music for theatrical performances and a few television shows. His most notable work was composing the music for the one-man-act show of stage magician Doug Henning. He also served as a musical director in then-new television show "Saturday Night Live" (1975-). He was hired by the show's producer Lorne Michaels, who was a close friend of Shore since their teen years.

In 1978, Shore started his career as a film score composer, with scoring the B-movie " I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses" (1978). His next film score was composed for the horror film "The Brood" (1979). Shore had a good working relationship with the film's director David Cronenberg. Cronenberg would continue to use Shore as the composer of most of his films, with the exception of "The Dead Zone" (1983).

In the 1980s, Shore also composed the film scores of works by other directors, such as "After Hours" (1985) by Martin Scorsese, and "Big" (1988) by Penny Marshall. He received more acclaim for composing the film score for "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), a major hit of its era. Shore was nominated for a BAFTA award for this film score.

By the 1990s, Shore was an established composer of high repute and worked in an ever increasing number of films. Among his better known works were the film scores for comedy film "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993) and crime thriller "Seven" (1995). Shore received even more critical acclaim in the 2000s, when he composed the film score for fantasy film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001). He won an Academy Award and a Grammy for the film score, and received nominations for a BAFTA award and a Golden Globe.

Shore continued his career with the film scores of acclaimed films "Gangs of New York" (2002), "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002), and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). He received his second Academy Award for the film score of "The Return of the King", and his third Academy Award as the composer of hit song "Into the West". He won several other major awards for these film scores. His film scores for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy are considered the most famous and successful works of his career.

For the rest of the 2000s, Shore closely collaborated with director Martin Scorsese. Shore won a Golden Globe for the film score of Scorsese's "The Aviator" (2004). In the 2010s, Shore continues to work regularly, mostly known for composing film scores for works by directors David Cronenberg, Martin Scorsese, and Peter Jackson. He was the main composer for "The Hobbit" trilogy by Peter Jackson, and the fantasy film "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" (2010) by David Slade.
BornOctober 18, 1946
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BornOctober 18, 1946
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Won 3 Oscars
      • 102 wins & 125 nominations total

    Photos29

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    Known for

    Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, and John Rhys-Davies in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
    8.9
    • Music Department(uncredited)
    • 2001
    Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, and Léa Seydoux in Crimes of the Future (2022)
    Crimes of the Future
    5.8
    • Music Department
    • 2022
    Robert Pattinson in Cosmopolis (2012)
    Cosmopolis
    5.1
    • Music Department
    • 2012
    Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
    7.8
    • Music Department
    • 2012

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Music Department



    • Gracie
      • Main Title Theme By
      • In Production
      • TV Series



    • Charlie Vickers in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
      The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
      6.9
      TV Series
      • main title theme by
      • 2022–2024
    • Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, and Léa Seydoux in Crimes of the Future (2022)
      Crimes of the Future
      5.8
      • score produced by
      • 2022
    • Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman (2020)
      Pieces of a Woman
      7.0
      • conductor
      • 2020
    • Level Up Norge (2016)
      Level Up Norge
      8.5
      TV Series
      • composer: stock music (uncredited)
      • 2018
    • Paul Rudd in The Catcher Was a Spy (2018)
      The Catcher Was a Spy
      6.3
      • score producer
      • 2018
    • Demon Force (2014)
      Demon Force
      TV Series
      • Additional Music (uncredited)
      • 2015–2016
    • Timothy Spall, Rachel Weisz, and Tom Wilkinson in Denial (2016)
      Denial
      6.8
      • conductor
      • orchestrator
      • 2016
    • Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Brian d'Arcy James, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams in Spotlight (2015)
      Spotlight
      8.1
      • score produced by
      • 2015
    • Gymnasiearbetet: En Introduktion (2015)
      Gymnasiearbetet: En Introduktion
      Short
      • stock music
      • 2015
    • Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
      The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
      7.4
      • conductor
      • orchestrator
      • 2014
    • John Cusack, Julianne Moore, Robert Pattinson, and Mia Wasikowska in Maps to the Stars (2014)
      Maps to the Stars
      6.2
      • music producer
      • 2014
    • Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, Mark Hadlow, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, and Aidan Turner in Lego the Hobbit (2014)
      Lego the Hobbit
      7.6
      Video Game
      • music
      • 2014
    • Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, and Luke Evans in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
      The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
      7.8
      • conductor
      • orchestrator
      • 2013
    • Benicio Del Toro and Mathieu Amalric in Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013)
      Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian
      6.1
      • conductor
      • orchestrator
      • 2013
    • Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
      The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
      7.8
      • conductor
      • orchestrator
      • 2012

    Composer



    • The Old, the New and the One Coming
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2024
    • Vincent Cassel and Diane Kruger in The Shrouds (2024)
      The Shrouds
      6.0
      • Composer
      • 2024
    • Drift (2023)
      Drift
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2023
    • Christian Bale in The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
      The Pale Blue Eye
      6.6
      • Composer
      • 2022
    • Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, and Léa Seydoux in Crimes of the Future (2022)
      Crimes of the Future
      5.8
      • Composer
      • 2022
    • Funny Boy (2020)
      Funny Boy
      6.5
      • Composer
      • 2020
    • Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman (2020)
      Pieces of a Woman
      7.0
      • Composer
      • 2020
    • Omar Sy in The Lost Prince (2020)
      The Lost Prince
      5.4
      • Composer
      • 2020
    • Thierry Genovese in Cine Chalom (2019)
      Cine Chalom
      TV Mini Series
      • Composer
      • 2020
    • Demon Force (2014)
      Demon Force
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2020
    • Tim Roth in The Song of Names (2019)
      The Song of Names
      6.5
      • Composer
      • 2019
    • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - The Complete Recordings (2018)
      The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - The Complete Recordings
      Video
      • Composer
      • 2018
    • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings (2018)
      The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - The Complete Recordings
      Video
      • Composer
      • 2018
    • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - The Complete Recordings (2018)
      The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - The Complete Recordings
      Video
      • Composer
      • 2018
    • Level Up Norge (2016)
      Level Up Norge
      8.5
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2018

    Actor



    • Andy Serkis and Naomi Watts in King Kong (2005)
      King Kong
      7.2
      • Orchestra Pit Conductor (uncredited)
      • 2005
    • Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, and Andy Serkis in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
      The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
      9.0
      • Drinking Rohan Soldier (uncredited)
      • 2003
    • Unspeakable (2000)
      Unspeakable
      3.8
      Video
      • Lucio Crisco
      • 2000
    • Saturday Night Live (1975)
      Saturday Night Live
      8.0
      TV Series
      • Shelley
      • Drummer
      • Deejay (uncredited) ...
      • 1975–1980
    • Howard Shore, Johnny Caruso, Don Novello, Gilda Radner, Paul Shaffer, and G.E. Smith in Gilda Live (1980)
      Gilda Live
      6.9
      • The Candy Slice Group
      • 1980

    Videos1

    Crash
    Trailer 1:58
    Crash

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official sites
      • Facebook
      • Howe Records
    • Alternative names
      • Howard Shore and his Bobby Blue Band
    • Height
      • 5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
    • Born
      • October 18, 1946
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Spouse
      • Elizabeth CotnoirAugust 3, 1990 - present
    • Relatives
      • Ryan Shore(Niece or Nephew)
    • Other works
      Unused score: Ransom (1996)
    • Publicity listings
      • 1 Portrayal
      • 1 Interview
      • 1 Article
      • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In 2004, a new rule for the Academy Awards that disallowed film scores, which contained work from previous films resulted in the score to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) being ineligible for submission to the Academy. The new rule proved very unpopular with both Academy members and the general public - and had it been present in years past, would have invalidated many other nominated scores, such as the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" sequels. Because of the debacle, the Academy returned to its original position for future years' films.
    • Trademarks
        Often works with directors David Cronenberg and Peter Jackson

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